sway
A Wayland window manager for Linux that works with i3 configs.
- Stars
- 17.5k
- Forks
- 1.3k
- Licence
- MIT
- Language
- C
- Last update
- 2 months ago
- Type
- App
What it is
Sway is a tiling window manager for Linux desktops that runs on Wayland, the newer display system that has been replacing X11. It is compatible with i3, so people who already use i3 can usually reuse their config file. You start it from a login terminal or display manager and it arranges your windows automatically.
- Arrange application windows in tiles using keyboard shortcuts
- Reuse an existing i3 configuration file on a Wayland session
- Set a wallpaper with the optional swaybg tool
Great for
- Linux users who already use i3 and want Wayland
- People who prefer keyboard-driven tiling window layouts
- Users comfortable editing a text config file
- Developers testing Wayland desktop setups
Not ideal for
- Users who want a full desktop environment out of the box, since sway is only a window manager and needs other tools for panels and wallpapers
- Users on macOS or Windows, since the README describes it only as a Linux Wayland compositor
- Beginners who want a point-and-click setup, since configuration is text-based
How to get it
- 1
Install with a package manager
You'll need: meson · wlroots · wayland · wayland-protocols · pcre2
Build setup from source
meson setup build/Compile
ninja -C build/Install
sudo ninja -C build/ install - 2
Run it
- Install sway from your distribution's package manager, or build it from source
- Copy your i3 config to ~/.config/sway/config, or copy the sample config from /etc/sway/config
- Run sway from a TTY or from a display manager
- Run man 5 sway to learn the configuration options
- 3
Get the most out of it
- Use your existing i3 config directly if you already have one
- Read the man page with man 5 sway for configuration details
- Install the optional swaybg package to set wallpapers
- Check the project wiki linked from the README for the FAQ and development setup
Downloads
Strengths
- Compatible with i3 configuration files, per the README
- Runs on Wayland, a modern display protocol
- Open-source under the MIT license with signed releases
Trade-offs
- Requires Linux and a Wayland-capable setup; the README does not cover other platforms
- Installation from source needs several build dependencies, and the README links to a wiki for development builds
- Relies on the separate wlroots project, so setup can depend on your distribution
How it compares
| Project | Stars | Type | Level | Updated | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| sway (this) | 17.5k | App | intermediate | 2 months ago | Linux users who already use i3 and want Wayland |
| Waybar | 12.1k | App | intermediate | 9 days ago | Sway or Hyprland users who want a configurable status bar |
Stats synced from GitHub. The assessment above was drafted with AI from the project's README on 2026-10-29 and may miss recent changes — check the README before relying on a command. MIT licence: free to use, modify and distribute, including commercially, as long as you keep the copyright notice.