1d ago

my reason why you should use KDE+Krohnkite instead of WMs

Pros:

system trays applet already works out of the box (still customizable to some extend at least more than gnome system trays)
very good support for Wayland and VIDIA GPUs
easy and quick to customize and you don't have to deal with CSS if you don't have much time to waste
better integrated with KDE's softwares (Kdenlive, KDE connect, Konsole, Kate, Elisa...) which is my opinion some of the best softwares for Linux even better than Windows's in some cases
friendly community (mostly)

Cons:

you have to use KDE with Krohnkite

37 comments

I don't do software development, so maybe I'm just not the target audience... I just don't think tiling WMs are for me. Why not just have the windows overlap if you're not using them all at the same time?
- I DO do software dev, so my answer might not be relevant to you. Its because If the window is open, I need it right now. Otherwise it wouldn't be open, or it'd be stashed away on another desktop.
TLDR:
Pros: is a DE
Cons: is a DE
Biggest con of KDE + Krohnkite (to me) is no text-based config. I really have no desire to pour through the GUI to set up all my keybinds. I've tried this setup before, and honestly I mostly like it. However anytime I want to change something I just hate having to click through a menu with my mouse. The search bar helps, but often you'll spend a lot of time guessing what the devs decided to name a setting. I went back to Sway and have no regrets. Though I'll admit I wish there was something that was basically Sway with the benefits you mentioned here.
- I can't really sell this as a solution, as it requires quite a lot more involvement than a simple configuration file should, but I use Nix Home Manager with Plasma Manager for this.
  This is part of the tooling you'd use on NixOS, but you can use it on other distros, too, and it generally works fine (although I'm not sure, if the current version of Plasma Manager still supports Plasma 5, in case you're still on a distro with that).
  Basically, it allows you to define e.g. keyboard shortcuts like this:
  nix
  
  shortcuts = { ksmserver = { "Lock Session" = [ "Screensaver" "Meta+Ctrl+Alt+L" ]; }; kwin = { "Expose" = "Meta+,"; "Switch Window Down" = "Meta+J"; "Switch Window Left" = "Meta+H"; "Switch Window Right" = "Meta+L"; "Switch Window Up" = "Meta+K"; }; };
  It then fucks up the formatting, so that it looks like KDE expects, and throws it into ~/.config/kglobalshortcutsrc.
  (KDE does actually have a text-based config, it's just borderline unusable.)
  Well, and you can do this with lots of other Plasma options, too. Here's their official example: https://github.com/nix-community/plasma-manager/blob/trunk/examples/home.nix
softwares
Was this always a word? I've heard and seen it a lot recently but I could have sworn the plural of software was still software.
The only time I've seen it close to being pluralized differently was "warez"
- No, that's a typo.
  Software is both plural and singular.
I wanted to give tiling a chance. I decided to use Krohnkite for a week to give it a chance. At first I didn't care for tiling but quickly got into it and now I love it. Sometimes to really know if something is going to work for you or not, you have to give it some time. I've used this approach for other things (not all work out) but for Krohnkite it did for me. Also, don't forget to check out all the Krohnkite options.
- Now that you 'get it', can you explain to someone like me who still doesn't get it, why they might want to use a tiling wm?
  
  Not OP but the answer is that having windows on top of each other is mostly useless. 99% of the time, when you're working with multiple windows, you don't want to see just part of the window. So either your window is minimized or somehow tiled. At that point you are using a worse version of a tiling WM. The 1% of the time, you can just make the tiled window float.
  
  The main reason I hear is that it maximizes screen usage and helps avoid/limit the tediousness of having to manage windows.
  Not what you're asking for, but I'll give you my perspective as someone who's tried tiling on and off and overall don't like it.
  Applications work best at certain aspect ratios, having them automatically tiled to different aspect ratios can be annoying
  Some windows windows/pop-ups have no business being tiled. Like some Yes/No dialogs (not all windows specify a max size which would avoid triggering the tiling) or a simple calculator. And you can specify which ones to have floating, but it requires setup.
  Sometimes it ends of causing more work than floating environements. Most of the time I only have a max of 2 windows open, but occasionally I'll quickly try to do something then end up with 4-5 windows, at which point that's too many windows and I need to reorganize stuff to continue working. But that usually wouldn't be an issue in a floating environment.
  Worst of all, just setting up a tiling environment is a nightmare. You have to configure the actual compositor/WM, which tools you want to use with it (bar, launcher, screenshot tool, notifications, screenlocker, etc) and configure all those too, ideally with some basic theming to make them look coherent. But inevitably you end up with missing functionality especially in the modern area where an app might be sandboxed or expecting all xdg-portals to be implemented, which most compositors don't do.
  Cosmic is exciting in this regard since it aims to be a fully-featured floating and tiling environment. You could just toggle between them as necessary (or have them on separate workplaces). You also get much better portal support.
  
  Its less work to use keyboard shortcuts to arrange/navigate windows in tiling than it is to use a mouse + alt-tab. Window sizing and placement is something you think about a lot less. Its very fast to flip through various preset window arrangements and usually that's good enough for whatever task.
  
  I find tiling more efficient because
  I can have predetermined layouts per desktop where my often used programs are.
  I only have to purposely move windows out of the way if I've made the floating on purpose, and
  Less mouse use and more keyboard use for changing the layout, resizing windows, changing to another window ...
  The more I use tiling, the more advantages I find. At this point I think I could use any desktop as long as I had Krohnkite functioning tiling.
- Tiling WMs are amazing I wish windows/mac also had them.
  
  I'm using FancyWM on my Windows 11 work pc. It works quite well for me.
Isn't Krohnkite unmaintained?
edit: mb, looks like there's a fork here: https://github.com/anametologin/krohnkite
- It seems pretty active to me
  
  Yea, I realized, I was looking at the older repo which hasnt been updated in 3 years.
I really like the preset layouts too, I often find myself using the stair layout on smaller screens so I can quickly and easily see what's open in a clear layout but still use most of the screen for an application. Monocle is good too! Just in case anyone is passing on this because they don't like traditional tiling
I switched from a Qtile tiling window manager to KDE with Krohnkite. It does the job of handling the windows. The auto tiling aspect is the only thing I miss in any regular window management. The reason why I switched to KDE back then was, a problem with Qtile and because KDE was good on the Wayland front. In fact, it was the only viable option in my opinion for a desktop environment. I was also using lot of KDE applications anyway, so it made sense.
Cons: you have to use KDE with Krohnkite
I don't see this as an con. Maybe you could argue that Krohnkite is not a core system functionality and we rely on some community member. BTW that was the biggest issue why I switched away from GNOME years ago, because too much core functionality was community dependent (and breaking). The KDE team themselves should integrate such a functionality. Auto tiling reaches was never more popular and KDE itself has some tiling functionality builtin, just not auto tiling.
Like Qtile had, I like we have many layouts to choose and cycle from. My 4th desktop is set to everything float; no tiling. I could not stand a auto tiler that has only one builtin layout logic.
But there are some couple problems using Krohnkite. It's not as configurable as I am used to with Qtile off course. And getting rid of the borders and having colored borders in KDE for focused applications and such, was a pain to setup. KDE really need some builtin functionality for that.
- Depends on who you ask it may or may not be a con, I myself have been using it only for a week by now and for the most part it works very well it especially for a Linux newbie like me, not having to edit a config file with text editor but with GUI instead is pretty nice ( I made that gtk theme and floorp theme in the screenshot almost from scratch and it's a huge pain in the ass, dont know if CSS is a bad language or not but it probably make me hate CSS ). So I guess it's a pro for me
- KDE will never use auto tiling as if you've followed any of the git issues regarding this KDE devs themselves have said they personally don't use tiling so they'll never add it to Plasma. Their compromise was basically setting pre-designated areas on your desktop to drag windows to. KDE wants users to use the mouse. they prefer it.
  
  I still use my mouse with Krohnkite. I even move a window over another, to swap their positions, or change their size with my mouse. It's not like using an auto tiler means no mouse usage.
  KDE wants users to use the mouse.
  We are not in GNOME here. KDE team does not want users to use their mouse. KDE usually is there for configuration and features, so that users can do whatever they want. I still think in a future the KDE team will implement "proper" auto tiling functionality.
  I watched talks and discussions with Nate Graham. And yes, its obvious they don't use auto tiling and don't understand the benefit from it. That's why the compromise they builtin is the way it is. But as time goes on, more tiling fans will arise, even GNOME and upcoming COSMIC have auto tiling builtin. There are working scripts to auto tile.
  KDE will have builtin auto tiling functionality. It's only a matter of time.
I've only recently started trying out KDE and it's giving me grief in the weirdest ways. I had the tray just outright break while I was trying to customize it, the Windows exe thumbnailer just won't work despite being enabled and having icoutils, and I can't seem to get a consistent look.
Never got into the tiling wm craze, but since I found out about Gnome's PaperWM thought it was much better than tiled and traditional wms and wanted something like that for KDE. Even was thinking about doing it by myself until one day learned someone else did it and much better than I would
- If you like using the mouse alot and you're more comfortable with clicking than yeah there's really no point in using a tiler.
  If you're someone like me who doesn't like using a mouse and are used to VIM or Emacs for navigation then tilers make sense. In many cases using a keyboard is faster than using a mouse. OR you're a weirdo in the middle then you'd use Krohnkite on KDE.
  
  If you like using the mouse alot and you’re more comfortable with clicking than yeah there’s really no point in using a tiler.
  I disagree with this. I use keyboard shortcuts for moving my tiles and switching desktops but otherwise I use the mouse. I have found great value in using a tiler, not having to manage windows or having them overlap is awesome.
- Did not expect KDE has a scrolling wm script for it, I think I have to check this one out thanks
  
  I tested Karousel addon too. It works. But found out I personally do not like "endless" scrolling window management. I just loose track of the windows and organizing something (especially when working on a project) did not work for me. That is an inherent "problem" of scrolling wms for me, not this script itself. Karousel worked fine.
I think Cosmic will be the best compromise once it finally releases. Having the ability to swap between tiling and floating quickly and per workspace gives you the best of both worlds.
- Krohnkite can do that too. You can float individual window on they fly with a keybinding, or switch the entire virtual desktop to float all layout. I even have setup my 4th desktop to always float. So this ability is available in KDE with Krohnkite already.
The con beats all pros.

37 comments