river/README.md
Isaac Freund 0063c722e5
river: remove system /etc dir from init search paths
A true "default" config doesn't make sense for river. Everyone who uses
river seriously will customize their init script. Futhermore, the
current behavior of embedding the install path of the default system
config in the river binary is complex and prone to breaking.
2021-07-17 16:04:51 +02:00

93 lines
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# river
river is a dynamic tiling wayland compositor that takes inspiration from
[dwm](https://dwm.suckless.org) and
[bspwm](https://github.com/baskerville/bspwm).
*Note: river is currently early in development. Expect breaking changes
and missing features. If you run into a bug don't hesitate to
[open an issue](https://github.com/ifreund/river/issues/new)*
## Design goals
- Simple and predictable behavior, river should be easy to use and have a
low cognitive load.
- Window management based on a stack of views and tags.
- Dynamic layouts generated by external, user-written executables. A default
`rivertile` layout generator is provided.
- Scriptable configuration and control through a custom wayland protocol and
separate `riverctl` binary implementing it.
## Building
<a href="https://repology.org/project/river/versions">
<img src="https://repology.org/badge/vertical-allrepos/river.svg" alt="Packaging status" align="right">
</a>
On cloning the repository, you must init and update the submodules as well
with e.g.
```
git submodule update --init
```
To compile river first ensure that you have the following dependencies
installed:
- [zig](https://ziglang.org/download/) 0.8.0
- wayland
- wayland-protocols
- [wlroots](https://github.com/swaywm/wlroots) 0.14.0
- xkbcommon
- libevdev
- pixman
- pkg-config
- scdoc (optional, but required for man page generation)
Then run, for example:
```
zig build -Drelease-safe --prefix ~/.local install
```
To enable experimental Xwayland support pass the `-Dxwayland` option as well.
## Usage
River can either be run nested in an X11/wayland session or directly
from a tty using KMS/DRM. Simply run the `river` command.
On startup river will run an executable file at `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/river/init`
if such an executable exists. If $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is not set, ~/.config/ will
be used instead.
Usually this executable is a shell script invoking *riverctl*(1) to create
mappings, start programs such as a layout generator or status bar, and
preform other configuration.
An example init script with sane defaults is provided [here](example/init)
in the example directory.
For complete documentation see the `river(1)`, `riverctl(1)`, and
`rivertile(1)` man pages.
As a supplement to the man pages, see also the [FAQ](https://github.com/ifreund/river/wiki#faq)
in the wiki for common issues and have a look at the [recommended
software](https://github.com/ifreund/river/wiki/Recommended-Software).
## Development
If you are interested in the development of river, please join us at
[#river](https://web.libera.chat/?channels=#river) on irc.libera.chat. You
should also read [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) if you intend to submit
patches.
## Licensing
river is released under the GNU General Public License version 3, or (at your
option) any later version.
The protocols in the `protocol` directory are released under various licenses by
various parties. You should refer to the copyright block of each protocol for
the licensing information. The protocols prefixed with `river` and developed by
this project are released under the ISC license (as stated in their copyright
blocks).