XSteve's StumpWM page
After several years of using Ion2 and later Ion3 I finally switched to StumpWM. The reasons, why I prefer StumpWM now are:- StumpWM is easier to learn (C-t C-h) offers a built-in command help
- Since I am an Elisp hacker, I know (and like) lisp much better than lua
- The mental model behind StumpWM is easier to grasp than the ion model
- It took me two evenings to convert my ion setup to StumpWM
Links to StumpWM ressources on the net
Allow to select StumpWM as session on Ubuntu
gksu nano /usr/share/xsessions/stumpwm.desktop
Paste this in:
[Desktop Entry] Encoding=UTF-8 Type=XSession Exec=stumpwm TryExec=stumpwm Name=StumpWM Comment=Stump window manager
Some parts of my ~/.stumpwmrc
Activate lisp mode when using emacs and declare the package name:;; -*-lisp-*- (in-package :stumpwm)
Load some packges from the git stumpwm contrib directory:
(load "/home/stefan/work/git/stumpwm/contrib/net.lisp") (load "/home/stefan/work/git/stumpwm/contrib/cpu.lisp")
I set the prefix key to the menu key. This key is easier to type than Ctrl-t:
;; Change the Stumpwm prefix key: Use the menu key (set-prefix-key (kbd "Menu"))
Define a bunch of commands to switch to an already started application or to start it if it is not yet running:
(defcommand emacs () () "run emacs" (run-or-raise "emacs-snapshot -T emacs" '(:title "emacs"))) (defcommand firefox () () "run firefox" (run-or-raise "firefox" '(:class "Firefox"))) (defcommand chromium () () "run chromium" (run-or-raise "chromium-browser" '(:instance "chromium-browser"))) (defcommand aumix () () "run aumix" (run-or-raise "xterm -name aumix -e aumix" '(:instance "aumix"))) (defcommand xterm-1 () () "run an xterm instance" (run-or-raise "xterm -name xterm1 -e 'cd /data/txt && zsh'" '(:instance "xterm1"))) (defcommand xterm-2 () () "run an xterm instance" (run-or-raise "xterm -name xterm2" '(:instance "xterm2")))
Turn on the modeline
;; Turn on the modeline
(if (not (head-mode-line (current-head)))
(toggle-mode-line (current-screen) (current-head)))
;; Show time, cpu usage and network traffic in the modeline
(setf *screen-mode-line-format*
(list '(:eval (run-shell-command "date '+%R, %F %a'|tr -d [:cntrl:]" t)) " | %t | %c| %l | [^B%n^b] %W"))
Select a random background image from a given folder
;; Define the background window
(defvar *background-image-path* "/home/stefan/background-images/")
(defun select-random-background-image ()
"Select a random image"
(let ((file-list (directory (concatenate 'string *background-image-path* "*.jpg")))
(*random-state* (make-random-state t)))
(namestring (nth (random (length file-list)) file-list))))
(run-shell-command (concatenate 'string "display -window root " (select-random-background-image)))
Define some toplevel keybindings. These bindings don't require the prefix key. I use them to switch between my open applications:
(define-key *top-map* (kbd "M-3") "firefox") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "M-4") "emacs") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "M-5") "xterm-1") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "M-6") "xterm-2") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "M-0") "aumix") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "M-F9") "loadrc") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "Pause") "gother") (define-key *top-map* (kbd "C-Pause") "grouplist")
Some keybindings for the defined prefix key:
(define-key *root-map* (kbd "DEL") "repack-window-numbers") (define-key *root-map* (kbd "I") "show-window-properties")
Set the mouse policy to focus follows mouse;
(setf *mouse-focus-policy* :sloppy) ;; :click, :ignore, :sloppy
Create some new virtual desktops (called groups in stumpwm):
(run-commands "gnewbg Web" "gnewbg Media")
My window placement rules:
;; Clear rules (clear-window-placement-rules) (define-frame-preference "Default" ;; frame raise lock (lock AND raise == jumpto) (0 t t :title "emacs") (0 t t :class "XTerm")) (define-frame-preference "Web" ;; frame raise lock (lock AND raise == jumpto) (0 t t :class "Firefox")) (define-frame-preference "Media" ;; frame raise lock (lock AND raise == jumpto) (0 t t :instance "aumix") (0 t t :class "MPlayer") (0 t t :class "Avidemux"))
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