Window Manager vs. Desktop Environment

Linux is all about choice. Take the graphical user interface (GUI) you use. With Windows and macOS, you're locked into using the desktops Microsoft and Apple, respectively, have chosen for you. But with Linux desktop environments, the sky’s the limit. We've tested the two main ways to customize Linux—a windows manager and a desktop environment—to help you choose.

There are so many ways to customize your Linux environment. Depending on the Linux distribution you're using and how tech-savvy you are, you may want a window manager, a desktop environment, or both.

All GUIs require an X Window System layer, which is responsible for drawing graphic elements onto the display. Without the X server, neither a window manager nor a desktop environment could create images on your Linux display. X also creates a framework for moving windows and performing tasks using a mouse and keyboard.

Where X draws graphical elements onto the display, a window manager controls their placement and appearance. Popular window managers include Enlightenment, Gala, Mutter, kwin, i3, Joe's Window Manager (JWM), Window Maker, and IceWM. Window managers require X but not a desktop environment.

A desktop environment requires both X and a window manager. It also adds a much deeper and seamless integration with applications, panels, system menus, status applets, drag-and-drop functionality, and more. The most popular desktop environments are the GNU Network Object Model Environment (GNOME), K Desktop Environment (KDE) Plasma, Pantheon, MATE, Cinnamon, and Ubuntu Budgie.

If you like tweaking your tech, you'll like the flexibility of window managers like Enlightenment. Desktop environments tend to be rigid, but most window managers are highly configurable. Using themes, transparencies, menu editors, and the like, you can customize a window manager to look and behave the way you want.

For most people, the logical choice for Linux is a desktop environment. Both macOS and Windows offer fully integrated desktop environments. Their default configurations work well for the average user. In contrast, window managers require that you to take time to tweak the environment—sometimes by manually editing a configuration file—to meet your needs. If you're like most new Linux users, you're migrating to Linux from either macOS or Windows. So, you'll probably want an environment that offers the simplicity and level of integration you're used to.

Sounds simple, right? Generally speaking, it is. As a new Linux user, you would be more comfortable with a Linux distribution that uses a full-featured desktop environment than a window manager on its own. Typically, window managers aren’t the user-friendliest environments. Some, however, mimic the integration found in desktop environments closely—although there is a caveat.

Take, for example, the Enlightenment window manager. Enlightenment does a great job of offering many of the elements found in a desktop environment, but it’s not for the faint of heart. You'll have to learn the window manager's nomenclature for various desktop elements. In some cases, you may have to configure the desktop by editing text files.

Whether you go with a window manager or a desktop environment depends on how much time you want to spend configuring your Linux environment and how seamlessly integrated you want your desktop to be with your applications. If you like the idea of constantly tweaking the desktop and don’t need that much integration, go with a window manager. If you want a desktop that simply works for you, with little tweaking, go with a desktop environment such as GNOME or KDE Plasma.