Subtle

Subtle application is a tiling window manager that offers a unique approach to arranging windows. Unlike other similar window managers like Wmii or Ion, subtle arranges child-windows either horizontally or vertically. The application employs a tiling window layout, which allows windows to be moved and dragged within a tile and automatically placed according to the tile type. Each window can be swapped and shaded within its parent tile. This behavior is inspired by Wily, an emulation of the well-known Plan9 editor, ACME.

Configuring and theming in subtle is done via Lua. The application also features an extendable status bar attached to the main tile. Sublets, small Lua scripts, provide various features such as a customizable clock and a small progress bar for laptop battery capacity.

Subtle was initially based on Aewm, but it has since been completely rewritten with the goal of simplicity and flexibility in mind while avoiding a bloated interface. Users have the option of controlling the application with either the mouse or keyboard, depending on their preference. Overall, subtle is an excellent choice for managing multiple windows easily and efficiently.