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Welcome to the Slackware Documentation Project

Fluxbox

Fluxbox is a window manager for X, based on Blackbox 0.61.1 code (deprecated), very light and fast, with several window management tools such as tabs, groupings, docks, etc. Configuration files are simple and easily editable, allowing high customization. Fluxbox is written in C++ and licensed under an MIT license.

Installation

Fluxbox is part of the Slackware installation media. The latest stable version, Slackware 14.2, comes with the latest version 1.3.7, released in 2015. During the installation process, it is installed with the /slackware/xap packages.

If you haven't installed Fluxbox with Slackware, adding it to an existing installation is simple:

darkstar~# slackpkg install fluxbox

Startup

At installation time, you can select Fluxbox as your window manager in step SELECT DEFAULT WINDOW MANAGER FOR X. So you can start Fluxbox with X:

darkstar~# startx

Or, more specifically, if fluxbox is not your default manager:

darkstar~# startfluxbox

For an installed system, you can switch between window managers by running the xwmconfig script as root:

darkstar~# xwmconfig

Configuration

Fluxbox is configured using very simple and highly intuitive text files. These files define everything from the basic appearance and behavior of windows to programs and services started with the X session. Examples of these files can be found on the internet and explanations of the syntax can be consulted on the man pages (or, equivalently, in the website of the project), which are extremely detailed: fluxbox(1), startfluxbox(1), fluxbox-keys(5), fluxbox-menu(5), fluxbox-apps(5), fluxbox-style(5), fluxbox-remote(1), fbrun(1) e fbsetbg(1).

Being a light and simple window manager, Fluxbox works without desktop icons or native management applications. Its operation is based on menus and shortcuts (hotkeys), and on the behavior of windows. These can be grouped, pinned and moved across the various workspaces that can be created.

Briefly, the Fluxbox configuration files, available in the ~/.fluxbox directory, are:

init - main configuration file.

menu - application menu definition (root-menu).

keys - definition of hotkeys.

startup - definition of tasks and applications to be launched with Fluxbox.

overlay - a configuration file that overrides the definitions in the styles file. Another customization tool.

apps - configuration file that stores features for specific application windows.

windowmenu - Window menu definition.

Keyboard layout

Looks

The specific appearance of the Fluxbox (colors, transparency, window borders, etc) is defined by the theme file, located inside the ~/.fluxbox/styles folder. You can change the theme by adopting one of those included by default, editing the files already mentioned or adding new styles (e.g. from https://www.box-look.org).

Desktop Utils/Plugins

If you want to add desktop icons and other features to Fluxbox, take a look at fbdesk or idesk.

Sources

 howtos:window_managers:fluxbox ()