Install dwm (Dynamic Window Manager)
       
       Published at 2026-04-04 11:31
       
       This tutorial is a continuation of:
       
   DIR  🐧 Arch Linux Installation
       
       It assumes you already have a working Arch Linux system.
       
       dwm is a minimal, fast, and highly customizable tiling window 
       manager written in C. It follows the suckless philosophy: simple, 
       clean, and efficient. This tutorial is for the official dwm 
       installation.
       
       A lot of people, including me, have their own builds (with patches 
       and customizations) of dwm. If you would like to take a look at my 
       arch/dwm/slstatus build you can see it at:
       
  HTML  GitHub Repo Arch + DWM
       
       It has a handy install script that makes it easier to install.
       
       The README files should contain all the info you need. The 
       config.def.h in dwm and slstatus have comments to help you 
       customize your own dwm and slstatus.
       
       Let's install, for now, the official, unpatched DWM ...
       
       More info and documention are on:
       
  HTML  dwm official website
       
       Requirements
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       Before installing dwm, make sure you have:
       
        * a working Xorg installation
        * gcc
        * make
        * libX11
        * libXft
        * libXinerama (optional, for multi-monitor)
       
       On Arch Linux:
       
           sudo pacman -S base-devel libx11 libxft libxinerama xorg 
           xorg-xinit xorg-server
       
       Download dwm
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       Clone the official repository:
       
           git clone https://git.suckless.org/dwm
           cd dwm
       
       Configuration
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       dwm is configured by editing the file `config.def.h`
       
       Copy it:
       
           cp config.def.h config.h
       
       Edit `config.h` to customize:
       
        * keybindings
        * fonts
        * colors
        * layout behavior
       
       Read the comments. It's all explained and you can easily 
       customize dwm to your liking!
       
       Install
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
           sudo make install
       
       Running dwm
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       Add to your ~/.xinitrc:
       
           exec dwm
       
       If you are starting other processes make sure they are before 
       exec dwm (notice the & at the end of the commands - it runs the
       processes in the background as daemons):
       
           # set wallpaper
           feh --bg-scale ~/Work/dwm/wallpaper.jpg &
           # start dunst notification daemon
           dunst &
           # start custom bash script
           /home/sava/.config/scripts/music_notification.sh &
           #start slstatus
           slstatus &
           # start dwm
           exec dwm
       
       and then start X:
       
           startx
       
       Default Keybindings
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       Mod key = Alt or Super
       
        * Mod + Enter → terminal
        * Mod + j / k → focus
        * Mod + Shift + q → quit
        * Mod + d → launcher (if configured)
       
       Patching dwm
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       There are a lot of custom patches for dwm, make by users like you 
       and me, that customize DWM and make it better. A full list 
       of patches are avaiable at:
       
  HTML  dwm patches
       
       To apply a patch you can download it to the dwm folder and run:
       
           patch -p1 < patch.diff
       
       Once the patch is done, rebuild:
       
           make clean install
       
       Tips
       ‾‾‾‾
        * Backup your config.h
        * Read the source code (it's small!)
        * Use dmenu for launching apps
       
       Troubleshooting
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       Just in case DWM doesn't start you should
       
        * check ~/.xinitrc for typos
        * verify Xorg works
        * check logs: ~/.local/share/xorg/Xorg.0.log
       
       Conclusion
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
       dwm is powerful because of its simplicity. Once set up, it gives 
       you a fast, distraction free environment.
       
       Enjoy your minimal setup!
       
       🪙 Donate
       ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
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       crisis... consider fueling future chaos with a small donation:
       
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