Jwno
Dev tools
window manager
SHOW HN2025
297points
103comments
#185of 3,837 in 2025
Top 5%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
LovedMost comments that take a side are positive
20 positive, 12 neutral or asking, 2 mixed, 2 critical, out of 36 comments about the project. Thread score +0.45.
Idea: 12 for, 0 againstDesign: 3 for, 1 againstExecution: 2 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Lisp/Janet scripting and REPL are appealing
From 3 comments
I'm curious, did you find there were things that were easier to do because it's Janet/lisp-like language? Or you just fancied like using it (perfectly valid reason of course!). I…
rich_sasha on HNI find the REPL and interactive development workflow invaluable. A window manager is a long-running background service by nature, and has a lot of accumulated runtime states. The…
agentkilo on HN> You can implement custom commands and hooks to trigger. It's even possible to call native Win32 APIs in your own implementations. For example, to always move a Notepad window…
90s_dev on HN
Useful for Windows users wanting tiling
From 3 comments
Janet looks really neat. And this project seems really cool. Windows DESPERATELY needs a more powerful built-in manager. It's ridiculous to use the mouse all the time.
aus10d on HNWhoa, very cool. I love WMs, I love Lisp, and I hate Windows. This seems to be a perfect "medicine" for my frustration with it.
iLemming on HNSo amazing. I might have to use Windows soon, against my will, and this could sweeten the deal for me considerably!
-__---____-ZXyw on HN
UI hint feature is compelling
From 1 comment
That UI hinting feature is killer. Is something similar available outside of this repo?
avindrag on HN
Objections
Does not work out of the box without a config file; onboarding is intimidating
From 1 comment
This looks to have great potential for accessibility! I work with individuals who use eye gaze input, where a significant part of the screen is taken up by an on-screen keyboard…
weeb on HN
Tiling struggles with modal dialogs and docked panels
From 1 comment
My experiences with tiling window managers is that they struggle in judging a modal screen like a confirmation box or detachable/dockable mini-containers like the interface of…
once_inc on HN
No multi-monitor or ultrawide support documented
From 2 comments
I recently tried hyprland after using xmonad for like 10+ years and wondered about the decision to bind workspaces to displays. I didnt like that. How does Jwno handle multiple…
entropie on HNLong-time StumpWM user, before I switched back to Windows a few years ago. This is super-exciting to see, and I'm going to take it for a spin. It might just address my major…
TeMPOraL on HN
Requests
Support for reserving screen space, e.g. for on-screen keyboards
From 1 comment
This looks to have great potential for accessibility! I work with individuals who use eye gaze input, where a significant part of the screen is taken up by an on-screen keyboard…
weeb on HN
Better docs on multi-monitor handling
From 1 comment
I recently tried hyprland after using xmonad for like 10+ years and wondered about the decision to bind workspaces to displays. I didnt like that. How does Jwno handle multiple…
entropie on HN
Questions
How does it compare to komorebi
From 1 comment
How does it compare to komorebi? I've been using it for about 5 months with great success. I'm a Hyprland user when I'm on my personal machine, but for windows Komorebi has let…
MisterKent on HN
Does it affect Windows focus stealing
From 1 comment
Does your project have any influence on Windows focus stealing?
xtiansimon on HN
What scripting automation is possible compared to Sway-style IPC
From 1 comment
What kinds of automation are possible with having a scripting language inside your WM, rather than Sway-style IPC? I heard the new Windows WMs were where most pure workflow…
pona-a on HN
Alternatives named
komorebi
From 2 comments
Just in case someone new is looking, komorebi is great: https://github.com/LGUG2Z/komorebi
piskov on HNHow does it compare to komorebi? I've been using it for about 5 months with great success. I'm a Hyprland user when I'm on my personal machine, but for windows Komorebi has let…
MisterKent on HN
PaperWM
From 1 comment
I always disliked the chaos that happens quickly with application windows, and loved the idea of tiling. But none of them really worked for me practically until I found PaperWM…
Pfeil on HN
Rectangle / RectangleWin
From 2 comments
It's not a tiling manager but slightly related: I replicated Spectacle/Rectangle (macOS apps) on Windows a while ago to snap windows to edges/corners/two-thirds/one-thirds etc a…
alpb on HNI always disliked the chaos that happens quickly with application windows, and loved the idea of tiling. But none of them really worked for me practically until I found PaperWM…
Pfeil on HN