Familiar by default
Start on the left. Applications in the taskbar. Workspaces, status controls, clock and conventional window buttons where desktop users already expect them.
In development · X11-first
IceWM speed.
Finished-desktop UX.
FlameWM is IceWM made friendly by ArkFlame Studios — a lightweight desktop built around the familiar workflow of modern Windows and KDE, without importing a heavyweight desktop shell.
A lightweight desktop should still feel complete.
Familiar immediately. Quiet when you work.
FlameWM keeps IceWM's mature window-management engine underneath and replaces the exposed configuration-heavy experience with deliberate defaults, a coherent taskbar, simple settings, modern window layouts and native system controls.
Fast by construction
The shell stays native and event-driven. No Qt, GTK, QML, Electron or web runtime is required to make the FlameWM desktop itself work.
Finished by default
The desktop is a product, not a construction kit. The useful path is visible; advanced IceWM configuration can remain an expert escape hatch.
Simple by default
Settings for people, not window-manager internals.
Appearance, desktop, taskbar, displays, fonts and hotkeys are presented as direct choices. Change the wallpaper, accent, taskbar edge or size without learning IceWM preference files or raw pixel geometry.
- Flame red visual identity with system icon-theme support
- Wallpaper, taskbar and desktop controls in one coherent surface
- Per-display resolution and FlameWM shell scale controls
- Curated hotkeys with clear capture, conflict and reset behavior
Desktop workflow
One taskbar. The controls you actually use.
FlameWM turns IceWM's panel foundations into a modern desktop taskbar: Start, pinned and running applications, workspaces, media, audio, networking, tray items and clock — with deliberate spacing and no legacy monitor clutter by default.
Pin & reorderKeep favorite apps stable and drag entries into the order that fits your workflow.
Multiple windowsOpen windows remain independently addressable instead of disappearing into one ambiguous activity.
Four edgesDock the taskbar to bottom, top, left or right without a separate panel-edit mode.
WorkspacesAdd, remove and navigate virtual desktops without exposing low-level workspace configuration.
Modern window management
Lightweight does not have to mean primitive.
FlameWM keeps IceWM's proven window, workspace and task state authorities, then adds the interaction layer desktop users expect today.
Snap with intent
Drag to halves, corners or the top edge and get a clear placement preview before the window commits.
Desktops that stay simple
Runtime workspaces, directional navigation and drag-through-edge movement use IceWM's existing desktop engine instead of a second state system.
A real desktop surface
Files, folders, grid placement, selection and FlameWM's desktop identity belong to a lightweight desktop layer rather than a resident heavyweight file manager.
Native system controls
Audio, Wi-Fi and media controls are designed as small event-driven integrations with the Linux services already responsible for those systems.
Instant, bounded personalization
Safe appearance changes apply live. The interface exposes semantic choices instead of turning every metric into another number the user must tune.
Low overhead is a release gate
Memory, startup time, idle CPU and wakeups are measured rather than assumed. Permanent processes must justify their cost.
Architecture
Keep the engine.
Keep the engine.
Replace the friction.
FlameWM is not a rewrite of a working window manager. IceWM keeps ownership of windows, focus, workspaces, work areas, task state, tray behavior and X11 protocol correctness. FlameWM owns what people see and how normal desktop actions feel.
Read the source on GitHub
FlameWM experience
Taskbar · Start · Settings · Desktop · Snap UX · System controls
IceWM engine
Windows · Focus · Workspaces · EWMH/ICCCM · XRandR · Tray · QuickSwitch
X11 · Linux
Current desktop
A modern desktop that happens to use IceWM internally.
Open source · built in public
Help turn lightweight Linux into a finished desktop experience.
Follow FlameWM development, inspect the IceWM-based implementation, report issues or support ArkFlame Studios.