EXWM
Hacker ApprovedShares rank 13 of 30 window managers by recommenders
Free Emacs-based X window manager that lets you manage windows the same way as Emacs buffers. Critics say it is single-threaded, so window management freezes whenever Emacs does.
Free Emacs-based X window manager that lets you manage windows the same way as Emacs buffers. Critics say it is single-threaded, so window management freezes whenever Emacs does.
12 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 10
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 83%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 10 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Rarely causes problems in daily use
“I don't think I've ever had a problem with the single-threaded behaviour blocking window management there.”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “How I am deeply integrating Emacs” “I didn't even notice in my daily interactions with the system.”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Emacs is my new window manager (2015)” Devoted users refuse to switch
“Because you can pry EXWM and StumpWM out of my cold dead hands.”
Comment from 14 Nov 2025 in “Moving Back to a Tiling WM – XMonad” “You'll have to pry EXWM[0] from my cold, dead hands”
Comment from 5 Nov 2025 in “Gnome Mutter Now "Completely Drops the Whole X11 Back End"”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Freezes when Emacs is busy
“EXWM is single threaded, so the window management blocks when emacs does”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Emacs is my new window manager (2015)” “what an indictment on the state of software that your whole desktop freezing once a month is considered ok”
Comment from 8 Dec 2025 in “Emacs is my new window manager (2015)” “exwm is imho fundamentally flawed, especially when running emacs or doing emacs stuff inside it”
Comment from 6 Nov 2025 in “How I am deeply integrating Emacs”
Other window managers people recommend
The four most recommended other window managers, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyprland | 82 | 33 | 71% | 12 | 1 mo4 owners | Approved |
| Rectangle for macOS | 67 | 3 | 96% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Enlightenment window manager | 51 | 19 | 73% | 8 | — | Approved |
| FVWM | 28 | 4 | 88% | 8 | 25 yrs7 owners | Approved |
| EXWMThis page | 10 | 2 | 83% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
15 of the 18 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“just use exwm or whatever the current wayland equivalent is”
“they don't really because you still end up with competing bindings.”
“It's the most efficient free tiling model I've encountered so far”
“EXWM is single threaded, so the window management blocks when emacs does”
“I didn't even notice in my daily interactions with the system.”
“what an indictment on the state of software that your whole desktop freezing once a month is considered ok”
“Only having issues with floating windows so far.”
“Really impressed that it comes as a desktop option for GUIX.”
“having the same flow to manage X applications as for emacs buffers is a huge benefit”
“Because you can pry EXWM and StumpWM out of my cold dead hands.”
“exwm is imho fundamentally flawed, especially when running emacs or doing emacs stuff inside it”
“I absolutely love it as a coding environment.”
“EXWM + Qutebrowser can work like that.”
“I don't think I've ever had a problem with the single-threaded behaviour blocking window management there.”
“You'll have to pry EXWM[0] from my cold, dead hands”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.