




                 Window Maker Compilation and Installation


               ~ A guide to configure, compile and install ~
                       ~ Window Maker from sources. ~

                       --  The Window Maker Team  --


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This manual is for Window Maker window manager, version 0.96.0.

Copyright (c) 2015 The Window Maker Team.

    This program is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
    it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
    the Free  Software Foundation; either  version 2 of the  License, or
    (at your option) any later version.

    This program is distributed in the hope  that it will be useful, but
    WITHOUT  ANY   WARRANTY;  without  even  the   implied  warranty  of
    MERCHANTABILITY or  FITNESS FOR  A PARTICULAR  PURPOSE. See  the GNU
    General Public License for more details.

    You should  have received a copy  of the GNU General  Public License
    along with this program, see file COPYING for details.


  Published by The Window Maker team on 31 August 2026.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


    1 Prerequisites  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  73
      1.1 Supported Platforms  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  77
      1.2 Software Dependencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  88
      1.3 Special Dependencies   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
      1.4 Optional Dependencies  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134

    2 Building Window Maker  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227
      2.1 Getting the Sources  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231
      2.2 Build and Install  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
      2.3 User specific configuration  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 302
      2.4 Locales/Internationalisation   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
      2.5 Configure Options  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336
        2.5.1 Installation Directory   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350
        2.5.2 External Libraries   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 401
        2.5.3 X11 and Extensions   . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465
        2.5.4 Feature Selection  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 518
        2.5.5 Developer Stuff  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 567

    3 Miscellaneous  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 610
      3.1 Platform Specific Notes  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 614
      3.2 I don't have the root password :(  . . . . . . . . . . . . 659
      3.3 Upgrading  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678

    4 Troubleshooting  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 688
      4.1 Error with loading fonts, even if they exist   . . . . . . 696
      4.2 configure doesn't detect libtiff, or other graphic librari 706
      4.3 configure doesn't detect libXpm  . . . . . . . . . . . . . 720
      4.4 Segmentation fault on startup  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 726
      4.5 "...: your machine is misconfigured. gethostname() returne 738
      4.6 The root menu contains only 2 entries. ("XTerm" and "Exit. 745


1 Prerequisites
***************


1.1 Supported Platforms
=======================

   - Intel  GNU/Linux  Systems  in  general,   ix86  and  x86_64  but  other
     architectures should work
   - BSD systems
   - Solaris, at least on release 10 and 11

   Patches to make it work on other platforms are welcome.


1.2 Software Dependencies
=========================

The following software is required to use Window Maker:

   - X11R6.x

     Window  Maker can  be  compiled  in older  versions  of  X, like  X11R5
     (Solaris) or X11R4  (OpenWindows) but it will not  work 100% correctly.
     In such  servers there will  not be  application icons and  you'll have
     trouble using the dock. Upgrading the client libraries (Xlib, Xt, etc.)
     will help if you can't upgrade the server.

The following is required to build Window Maker:

   - Basic obvious stuff

       * gcc (or some other ANSI C compiler, supporting some C99 extensions)
       * glibc   development   files   (usually   "glibc-devel"   in   Linux
         distributions)
       * X development files ("XFree86-devel" or something similar)

   - Xft2 and its dependencies

     Dependencies include freetype2  and fontconfig. You will  also need the
     development files  for them  ("xft2-devel"). Sources are  available at:
     http://www.freedesktop.org/wiki/Software/Xft/

*Note*: Window Maker is known to compile with gcc and clang; the code source
is mostly ANSI C (also known as C89 and C90) but is uses very few of the C99
novelties; it also uses a few attributes  introduced in the C11 standard but
those are detected automatically, so most compilers should work.


1.3 Special Dependencies
========================

If you want to compile using the  sources from the git repository instead of
the distribution package, you will also need:

   * git
   * autoconf 2.69
   * automake 1.12
   * libtool 1.4.2


1.4 Optional Dependencies
=========================

These libraries  are not required  to make Window  Maker work, but  they are
supported in case you want to use  them. Version numbers are indicative, but
other versions might work too.

   - libXPM 4.7 or newer

     Older versions may not work!

     Available from http://xlibs.freedesktop.org/release/

     There is built-in support for XPM files, but it will not load images in
     some uncommon encodings.

   - libpng 0.96 or newer and zlib

     For PNG image support, http://www.libpng.org/pub/png/libpng.html

   - libtiff 3.4 or newer

     For TIFF image support, http://www.libtiff.org/

   - libjpeg 6.0.1 or newer

     For JPEG image support, http://www.ijg.org/

     Note that if you don't have it, 'configure' will issue a big warning in
     the end, this is  because JPEG images are often used  in themes and for
     background images so you probably want this format supported.

   - libjxl 0.7.0 or newer

     For JXL image support, https://github.com/libjxl/libjxl

   - libgif 2.2 or libungif

     For GIF image support, http://giflib.sourceforge.net/

   - WebP 0.4.1 or newer

     The   reference   library  from   Google   for   their  image   format,
     https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/download

   - GNU xgettext

     If you  want to  use translated  messages, you  will need  GNU gettext.
     Other versions of gettext are not compatible and will not work. Get the
     GNU version from http://www.gnu.org/software/gettext/

   - Pango 1.36.8 or newer

     This library  can be used by  the WINGs toolkit to  improve support for
     UTF-8 and  for languages  written in  right-to-left direction,  in some
     widgets. If  detected, it will  be automatically used; you  may request
     explicit support/ignore  through (see  section [Configure  Options], at
     line   336). You can get it from http://www.pango.org/Download

   - libbsd

     This library can  be used by the  WINGs utility library to  make use of
     'strlcat' and  'strlcpy' instead  of using  built-in functions  if your
     system does  not provide them in  its core libc. You  should let Window
     Maker's  'configure'  detect  this  for   you.  You  can  get  it  from
     http://libbsd.freedesktop.org/wiki/

   - Inotify

     If you have Linux's inotify support, Window  Maker will use it to check
     for configuration  updates instead of  polling regularly the  file. The
     needed header comes with the kernel, typical packages names include:

       * "kernel-headers" for Slackware and Fedora
       * "linux-userspace-headers" for Mageia
       * "linux-libc-dev" for Debian and Ubuntu
       * "linux-glibc-devel" for OpenSuSE

   - MagickWand 6.8.9-9 or newer

     If found, then  the library WRaster can use the  ImageMagick library to
     let Window  Maker support more image  formats, like SVG, BMP,  TGA, ...
     You can get it from http://www.imagemagick.org/

   - Boehm GC

     This  library  can be  used  by  the WINGs  utility  toolkit  to use  a
     Boehm-Demers-Weiser  Garbage  Collector   instead  of  the  traditional
     'malloc'/'free' functions from the libc. You have to explicitly ask for
     its support  though (see section  [Configure Options], at  line   336).
     You can get it from http://www.hboehm.info/gc/


2 Building Window Maker
***********************


2.1 Getting the Sources
=======================

The  latest  version   of  Window  Maker  (-crm)  can   be  downloaded  from
http://www.windowmaker.org/

   Alternatively,  the  development  branch,  called #next  is  in  the  git
repository at http://repo.or.cz/w/wmaker-crm.git

   If you want to use the git versions, you can get it with:

     git clone -b next git://repo.or.cz/wmaker-crm.git

then,  assuming  you  have  the  dependencies  listed  in  section  [Special
Dependencies], at line   122, you have to type:

     ./autogen.sh

to generate the configuration script.


2.2 Build and Install
=====================

For a quick start, type the following in your shell prompt:

     ./configure
     make

then, login as root and type:

     make install
     ldconfig

or if you want to strip the debugging symbols from the binaries to make them
smaller, you can type instead:

     make install-strip
     ldconfig

This will build and install Window Maker with default parameters.

   If  you want  to  customise some  compile-time options,  you  can do  the
following:

  1. (optional) Look at the section  [Configure Options], at line   336, for
     the options available. Also run:

          ./configure --help

     to get a complete list of options that are available.

  2. Run configure  with the options you  want. For example, if  you want to
     use the '--enable-modelock' option, type:

          ./configure --enable-modelock

  3. (optional)  Edit "src/wconfig.h"  with your  favourite text  editor and
     browse through it for some options you might want to change.

  4. Compile. Just type:

          make

  5. Login as root (if you can't do that, read the section [I don't have the
     root password], at line   659) and install Window Maker in your system:

          su root
          make install


2.3 User specific configuration
===============================

These instructions  do not need to  be followed when upgrading  Window Maker
from an older version, unless stated differently in the NEWS file.

   Every user  on your system  that wishes to run  Window Maker must  do the
following:

  1. Install Window Maker configuration files in your home directory. Type:

          wmaker.inst

     'wmaker.inst' will  install Window  Maker configuration files  and will
     setup X to automatically launch Window Maker at startup.

   That's it!

   You can type 'man wmaker' to get  some general help for configuration and
other stuff.

   Read the User Guide for a more in-depth explanation of Window Maker.

   You might want to take a look at the FAQ too.


2.4 Locales/Internationalisation
================================

Window Maker has national language support. The procedure to enable national
language support is  described in the dedicated  section [Enabling Languages
support] in "README.i18n".


2.5 Configure Options
=====================

These options can  be passed to the configure script  to enable/disable some
Window Maker features. Example:

     ./configure --enable-modelock --disable-gif

   will  configure Window  Maker  with modelock  supported  and disable  gif
support. Normally, you won't need any of them.

   To get the list of all options, run './configure --help'


2.5.1 Installation Directory
----------------------------

The  default installation  path will  be  in the  "/usr/local" hierarchy;  a
number of option can customise this:

'--prefix=_PREFIX_'
'--exec-prefix=_EPREFIX_'
'--bindir=_DIR_'
'--sysconfdir=_DIR_'
'--libdir=_DIR_'
'--includedir=_DIR_'
'--datarootdir=_DIR_'
'--datadir=_DIR_'
'--localedir=_DIR_'
'--mandir=_DIR_'
     Standard options  from autoconf  to define  target paths,  you probably
     want to read section [Installation Names] in "INSTALL".

'--sbindir=_DIR_'
'--libexecdir=_DIR_'
'--sharedstatedir=_DIR_'
'--localstatedir=_DIR_'
'--oldincludedir=_DIR_'
'--infodir=_DIR_'
'--docdir=_DIR_'
'--htmldir=_DIR_'
'--dvidir=_DIR_'
'--pdfdir=_DIR_'
'--psdir=_DIR_'
     More standard options from autoconf, today these are not used by Window
     Maker; they are provided automatically by autoconf for consistency.

'--with-gnustepdir=_PATH_'
     Specific to Window Maker, defines the directory where "WPrefs.app" will
     be installed, if you want to install it like a GNUstep applications. If
     not specified, it will be installed like usual programs.

'--with-pixmapdir=_DIR_'
     Specific to Window Maker, this  option defines an additional path where
     pixmaps will be searched. Nothing  will be installed there; the default
     path taken  is "DATADIR/pixmaps", where  'DATADIR' is the  path defined
     from '--datadir'.

'--with-pkgconfdir=_DIR_'
     Specific  to   Window  Maker,   defines  the  directory   where  system
     configuration  files,  e.g.,  "WindowMaker",  "WMRootMenu",  etc.,  are
     installed.  The   default  value  is   "SYSCONFDIR/WindowMaker",  where
     'SYSCONFDIR' is the path defined from '--sysconfdir'.


2.5.2 External Libraries
------------------------

Unless specifically  written, 'configure'  will try to  detect automatically
for the libraries; if you explicitly provide '--enable-FEATURE' then it will
break with an error message if the  library cannot be linked; if you specify
'--disable-FEATURE' then it will not try to  search for the library. You can
find  more  information  about  the   libraries  in  the  section  [Optional
Dependencies], at line   134.

'--enable-boehm-gc'
     Never enabled  by default,  use Boehm  GC instead  of the  default libc
     'malloc()'

'--disable-gif'
     Disable GIF  support in WRaster  library; when enabled use  "libgif" or
     "libungif".

'--disable-jpeg'
     Disable JPEG support in WRaster library; when enabled use "libjpeg".

'--disable-jxl'
     Disable JPEG-XL support in WRaster library; when enabled use "libjxl".

'--without-libbsd'
     Refuse  use of  the  "libbsd" compatibility  library  in WINGs  utility
     library, even if your system provides it.

'--disable-magick'
     Disable ImageMagick's  MagickWand support  in WRaster, used  to support
     for image formats.

'--disable-pango'
     Disable Pango text layout support in WINGs.

'--disable-png'
     Disable PNG support in WRaster; when enabled use "libpng".

'--disable-tiff'
     Disable TIFF support in WRaster. when enabled use "libtiff".

'--disable-webp'
     Disable WEBP support in WRaster. when enabled use "libwebp".

'--disable-xpm'
     Disable use of  "libXpm" for XPM support in WRaster,  use internal code
     instead.

   The following options  can be used to tell 'configure'  about extra paths
that needs to be used when compiling against libraries:

'--with-libs-from'
     specify additional  paths for libraries  to be searched. The  '-L' flag
     must precede each path, like:

          --with-libs-from="-L/opt/libs -L/usr/local/lib"

'--with-incs-from'
     specify additional paths for header files to be searched. The '-I' flag
     must precede each paths, like:

          --with-incs-from="-I/opt/headers -I/usr/local/include"


2.5.3 X11 and Extensions
------------------------

'configure' will try  to detect automatically the compilation  paths for X11
headers and libraries, and which X Extensions support can be enabled. if you
explicitly  provide '--enable-FEATURE'  then  it will  break  with an  error
message if the extension cannot  be used; if you specify '--disable-FEATURE'
then it will not check for the extension.

'--x-includes=_DIR_'
'--x-libraries=_DIR_'
     Autoconf's option to specify search paths for X11, for the case were it
     would not have been able to detect it automatically.

'--disable-xlocale'
     If you activated support for Native Languages,  then X11 may use a hack
     to also  configure its  locale support when  the program  configure the
     locale for itself. The 'configure'  script detects if the Xlib supports
     this  or  not;  this  options explicitly  disable  this  initialisation
     mechanism.

'--enable-modelock'
     XKB language  status lock  support. If  you don't know  what it  is you
     probably don't need it. The default is to not enable it.

'--disable-shm'
     Disable use  of the MIT  shared memory  extension. This will  slow down
     texture  generation a  little bit,  but in  some cases  it seems  to be
     necessary due to a bug that manifests as messed icons and textures.

'--disable-res'
     Disables support for  XRes resource window extension  support. Which is
     used  to  find  the  underlying processes  (and  PIDs)  displaying  the
     windows.

'--disable-shape'
     Disables support for shaped windows (for 'oclock', 'xeyes', etc.).

'--enable-xinerama'
     The Xinerama extension provides information about the different screens
     connected when running a multi-head setting  (if you plug more than one
     monitor).

'--enable-randr'
     The   RandR    extension   provides   feedback   when    changing   the
     multiple-monitor configuration  in X11  and allows to  re-configure how
     screens are organised.

     At  current time,  it  is not  enabled  by default  because  it is  NOT
     recommended  (buggy);  Window  Maker   only  restart  itself  when  the
     configuration change, to take into account the new screen size.


2.5.4 Feature Selection
-----------------------

'--disable-animations'
     Disable animations permanently, by not compiling the corresponding code
     into  Window  Maker. When  enabled  (the  default),  you still  have  a
     run-time configuration option in WPrefs.

'--disable-mwm-hints'
     Disable support for Motif's MWM  Window Manager hints. These attributes
     were  introduced  by  the  Motif toolkit  to  ask  for  special  window
     appearance  requests.  Nowadays  this  is  covered  by  the  NetWM/EWMH
     specification, but there are still applications that rely on MWM Hints.

'--enable-wmreplace'
     Add  support for  the  ICCCM protocol  for  cooperative window  manager
     replacement. This feature  is disabled by default  because you probably
     don't need to switch seamlessly the window manager; if you are making a
     package for a  distribution you'd probably want to  enable this because
     it allows  users to  give a  try to  different window  managers without
     restarting everything for an extra cost that is not really big.

'--disable-xdnd'
     Disable  support for  dragging and  dropping files  on the  dock, which
     launches a user-specified command with that file. Starting from version
     0.65.6 this feature is enabled by default.

'--enable-ld-version-script'
     This feature is auto-detected, and you should not use this option. When
     compiling a library  ("wrlib", ...), gcc has the  possibility to filter
     the list  of functions that  will be visible,  to keep only  the public
     API, because it helps running programs faster.

     The  'configure' script  checks if  this feature  is available;  if you
     specify this  option it will  not check  anymore and blindly  trust you
     that  it is  supposed to  work, which  is not  a good  idea as  you may
     encounter problems later when compiling.

'--enable-usermenu'
     This feature, disabled by default,  allows to add a user-defined custom
     menu to applications;  when choosing an entry of the  menu it will send
     the  key combination  defined  by the  user  to  that application.  See
     section [Application User Menu] in "NEWS" for more information.

'--with-menu-textdomain=_DOMAIN_'
     Selection of the domain used for  translation of the menus; see section
     [Translations for Menus] in "README.i18n".


2.5.5 Developer Stuff
---------------------

These options are disabled by default:

'--config-cache'
     If you intend to re-run the 'configure' script often, you probably want
     to include this option,  so it will save and re-use  the status of what
     have been detected in the file "config.cache".

'--enable-debug'
     Enable  debugging  features (debug  symbol,  some  extra verbosity  and
     checks) and add a number of check flags (warnings) for the compiler (in
     gcc fashion).

'--enable-lcov=_DIRECTORY_'
     Enable  generation  of  code  coverage   and  profiling  data;  if  the
     "_DIRECTORY_" is not specified, use "coverage-report".

     This option was meant  to be use with gcc; it was  not used recently so
     it is  probable that is does  not work anymore; the  'configure' script
     will not even check that your compiling environment has the appropriate
     requirements  and works  with  this. Despite  all  this,  if you  think
     there's a use for  it and feel in the mood to help,  do not hesitate to
     discuss  on the  mailing list  <wmaker-dev@googlegroups.com> to  get it
     working.

'--enable-native'
     Enable  native  CPU  optimizations  by adding  '-march=native'  to  the
     compiler flags, tuning the generated code  for the build machine at the
     expense of portability.

'--with-web-repo=_PATH_'
     Enable  generation  of HTML  documentation  to  be uploaded  to  Window
     Maker's website.  The "_PATH_" is  the directory where you  have cloned
     the homepage's repository.

     When enabled, the command 'make website' generates a few HTML pages and
     copy them  into the specified  directory, then  you can commit  them to
     publish on the web  site. You should not do that, it  is handled by the
     development team.


3 Miscellaneous
***************


3.1 Platform Specific Notes
===========================

   - GNU/Linux in general

     Make sure you  have "/usr/local/lib" in "/etc/ld.so.conf"  and that you
     run  'ldconfig' after  installing.  Uninstall any  packaged version  of
     Window Maker before installing a new version.

   - RedHat GNU/Linux

     RedHat systems have  several annoying problems. If you use  it, be sure
     to follow the steps below or Window Maker will not work:

       * if you installed the Window Maker that comes with RedHat, uninstall
         it before upgrading;

       * make  sure you  have  "/usr/local/bin" in  your 'PATH'  environment
         variable;

       * make  sure you  have "/usr/local/lib"  in "/etc/ld.so.conf"  before
         running 'ldconfig';

   - PowerPC MkLinux

     You will need to have the latest  version of Xpmac. Older versions seem
     to have bugs that cause the system to hang.

   - Debian GNU/Linux

     If you want JPEG and TIFF support, make sure you have "libtiff-dev" and
     "libjpeg-dev" installed.

   - SuSE GNU/Linux

     If  you installed  the Window  Maker  package from  SuSE, uninstall  it
     before trying to compile Window Maker or you might have problems.

   - MetroX (unknown version)

     MetroX  has  a  bug  that  corrupts pixmaps  that  are  set  as  window
     backgrounds. If you  use MetroX and have weird  problems with textures,
     do not use textures in title bars. Or use a different X server.


3.2 I don't have the root password :(
=====================================

If you  can't get  superuser privileges  (can't be  _root_) you  can install
Window Maker  in your own  home directory.  For that, supply  the '--prefix'
option when running  configure in step 2 of building  Window Maker. You will
also need to supply the '--with-gnustepdir'  option, to specify the path for
'WPrefs.app'. Example:

     ./configure --prefix=/home/jshmoe --with-gnustepdir=/home/jshmoe/GNUstep/Applications

   Then  make "/home/jshmoe/bin"  be  included in  your  search 'PATH',  add
"/home/jshmoe/lib" to  your 'LD_LIBRARY_PATH'  environment variable  and run
'bin/wmaker.inst'

   Of course, "/home/jshmoe" is supposed to  be replaced by your actual home
directory path.


3.3 Upgrading
=============

If you are upgrading from an older version of Window Maker:

  1. Configure and build Window Maker as always
  2. Install Window Maker (but do not run 'wmaker.inst')
  3. Read the NEWS file and update your configuration files if necessary.


4 Troubleshooting
*****************

When you have  some trouble during configuration  (while running configure),
like not  being able  to use  a graphic  format library  you think  you have
installed, look at the "config.log" file for clues of the problem.


4.1 Error with loading fonts, even if they exist
================================================

This is probably a problem with  NLS (Native Language Support), you probably
want  to look  at  the section  [Troubleshooting]  in  "README.i18n" or  try
rebuilding without NLS support, which is done with:

     ./configure LINGUAS=""


4.2 configure doesn't detect libtiff, or other graphic libraries
================================================================

Delete "config.cache", then rerun configure  adding the following options to
'configure' (among the other options you use):

     --with-libs-from="-L/usr/local/lib"
     --with-incs-from="-I/usr/local/include -I/usr/local/include/tiff"

   Put  the paths  where your  graphic libs  and their  corresponding header
files are located.  You can put multiple  paths in any of  these options, as
the example of '--with-incs-from' shows. Just put a space between them.


4.3 configure doesn't detect libXpm
===================================

Check if you have a symbolic link from "libXpm.so.4.9" to "libXpm.so"


4.4 Segmentation fault on startup
=================================

   * Check if the version of libXPM you have is at least 4.7

   * Check      if     you      have     an      updated     version      of
     "~/GNUstep/Defaults/WindowMaker"

   If you're not  sure, try renaming "~/GNUstep" to "~/GNUtmp"  and then run
'wmaker.inst'


4.5 "...: your machine is misconfigured. gethostname() returned (none)"
=======================================================================

the host name of your machine is  set to something invalid, that starts with
a parenthesis. Do a 'man hostname' for info about how to set it.


4.6 The root menu contains only 2 entries. ("XTerm" and "Exit...")
==================================================================

Window Maker could not read your menu  definition file. You should check the
output of 'wmaker' for an error, it may  be visible in the console or in the
".xsession-errors" file.
