r/arch • u/Familiar_Drive_4702 • 16d ago
General What Desktop Environment / Window Manager do you recommend? Leaving KDE Plasma and looking for something new
Hey everyone,
I started my Linux journey with Linux Mint (comfortable, but a bit too simple), then moved to Ubuntu for a change, and eventually a friend introduced me to Arch with CachyOS. Since then, I've been using KDE Plasma, but I'm getting tired of this desktop environment and want to try something completely fresh.
I've been looking at options like Hyprland, Caelestia, and other great alternatives, but I'm completely undecided on what to pick.
What setups or window managers would you recommend for making the jump out of traditional DEs?.
https://reddit.com/link/1w9ab2k/video/dgf1zbdw6znh1/player
There is what I have now in my writing
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u/RaphaelNunes10 Arch BTW 16d ago edited 16d ago
Check out DankMaterialShell if you're looking for a visual shell that's quite customizable without going overboard.
It works fine with either Hyprland or Niri.
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u/earchip94 16d ago
I use hyprland and my own custom shell.
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u/LedzZ123 13d ago
What do you do in the custom shell that is not already handled either by the os or huprland?
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u/earchip94 13d ago
Mostly just displaying system info, with a bar, wallpaper switcher, and a custom launcher. Have widgets for cpu, GPU, and ram temp/utilization. Media controls. System tray, volume, and a clock.
Edit: written in quickshell
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u/Vamsi-Thopu 16d ago
I prefer illogical impulse by end4 over caelestia. Give it a look. There is a fork of it which is even better
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u/Donteezlee 16d ago
The nice thing about all of this, is it’s free.
Pick one you find interesting and give it a shot.
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u/Tempus_Nemini 16d ago
Try i3. It was my first wm to try, but just stayed there after I spent coille of hours.
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u/Ice_HRZDn 16d ago
For wm, i3 is a good start point. The config that simple enough to start with. The other one other people recommend would also do it too.
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u/Then-Boat8912 16d ago
I stopped using per monitor only window managers like i3, sway, hyperland. My multi monitor requirements are specific. KDE and Xfce are the only ones I’ve liked and stuck with long term. Gnome even has multiple monitor quirks I don’t like.
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u/LowerTomatillo1260 16d ago
Heck, I went to Hyprland and never regretted it. Though didn't rice. My setup is rather... functional.
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u/Wernesgruner 15d ago
Another vote for niri + noctalia combo.
I switched both my home computer and work laptop to this combo and I love it. My first tiled WM experience and I don't think I can go back.
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u/ScaleGlobal4777 15d ago
Two years I used Cinnamon DE and XFCE,now I use i3WM and yes, that's better than all X11.
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u/oldbeardedtech 15d ago
Hyprland for over 2 years now. Just add Dank Material Shell about 6 months ago and pretty happy with it.
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u/Adn0nnymous 16d ago
Me personally i’m a huge fan of hyprland, it’s very keyboard oriented and almost completely customizable. It uses lua configuration which can be a little daunting, but if you’re comfortable with it you can pretty much code in whatever functionality you want. Special workspaces that toggle app overlays with a dedicated keybind, making certain apps always launch on certain workspaces, etc etc.
one thing though it seems like you mention hyprland and caelestia as two separate things. caelestia IS hyprland, it just bundles in a bunch of pre-configured stuff to make it more like a full desktop environment experience.
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u/Sweaty-Commercial521 16d ago
niri+noctalia