# djpohly/dwl

dwm for Wayland - ARCHIVE: development has moved to Codeberg

Repository: https://github.com/djpohly/dwl
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/dwl
Homepage: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl
Language: C
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: wayland-compositor, wlroots, tiling, wayland, compositor
Archived: true
Last push: 2023-11-25T07:38:10+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:39:23.370411+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 2335, "days_push": 1012, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived, no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1975, forks 265 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:01.272369+00:00)

## What it is
dwl is a compact, hackable tiling Wayland compositor built on wlroots, designed to fill the same role in the Wayland world that dwm does in X11. It is intentionally limited to a small C codebase configured via config.h, prioritizing simplicity, hackability, and minimal external dependencies.

## Use cases
- run a minimal tiling window manager on Wayland
- hack on a small Wayland compositor codebase
- use dwm-style tags and keybindings on Wayland
- build a custom Wayland compositor from a tiny base
- get a lightweight multi-monitor Wayland desktop with HiDPI support

## When to choose
- you want dwm's philosophy and workflow on Wayland
- you prefer a tiny, patchable C codebase over a feature-rich compositor
- you want minimal dependencies and a built-in status bar with external bar support
- you need XWayland support in a minimal compositor

## When to avoid
- you want animations, visual effects, or client-side decorations
- you need a full-featured desktop environment out of the box
- you prefer configuration without recompiling
- you want client-initiated window management features

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: gui, developer-tools
- domain: operating-systems, desktop-applications, cross-platform
- platform: cpp, c
- tags: wayland-compositor, wlroots, tiling-window-manager, dwm, minimalist, hackable, linux

## Member repositories
- djpohly/dwl (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:01.272369+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T03:04:52.908050+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/djpohly/dwl (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:01.272369+00:00, sha 919ad74f7fe7)
  - homepage: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl (fetched 2026-08-29T10:44:09.079218+00:00, sha dd9f1db7f9d8)
  - site_page: https://docs.codeberg.org/getting-started/what-is-codeberg (fetched 2026-08-29T10:44:09.083677+00:00, sha fe3047f34c81)
  - site_page: https://docs.codeberg.org/getting-started/faq (fetched 2026-08-29T10:44:09.085928+00:00, sha 7ffd1ab1d66b)
  - site_page: https://docs.codeberg.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:44:09.091372+00:00, sha 3c642f9d47c9)
  - site_page: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/releases (fetched 2026-08-29T10:44:09.087954+00:00, sha 525dffe3be8e)
  - site_page: https://codeberg.org/dwl/dwl/src/branch/main/CHANGELOG.md (fetched 2026-08-29T10:44:09.089783+00:00, sha b1e458d5b059)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.