Window Maker Alternatives

Window Maker is described as 'Has a reputation for being fast, efficient and highly stable. Window Maker has been characterized as reproducing "the elegant look and feel of the NeXTstep GUI" and is noted as "easy to configure and easy to use' and is a desktop environment in the os & utilities category. There are more than 25 alternatives to Window Maker for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, BSD, Mac and Ubuntu apps. The best Window Maker alternative is KDE Plasma, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Window Maker are GNOME, Xfce, Open Shell and Cinnamon.

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Alternatives list

  1. Openbox icon
     78 likes

    Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

    75 Openbox alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  2. Enlightenment icon
     52 likes

    Enlightenment is a Window Manager, Compositor and Minimal Desktop for Linux (the primary platform), BSD and any other compatible UNIX system.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Linux
    • BSD
     
  3. Kera Desktop icon
     9 likes

    An easy, pleasant, speedy, and exciting way to use your favorite OS.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Mac
    • Windows
    • Linux
    • Chrome OS
     
  4. WindowBlinds icon
     18 likes

    Customize Windows 10 and 11 with skins for Start menu and taskbar. Includes SkinStudio for designing skins, offering personalized fonts, and color and transparency adjustments.

    37 WindowBlinds alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Paid
    • Proprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  5. Phosh icon
     5 likes

    Phosh is a pure Wayland shell for GNOME on mobile devices like the Purism Librem 5.

    Cost / License

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Linux Mobile
    • GNOME
     
  6. The Emerald Theme Manager allows you to install, edit and switch between Emerald themes. In order for it to work, select Emerald as your window decorator. You will also need to enable the Window Decorations plugin (via CCSM).

    51 Emerald Theme Manager alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Debian
    • Ubuntu
    • BSD
     
  7. Emerge Desktop icon
     16 likes

    Emerge Desktop is a replacement Windows "shell" (the desktop environment normally provided by Windows Explorer) for Windows 2000 and above. In order to replace Windows Explorer as a shell, it provides a system tray (the area that collects the icons collected at the...

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  8. DMS icon
     1 like

    Desktop shell for wayland compositors built with Quickshell & GO, optimized for niri, hyprland, sway, MangoWC, and labwc.

    31 DMS alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source (MIT)

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Wayland
     
  9. SharpEnviro icon
     15 likes

    SharpEnviro (or SharpE) is an open source shell replacement system for Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. When using SharpEnviro the default Windows desktop is replaced by a new and more powerful desktop environment.

    26 SharpEnviro alternatives

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
  10. FyneDesk icon
     1 like

    FyneDesk is an easy to use Linux/Unix desktop environment following material design. It is built using the Fyne toolkit and is designed to be easy to use as well as easy to develop. We use the Go language and welcome any contributions or feedback for the project.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Linux
    • Go (Programming Language)
     
  11. BB4Win icon
     19 likes

    BB4Win (Blackbox for Windows) is an alternative shell for Microsoft Windows. The program aims to emulate the look and feel of a Linux based desktop. The BB4Win project was discontinued in 2005 but various branches have been built from the source.

    Cost / License

    • Free
    • Open Source

    Alerts

    • Discontinued

    Platforms

    • Windows
     
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