spectrwm 3.7.0 released!

spectrwm 3.7.0

Released on Aug 26, 2025

Adds a centered mode for tiled layouts, configuration reload, increases the
maximum number of workspaces, and more.

• Add centered mode for tiled layouts.
  • Add center_layout action (default: M-backslash). Toggle centering of
    the master area.
  • Add center_adaptive option to only center when centering does not create
    empty space.
  • Add center_autobalance option to automatically balance the master/stacking
    areas when toggling centered mode.
  • Add center_noautostack option to disable automatically adding an extra
    stack when centering a layout with a single stack.
  • Add center_nowrap option to allow the centered master area to split the
    original order of stacks instead of maintaining tiling order.
  • Add corresponding layout and stack_mark options.
• Add configuration reload.
  • On reload, the configuration is reloaded without restarting and the bar(s)
    are reinitialized along with bar_action (if used).
  • Add reload action (default: unbound). Initiates a reload.
  • Add SIGUSR1 signal handling to initiate a reload.
• Improve uniconify.
  • Add uniconify_order option to set the window order in the uniconify menu.
  • Add uniconify_quick action (default: unbound). Uniconify the most
    recently iconified window.
• Improve EWMH support.
  • Add support for _NET_WM_STATE_FOCUSED.
  • Improve _NET_WM_DESKTOP request handling.
  • Improve _NET_WM_ALLOWED_ACTIONS support.
  • Fix _NET_WM_ALLOWED_ACTIONS property change issue.
  • Fix _NET_DESKTOP_NAMES handling.
• Add new quirks.
  • Add NOTILE quirk to disallow windows from being tiled.
  • Add IGNOREURGENT quirk to ignore the urgency hint on windows.
  • Add NOFOCUSPOINTER quirk to disable click-to-focus on windows.
• Increase the maximum workspace_limit to 100. Note that bindings for
  workspaces 23 and above are unbound by default.
• Add move_step and resize_step options to configure the pixel amount to
  move/resize a window when using the respective action bindings.
• Add bar_padding_horizontal and bar_padding_vertical options to adjust
  the padding of bar text.
• Add disable_padding option to disable region padding when there is a single
  window.
• Improve transient window stacking to prevent dialogs from getting buried.
• Change the restart_of_day action to ignore autorun entries.
• Fix compatibility issue with Wine.
• Fix pointer centering when focusing free mode windows.
• Fix free mode maximized/fullscreen unfocus handling issue.
• Fix move/resize refocus issue with globally active input model windows.
• Fix popup window refocus issue for free mode windows.
• Improve window management checks to better handle buggy programs.
• Improve debug output.

spectrwm 3.6.0 released!

spectrwm 3.6.0

Released on Jun 10, 2024

Adds some new features, removes limits and fixes bugs.

• Improve focus_mode to support customization of specific focus situations.
• Improve quirks.
  • Add support for += and -= assignment operators for quirk assignment.
  • Add new optional window type field to quirks.
  • Add BELOW quirk.
  • Add ICONIFY quirk.
  • Add MAXIMIZE quirk.
• Add new spawn_flags option to adjust program spawn entry settings.
• Add new layout_order option to customize the layout sequence used by the
  cycle_layout action.
• Improve bar font handling.
  • Remove the bar_font limit of 10 fonts when using Xft.
  • Extend bar_format markup sequences to support font indexes above 9.
• Improve bar color handling.
  • Remove the 10 color limit on options that accept a color list.
  • Extend bar_format markup sequences to support color indexes above 9.
  • Add support for the += operator with options that accept a color list.
  • Fix handling of normal/unfocus/free bar colors with different counts.
  • Fix bar colors should be per X screen.
• Improve urgent window handling.
  • Add color_urgent* options to change the border colors of urgent windows.
  • Fix focus_urgent search issue.
• Improve EWMH handling.
  • Add special handling of _NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_NOTIFICATION windows.
  • Fix warp_pointer should not apply to _NET_WM_MOVERESIZE.
  • Fix _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW request handling.
  • Fix _NET_DESKTOP_VIEWPORTS.
  • Fix EWMH _NET_WM_DESKTOP requests should not bypass workspace_limit.
• Improve libswmhack.so.
  • Add XCB support.
  • Remove unneeded compile time linking with libX11.
  • Improve symbol lookup.
• Add new bar_workspace_limit option to limit the workspaces shown in the
  workspace (+L) and urgency hint (+U) indicators.
• Fix flipped vertical/horizontal layout positioning issue.
• Fix segfault when setting the layout option to floating.
• Fix window mapping issue when swapping a maximized window.
• Fix swap_main issue.
• Fix listing of empty workspaces in bar_format +U and +L.
• Fix escape handling of + in bar_action script output.
• Fix possible bar redraw delays.
• Fix some leaks and a possible crash.
• Fix building against XCB with RandR < 1.6.
• Improve RandR checks.
• Remove Xlib RandR dependency.
• Remove BSD function ports for Linux and depend on libbsd instead.
• Improve included spectrwm.desktop and move it to the main directory.
• Improve man page.
• Improve CHANGELOG and README.

spectrwm 3.5.1 released!

spectrwm 3.5.1

Released on Nov 25, 2023

Fixes NetBSD support and a few minor issues.

• Fix bar_at_bottom bottom gap when bar_border_width > 0.
• Fix maximize new windows in max layout when max_layout_maximize = 1.
• Fix autorun option and WS quirk should accept a value of -1 as stated
  in the manual.
• Fix bar_color_free and bar_font_color_free options.
• Fix bar urgency hint (+U) workspaces should begin at 1.
• Fix iconified windows should uniconify on MapRequest.
• Fix focus fallback issue when iconifying windows.
• Improve handling when programs try to position their own windows.
• Fix NetBSD build issues.
• Add NetBSD to list of OSes that have the XCB XInput Extension.
• Fix build failure when building without the XCB XInput Extension.
• Fix possible segfault at startup.
• Add SWMHACK section to manual.
• Fix typos in manual.

spectrwm 3.5.0 released!

spectrwm 3.5.0

Released on Oct 22, 2023

Includes a bunch of major new features and improvements, such as dock/panel
support, an always mapped window mode, floating workspace layout, transparent
color support, tons of fixes, and more!

• Add free window mode.
  • free windows are floating windows that are not in a workspace. They remain
    mapped and may be resized, positioned and stacked anywhere. When iconified,
    they appear at the end of the uniconify menu. Note that free windows can be
    stacked above/below workspace windows but must be put into a workspace and
    unfloated to be part of its tiling layout. float_toggle is convenient for
    this purpose.
  • Add free_toggle action (default: M-S-grave). Toggle focused window
    between workspace mode and free mode.
  • Add focus_free action (default: M-grave). Switch focus to/from windows in
    free mode, if any.
  • Add related color and focus mark options.
• Improve EWMH (Extended Window Manager Hints) support.
  • Add support for docks/panels and desktop managers.
  • Add strut support for windows (e.g. panels) to automatically reserve screen
    real estate.
  • Add support for applications to initiate move/resize operations.
  • Add demands attention support to urgency features to include windows that
    request focus but are denied.
  • Add support for below state to keep windows stacked below others.
  • Improve _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW handling.
  • Fix _NET_DESKTOP_VIEWPORT should update on workspace and region changes.
• Improve window stacking.
  • Overhaul window stacking for improved reliability and flexibility required
    for new features/fixes. Windows are now stacked as a whole instead of per
    region/workspace.
  • Add click_to_raise option (default: 1 (enabled)). Raises stacking
    priority when clicking on a window.
  • Add below_toggle action (default: M-S-t). Toggles below state on a
    focused window to keep it below other windows. raise can be used to
    temporarily bring a window above all others.
  • Fix raise and always_raise stacking issues.
  • Fix follow mode stacking issues.
  • Fix stacking order issues.
  • Restore stacking order after leaving fullscreen/maximized state.
• Workaround application issues related to ICCCM 6.3 button grabs.
  • If X Input Extension >= 2.1 is available, handle button bindings with the
    REPLAY flag passively, without grabs. For other button bindings, establish
    grabs on root.
  • Otherwise, for compatibility, establish all button binding grabs directly on
    client windows.
• Add alpha transparent color support for use with compositing managers. Colors
  can now be specified with an alpha component via the format
  rbga:rr/gg/bb/aa (values in hex.)
• Improve bar fonts.
  • Fallback to a "fail-safe" font if the default/user bar_font fails to load.
  • Add fallback handling for missing glyphs when using multiple fonts with Xft.
  • Add supplementary private-use code points to bar_font_pua.
  • Fix $bar_font program variable substitution should not include fallbacks.
• Improve window mapping.
  • Add maximize_hide_other and fullscreen_hide_other options. When a
    maximized/fullscreen window is focused, hide unrelated windows on the same
    workspace. Useful for transparent windows.
  • Fix window mapping issue when handling simultaneous screen changes.
  • Improve reliability.
• Improve (re)start handling.
  • Set intial focus more reliably.
  • Focus on fullscreen/maximized windows before main.
  • Restore window floating geometry on shutdown.
• Improve focus handling.
  • Add prior setting to focus_close. When the focused window is closed,
    fallback to the last focused window in the workspace.
  • Add focus_prior action. Focus last focused window on workspace.
    (Default binding: M-S-a.)
  • Improve previous focus fallback.
  • Fix iconified window focus issue.
  • Fix input focus fallback.
  • Fix setting focus with EWMH should unmaximize other windows.
  • Fix move/resize operation should abort on focus loss.
  • Fix focus_main issue with iconified/floating windows.
  • Fix max layout focus issue when closing transients.
  • Fix warp_pointer issues.
• Improve focus follow mode.
  • Fix handling of ConfigureWindow and EWMH requests.
  • Fix workspace switching issues.
• Improve status bar.
  • Add character sequence for workspace list indicator (+L).
  • Add workspace mark options for the workspace indicator (+L).
  • Add stack mark options for the stacking indicator (+S).
  • Add focus mark options for the focus status indicator (+F).
  • Add character sequence for number of windows in workspace (+w) (lowercase).
  • Add unfocused options to color bar text and background.
  • Add color options for when a window in free mode is focused.
  • Fix bar_action piping deadlock issue.
  • Fix name_workspace should clear on empty string.
  • Fix refresh bar on name_workspace.
  • Set WM_CLASS, WM_NAME and _NET_WM_NAME on the bar window.
• Add floating workspace layout stacking mode.
  • In floating layout, windows are not tiled and may be freely moved around
    and resized.
  • Add stack_mark_floating option for the stacking indicator
    (default: '[~]').
  • Add layout_floating action (default: unbound). Directly switch to floating
    layout.
  • Add floating stack_mode to the layout option.
• Improve max layout.
  • Allow windows to be unmaximized/floated in max layout.
  • Add max_layout_maximize option to configure default maximized state.
  • Allow floating windows to remain floating when dragged between regions into
    a max layout workspace.
• Improve window handling.
  • Add snap behavior when dragging tiled/maximized windows. Prevents
    accidentally floating tiled windows.
  • Add snap_range option (default 25). Sets the pixel distance a
    tiled/maximized window must be dragged (with the pointer) to make it
    float and move freely. Set to 0 to unsnap/float immediately.
  • Add maximized_unfocus and fullscreen_unfocus options. Configures
    handling of maximized/fullscreen windows that lose focus.
  • Add support for ICCCM WM_CHANGE_STATE ClientMessage. Enables applications
    to iconify their own windows.
  • Add support for window gravity. Improves floating window positioning by
    applications.
  • Disable border on maximized windows when disable_border = always.
  • Add window titles to search_win.
  • Fix maximize handling.
  • Fix handling when a window is lost immediately after ReparentWindow.
  • Fix Java workaround.
• Improve workspace handling.
  • Add workspace_autorotate option. When switching workspaces between regions,
    automatically "rotate" vertical/horizontal layouts based on RandR rotation
    data.
  • Add prior_layout action. Switch to the last used layout.
    (Unbound by default.)
  • Add optional rotation argument to region option.
  • Fix ws cycle actions should skip visible workspaces.
  • Add cycle_visible option to the man page and example conf.
• Improve debugging.
  • Add -d command-line option to enable debug mode. Enables debug mode
    actions and logging to stderr without the need to rebuild with
    -DSWM_DEBUG.
  • Add multi-line support to debug_toggle overlay (default: M-d).
  • Add atom name cache to avoid redundant requests/syncs when printing output.
• Fix X connection error handling to exit on a failed connection.
• Fix build issues.
  • Fix compile error when building against musl.
  • Fix build with clang 16 on Linux.
• Improve OpenBSD pledge(2) support.
  • Add "wpath" pledge for sparc64 support
  • Simplify usage.
• Improve Linux Makefile.
• Improve manual and examples.
  • Add details to modkey option in man page.
  • Add stack modes and window states to man page.
  • Fix incorrect key binding for ws_6 in spectrwm_fr.conf.
  • Fix man page wmctrl(1) examples.
  • Fix iostat(8) issue in example baraction.sh script for OpenBSD.
  • Update man page note regarding dmenu(1) Xft support.
  • Update example spectrwm.conf.
  • Update keyboard_mapping example configuration files.
  • Update html manual.

spectrwm 3.4.1 released!

spectrwm 3.4.1

Release on Jun 25, 2020

• Fix always_raise mapping issue.
• Fix _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP should be updated on ws_next_move/ws_prev_move.
• Fix focus redirect for transient windows that are about to map.
• Fix manual focus should not be affected by pointer on (un)grab.
• Add java detection for JetBrains windows.
• Remove _NET_WM_STATE on withdrawn windows as advised by EWMH spec.
• Add information to man page about program call execution.

spectrwm 3.4.0 released!

spectrwm 3.4.0

Release on Jun 17, 2020

• Add optional startup parameters:
  • -c file - Specify a configuration file to load instead of scanning for one.
  • -v - Print version and exit.
• Add new restart_of_day action. (Unbound by default.)
  (Same as restart but configuration file is loaded in full.)
• Improve startup error handling.
• Fix input focus issues.
• Fix max layout 'flickering' issue when focus_mode = follow.
• Fix ws_next_move and ws_prev_move.
• Fix withdrawn window handling.
• Fix focus issue when moving transient (and related) windows between workspaces.
• Fix maximized windows sometimes unmaximize on workspace switch.
• Fix SIGHUP restart.
• Fix transient window crossing issue on focus/swap next/prev actions.
• Fix border color issue when clicking to focus a window on an unfocused region.
• Fix keyboard_mapping fallback issue.
• Fix width calculation of Xft glyphs.
  (Fixes the (dis)appearing space when switching workspaces.)
• Increase bar hard limits to better accomodate complex markup sequences.
• Add workaround to man page for OSs ignoring LD_PRELOAD.
• Add some notes to man page and fix a warning.
• Add missing options to example spectrwm.conf.
• Update spectrwm_fr.conf
• linux: Add example baraction.sh script.
• linux: Accept user-provided pkg-config command.
• linux: Install examples.

spectrwm 3.3.0 released!

spectrwm 3.3.0

Released on Dec 19, 2019

• Add new bar text markup sequences for multiple colors/fonts/sections.
• Add new bar_font_pua option to assign a font (such as an icon font) to the Unicode Private Use Area (U+E000 -> U+F8FF).
• Extend disable_border option with always.
• Add support for XDG Base Directory Specification.
• Add OpenBSD pledge(2) support.
• Enable xinput2 on OpenBSD.
• Enable travis.
• Fix keysym binding issue with multiple keyboard layouts.
• Fix buffer overflow in bar_strlcat_esc.
• Fix infinite loop due to unsigned integer overflow.
• Fix cygwin compile issues.
• Fix NetBSD Makefile.
• Bunch of statical analyzer fixes.
• Bunch of minor fixes.

spectrwm 3.2.0 released!

spectrwm 3.2.0

Released on Sep 7, 2018

• Add new '+L' bar_format sequence to add a workspace list indicator to the bar.
• Add new 'workspace_indicator' option to configure the workspace indicator.
• Add new 'layout_vertical','layout_horizontal' and 'layout_max' actions. (Unbound by default.)
• Add new 'ws_empty_move' action. (Unbound by default.)
• Add support for high screen depth when creating frame/bar windows. (Compositing manager alpha transparency now works!)
• Add check to adapt move/resize update rate to the refresh rate of the active display(s).
• Add 'max' alias for the layout option value 'fullscreen' for consistency.
• Add CHANGELOG.md
• Fix warp_pointer issue when Coordinate Transformation Matrix is used. (Currently available on Linux and FreeBSD only.)
• Fix focus bar color on (re)start/screenchange.
• Fix libswmhack causing issues such as deadlocks with some programs.
• Fix config file parsing on musl libc.
• Fix slight pointer jump on move action.
• Fix segfault with missing FontSet charsets.
• Fix mdoc compliance.

spectrwm 3.1.0 released!

Major changes:

• Add +R for region index to bar formatting.
• Add new bar_color_selected and bar_font_color_selected options.
• Add new 'ws_empty' action.
• Enable padding in the bar_format using '_' character
• Handle MappingNotify during startup.
• Reset SIGPIPE before execvp().
• Correct size for WM_STATE

This release also fixes a bunch of bugs, linux build and man page nits.

spectrwm 3.0.2 released!

Quick patch release that addresses some fallout from going full reparenting.

• Ensure iconic windows stay iconic when reparenting.
• Fix workspace cleanup on RandR screenchange. Fixes #127 and #120