Sway VS Arcan

Compare Sway VS Arcan and see what are their differences

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Sway

Sway is a drop-in replacement for the i3 window manager, but for Wayland instead of X11.

Arcan

Game engine and multimedia framework and display server.

Landing page //
2023-03-20

Landing page //
2023-05-14

Sway

Website: swaywm.org
$ Details

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Arcan

Website: arcan-fe.com
$ Details

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Sway features and specs

Wayland Compatibility
Sway is a compositor for Wayland, providing better performance and security compared to the X11 system.
i3 Compatibility
Sway is designed to be compatible with i3 window manager configurations, making it easy for i3 users to transition.
Lightweight
Sway is known for being lightweight and efficient, using fewer system resources compared to other compositors.
Customizability
Similar to i3, Sway offers extensive customization options for users to tailor their environment.
Active Development
Sway has an active development community, ensuring regular updates, bug fixes, and new features.
Enhances Security
Being built on Wayland, Sway provides better isolation of processes, improving overall system security.

Possible disadvantages of Sway

Limited Application Support
Some applications, especially older ones, may not be fully compatible with Wayland, causing issues when running on Sway.
Steeper Learning Curve
New users, particularly those unfamiliar with i3, might find Sway's configuration and usage initially challenging.
Wayland Limitations
Wayland, while improving, still lacks some features and extensions available in X11, which might affect some workflows.
Hardware Compatibility
Wayland compositors like Sway can sometimes have issues with specific hardware, particularly older or less common configurations.
Fewer Tiling Window Manager Users
The number of users preferring tiling window managers is smaller, potentially making it harder to find community support compared to more popular desktop environments.

Arcan features and specs

Open Source
Arcan is open-source, allowing developers to access, modify, and improve the source code according to their needs. This fosters a community-driven environment and enhances transparency.
Versatility
Arcan is designed to handle a wide array of graphical and multimedia tasks, making it suitable for various applications beyond just a display server.
Security Focus
The platform emphasizes security by design, providing mechanisms to isolate and protect components and users, which is crucial in multi-user or multi-tenant systems.
Performance
Arcan is optimized for performance, aiming to deliver efficient rendering and resource utilization, which is beneficial for both desktop environments and embedded systems.

Possible disadvantages of Arcan

Complexity
Due to its extensive feature set and adaptable nature, Arcan's framework may have a steep learning curve for new users or developers unfamiliar with its architecture.
Limited Adoption
Compared to more established systems like X11 or Wayland, Arcan has a smaller user base, which can limit community support, third-party integrations, and documentation.
Compatibility Challenges
As Arcan offers a unique approach to handling graphical tasks, it might face compatibility issues with software or systems not specifically designed to work with its environment.

Analysis of Sway

Overall verdict

Sway is generally well-regarded in the Linux community, especially among users who appreciate the flexibility and speed of a tiling window manager. It effectively bridges the gap for those who want the i3 experience with Wayland's benefits.

Why this product is good

Sway is a tiling window manager that is known for its efficiency and customizability, and it is designed for use with Wayland. It offers a similar experience to the i3 window manager but for those who want to use Wayland. Sway allows users to completely configure their desktop environment and supports various i3-compatible configurations and scripts. It provides a fast, lightweight, and modern approach for users who prefer a tiling window management system.

Recommended for

Users who enjoy i3 and want to transition to Wayland.
Linux users seeking a lightweight and efficient window management experience.
Advanced users who appreciate configuration and scripting flexibility.
Those who prefer keyboard-centric navigation over a graphical interface.

Sway videos

+ Add

Sway beats Powerpoint for these 4 reasons (Microsoft Office 365).

Arcan videos

+ Add

A Quick Review of Arcan XL3000 Low Profile Floor Jack

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Sway and Arcan)

Sway

Arcan

Health And Fitness

100 100%

Health And Fitness

0% 0

Linux

83 83%

Linux

17% 17

Window Manager

91 91%

Window Manager

9% 9

Operating Systems

0 0%

Operating Systems

100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Sway and Arcan. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Sway and Arcan

Sway Reviews

Top 13 Best Tiling Window Managers For Linux In 2022

Sway is a tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that dynamically arranges app windows to rationally maximise desktop space. It is free, open-source, and lightweight. By default, it arranges windows in a grid and supports practically all of the i3 commands.

Source: www.hubtech.org

13 Best Tiling Window Managers for Linux

Sway is a free, open-source, and lightweight tiling Wayland i3-compatible window manager that automatically arranges app windows to logically maximize desktop space. It arranges windows into a grid by default and supports almost all the commands included in i3.

Source: www.tecmint.com

Arcan Reviews

We have no reviews of Arcan yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Sway should be more popular than Arcan. It has been mentiond 53 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Sway mentions (53)

Pomodoro Timer: Waybar and uair
I am currently using uair integrated in to my Waybar running on my sway window manager. I use it similar to the way I use watson (both as a CLI tool with Waybar integrations), so it is a good fit for me. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
"We understand" ;)
This is partially why I use tools like i3 (/ sway). I like the tool; it works extremely well for me; the design has stayed the same for 20 years; there's no profit motive to come along and fuck everything up. It just works. It is boring in the best way possible. Source: almost 2 years ago
Framework 13 with AMD Ryzen 7040 Series Makes for a Great Linux Laptop
I've tested using i3 but never fully got into it. But my plan for the F13 is to try out Hyprland[0] and perhaps Sway[1]. [0] https://hyprland.org/ [1] https://swaywm.org/. - Source: Hacker News / almost 2 years ago
Rethinking Window Management in Gnome
Sway does all those things very well: https://swaywm.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 years ago
Just ran Sway on openSUSE. Complete noob. I need help.
Read the manual on https://swaywm.org/. There are tons of youtube videos showcasing basic configuration and usage. This is extremely basic stuff you need to do yourself. Source: over 2 years ago

Arcan mentions (21)

Étoilé – desktop built on GNUStep
Chisnall has stated several times over on Lobsters that he's thinking of basing is future project on Arcan (https://arcan-fe.com/). It's a very interesting project. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
In praise of grobi for auto-configuring X11 monitors
Yes, multi-protocol display servers like Arcan are the future. https://arcan-fe.com/. - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
Dear sir, you have built a compiler (2022)
You should take a look at arcan, it's almost exactly that: http://arcan-fe.com - https://arcan-fe.com/2022/10/15/whipping-up-a-new-shell-lashcat9/ - https://arcan-fe.com/2024/09/16/a-spreadsheet-and-a-debugger-walks-into-a-shell/ I am not using it as a daily driver, because, emacs, but I keep an eye on it because, well, emacs. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
Xpra: Persistent Remote Applications for X11
This was very cool, and is made in Arcan! https://arcan-fe.com/ a project I just recently discovered and am very excited about. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago
Ideal OS: Rebooting the Desktop Operating System (2017)
A lot of this seems like it's done by Arcan (https://arcan-fe.com). - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Sway and Arcan, you can also consider the following products

i3 - A dynamic tiling window manager designed for X11, inspired by wmii, and written in C.

Wayfire - Wayland compositor with 3d effects.

Hyprland - Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor that doesn't sacrifice on its looks. - GitHub - vaxerski/Hyprland: Hyprland is a dynamic tiling Wayland compositor that doesn't sacrifice on ...

Unity8 - Mir compositor with Wayland apps support.

Openbox - Openbox is a highly configurable, next generation window manager with extensive standards support.

UKUI - UKUI is a lightweight desktop environment based on pluggable framework for Linux and other Unix-like Distributions.