Remember Mir? The project that Canonical initiated in 2013 aimed to make it the main display server for their Unity desktop environment. To this day, despite being considered part of the company’s unsuccessful ventures, both projects still receive support, though their original objectives have been realigned.
Unity continues to receive backing within the open-source community, primarily via the Ubuntu Unity spin. Meanwhile, Canonical still supports Mir, focusing its use predominantly on IoT devices.
Here, one of its developers has shared exciting news that promises to enhance further the already diverse ecosystem of the Linux tiling window managers.
Introducing Miracle-WM: Tiling Perfection on Wayland
Miracle-WM is a fresh and ambitious Wayland compositor rooted in the foundations of the Mir display server, drawing inspiration from popular compositors like i3 and Sway but aiming to surpass them in both aesthetics and functionality.
Developed by Matthew Kosarek, a software engineer at Canonical working on the Mir display server, Miracle-WM emerges as a cutting-edge Wayland compositor that promises to redefine user experiences with its approach to window management.
With the project currently in development, Kosarek advises potential users that Miracle-WM is not yet ready to replace daily drivers.
However, his vision extends beyond replicating the success of i3 and Sway. The project aims to offer a flashier, more feature-rich experience, positioning itself as a formidable competitor to existing solutions like SwayFX.
The roadmap for Miracle-WM is clear, with a milestone set for July 2024 to achieve a stable, feature-complete version 1.0.0 release. Until then, all interim releases will carry a 0.x.0 versioning.
Features and Configuration
Miracle-WM boasts an array of built-in key commands designed for efficient window management, including layout adjustments, window selection and movement, and application control.
The compositor also introduces pointer behavior nuances, such as window selection on hover and toolbar interactions for window management, while limiting pointer-based window resizing and movement.
Moreover, it also supports gaps between windows, exclusion zones for panels such as Waybar, fullscreen windows, multi-output, and workspace support.
For users eager to dive in immediately, they can easily install it as a Snap package on their existing Ubuntu system by running:
sudo snap install miracle-wm --classicThen, log off and choose “Miracle” on the login screen to start the session.
However, we immediately make a warning, especially for more novice Ubuntu users – what you will encounter next requires certain technical skills. You’ll get a blank screen, which, to bring it into a usable working environment, requires a lot of configurations to be made.
In light of this, users can customize their experience through a configuration file, “miracle-wm.yaml,” generated upon the first launch and located in the user’s “.config” directory. Here is a link to the available configuration options and keyboard shortcuts for the tiling window manager.
For more information, visit the project’s GitHub page.
