Abstract:

This video provides a comprehensive, step-by-step tutorial for Linux users on how to install, patch, and customize the dwm (Dynamic Window Manager) and other suckless utilities like st (simple terminal) and dmenu. The guide begins by demonstrating the initial installation process, which involves cloning the source code repositories with git and compiling the software using make. It then covers the basic usage and default keybindings of dwm. A significant portion of the video is dedicated to the concept of patching, showing how to download and apply patches to add features like window gaps (uselessgaps), centered floating windows (alwayscenter), and modified window attachment behavior (attachabove). The tutorial includes a crucial troubleshooting section that details how to manually resolve patch conflicts and fix compilation errors. Finally, the video walks through "ricing" (visual customization), covering how to change colors and fonts by editing the config.h file, set a wallpaper with feh, enable transparency and effects with the picom compositor, and configure a dynamic status bar using slstatus.

An Ultimate Guide to Installing and Customizing DWM

• 00:00:01 Introduction: The video is a guide for users who want to move from a standard desktop environment to a minimalist, customizable setup using suckless software like dwm, dmenu, and st.
• 01:54 Initial Installation: Demonstrates how to use the git clone command to download the source code for dwm, dmenu, and st directly from the suckless.org website.
• 05:19 Compiling the Software: The guide shows that to install each program, you must navigate into its source directory and run the command sudo make clean install, which compiles the code and places the executables in the system path.
• 07:01 First Boot & Basic Usage: Explains how to edit the .xinitrc file to launch dwm upon login. It covers essential default keybindings:
  • Alt + Shift + Enter: Open a new terminal.
  • Alt + P: Launch a program with dmenu.
  • Alt + Shift + C: Close the selected window.
  • Alt + J/K: Navigate between windows.
• 11:11 Introduction to Patching: Dwm's core philosophy is minimalism; new features are added via patches. The tutorial will demonstrate this by installing the alwayscenter, uselessgaps, and attachabove patches.
• 20:39 Troubleshooting Failed Patches: A critical section on how to handle patches that fail to apply cleanly. The process involves examining the generated .rej (reject) files and manually editing the C source code (dwm.c, config.def.h) to resolve the conflicts.
• 31:13 Fixing Compilation Errors: Shows how to read compiler errors after a manual patch, identify the issue (in this case, a typo), and fix the source code to allow for a successful compilation.
• 33:25 Ricing (Customization): Colors & Fonts: Customization is done by directly editing the config.h file. The video shows how to change dwm's colors, border pixel size, and fonts. Every change requires recompiling the software.
• 41:16 Adding a Wallpaper: The guide walks through installing feh, a lightweight image viewer, and using the feh --bg-fill command to set a desktop wallpaper. This command is added to .xinitrc to run automatically at startup.
• 42:56 Compositor for Effects: To achieve modern visual effects like transparency, shadows, and blur, the picom compositor is installed and configured. It is also added to .xinitrc to run on login.
• 44:45 Enabling Terminal Transparency: To make the st terminal transparent, the guide explains you must apply the alpha patch to the st source code and recompile it.
• 47:10 Customizing the Status Bar: The tutorial demonstrates installing slstatus, a suckless status bar utility. By editing its config.h and adding it to .xinitrc, the status bar can be customized to show system information like CPU usage, date, and time. Error: value error