This fun tiling window manager may be rough around the edges – but it has big potential

It’s a rare occasion that a piece of Linux software slips by me, especially when it’s a desktop environment or window manager.

But here we are.

Just a week or so ago, I ran into what I originally thought was a Linux compositor, but soon after I looked into it, I realized it was actually a window manager. That software in question was Hyprland.

Hyprland is a tiling window manager that aims to provide a fast, secure, and user-friendly Linux desktop experience. I said “aims” because Hyprland doesn’t exactly achieve these — yet.

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First off, Hyprland is relatively new, which means it’s not well supported — yet.

Hyprland is not user-friendly, which means it’s meant for advanced users willing to spend some time troubleshooting and configuring.

Hyprland isn’t exactly fast, but I chalk that up to its youth.

What is a tiling window manager?

You might be asking yourself, “What is a tiling window manager?” I’ve answered that question in my piece, “How to install a tiling window manager on Linux (and why you’d want to).” Essentially, a tiling window manager is one that automates the placement of windows in such a way as to make the desktop more efficient for you. On top of that, a tiling window manager makes it possible for you to not have to constantly switch between keyboard and mouse (because windows can be navigated with keyboard shortcuts).

The thing about tiling window managers is that they are so far removed from how you normally work that they can be a hard sell. Once you get used to working with a tiling window manager, all bets are off because you might well find them to be incredibly efficient.

But what about Hyprland? What sets it apart from other tiling window managers?

First off, it does try to add a bit more panache into the mix. When I first installed and logged into AcroPlasma (with Hyprland installed), I was immediately reminded of the old Star Trek LCARS interface. It’s the colors and the shapes that send my memory back to *The Next Generation*, and (I’m not gonna lie) it does put a smile on my face.

How to install Hyprland

Before I get into how Hyprland functions, let’s talk about getting it installed first.

I’ve attempted to install Hyprland on several distributions; unfortunately, Arch Linux is the only distro I had success with. Even then, I was only able to get a working instance of Hyprland up and running by way of ArcoLinux — and that installation happened during the installation of the OS. I tried installing Hyprland separately on Ubuntu (fail), Fedora (installed and would start but I wound up with an empty desktop), Arch Linux (even then, the installation didn’t deliver).

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The lesson here is that if you want to try Hyprland, give ArcoLinux a go and make sure to use the Advanced installation process (otherwise, you can’t select which desktop). I’m guessing the reason for this is because Hyprland is still relatively new, and I cannot imagine how complex creating a new window manager would be.

Upon logging in, I was under the impression that the Hyprland menu was called up with the Super (aka Meta, or Windows) key. That was not the case. Instead, there’s a small Arch logo at the top left of the desktop. Click that and you get to see all of the installed applications.

Huzzah!

Scroll through the list, find the app you want to start, and give it the old double-click. The app in question will then open and take up the full screen. Go through the same process, find a different app, and it will open to the right half of the screen. Keep opening apps and they will continue splitting the difference (either vertically or horizontally) on your screen.

One of the best things about Hyprland (besides the look) is that you can easily resize your windows by clicking and dragging. That means you’re not locked into what the window manager believes is the best size for each app window. There’s even a bit of transparency with the app launcher, which gives Hyprland a very modern look.

Who is Hyprland for?

As it currently stands, I wouldn’t recommend Hyprland for anyone outside of those who are curious to know what this new tiling window manager is all about. Don’t get me wrong, Hyprland has a lot to offer and it could very well become the de facto standard tiling window manager someday (especially for those who like the idea of a tiling window manager but also want a more modern-looking desktop).

Average users and those who demand a stable, user-friendly desktop need not apply.

I found Hyprland to be a lot of fun, but it’s far from ready for daily use. If you really want to test tiling window managers, I would suggest installing Pop!_OS and enabling the tiling window manager extension. By going this route, you can switch back and forth between a standard desktop and one that tiles.

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Other than being not ready for prime time, I found Hyprland to be an exciting project that has the capability of changing the landscape of tiling window managers. Hopefully, sometime in the near future, a dedicated distribution will be released for Hyprland and the window manager will reach a level of stability that makes it a legitimate option for the Linux desktop space.