What's Blackbox?

Blackbox is a fast, lightweight window manager for the X Window System. [Wikipedia link]
There are numerous other WMs (eg Fluxbox, Openbox) and even Windows shell replacements (eg Xoblite, bbLean) based on and/or inspired by Blackbox.


This group is made with these WMs/shells in mind. Share the *box spirit!


What's different about Blackbox
- It's very simplistic; some might even perceive it as ascetical or downright barren. When migrating from an environment filled with images, eye-candy and gadgets, the typical Blackbox desktop can shock a new user due to the sheer amount of empty space. It's called screen estate and some people value it and want as much of it as possible. It doesn't have to be this way - you can add most of the tools and gadgets that you have in other environments.
- Blackbox is very minimalist in its approach as a window manager. It manages windows, period. It doesn't do desktop icons and shortcuts, keyboard handling, flashy menus, tools and gadgets. All of these are available through 3rd-party tools and add-ons, which you can add to your environment as you please. It's just not Blackbox's job to provide them.
- Blackbox is very flexible! By sticking to the basics, but implementing common standards, it allows scores of 3rd-party tools to be used to expand its default functionality. You can use Blackbox as the foundation and create any kind of desktop you can imagine!

The Blackbox philosophy
- Do one thing and do it well: manage windows.
- Keep everything small, fast and simple.
- Follow the standards, and work with any tool or application that also follows standards.
- "Perfection is reached not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery

What's Blackbox?

Blackbox is a fast, lightweight window manager for the X Window System. [Wikipedia link]
There are numerous other WMs (eg Fluxbox, Openbox) and even Windows shell replacements (eg Xoblite, bbLean) based on and/or inspired by Blackbox.


This group is made with these WMs/shells in mind. Share the *box spirit!


What's different about Blackbox
- It's very simplistic; some might even perceive it as ascetical or downright barren. When migrating from an environment filled with images, eye-candy and gadgets, the typical Blackbox desktop can shock a new user due to the sheer amount of empty space. It's called screen estate and some people value it and want as much of it as possible. It doesn't have to be this way - you can add most of the tools and gadgets that you have in other environments.
- Blackbox is very minimalist in its approach as a window manager. It manages windows, period. It doesn't do desktop icons and shortcuts, keyboard handling, flashy menus, tools and gadgets. All of these are available through 3rd-party tools and add-ons, which you can add to your environment as you please. It's just not Blackbox's job to provide them.
- Blackbox is very flexible! By sticking to the basics, but implementing common standards, it allows scores of 3rd-party tools to be used to expand its default functionality. You can use Blackbox as the foundation and create any kind of desktop you can imagine!

The Blackbox philosophy
- Do one thing and do it well: manage windows.
- Keep everything small, fast and simple.
- Follow the standards, and work with any tool or application that also follows standards.
- "Perfection is reached not when there is no longer anything to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery