View source for Blackbox

{{Short description|Free and open-source stacking window manager for the X Window System}}
{{About|the computer software}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = Blackbox
| logo                   =
| screenshot             = Blackbox on Debian.png
| screenshot size        = 300px
| caption                = Screenshot of Blackbox
| author                 =
| developer              = Bradley T. Hughes<ref name="ManPages/blackbox - Blackbox">{{cite web|url=https://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/ManPages/blackbox|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150909080254/http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/ManPages/blackbox|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 9, 2015|title=ManPages/blackbox - Blackbox|date=September 9, 2015|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref> up to version 0.70.1_SL7,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sourceforge.net/projects/blackboxwm/files/blackboxwm/Blackbox%200.70.1_SL7/|title = Blackbox - Browse /Blackboxwm/Blackbox 0.70.1_SL7 at SourceForge.net}}</ref> onwards forked by Brian Bidulock
| released               =
| discontinued           = no
| latest release version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q751991|P348|P548=Q2804309}}
| latest release date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q751991|P348|P548=Q2804309|P577}}
| latest preview version = {{wikidata|property|preferred|references|edit|Q751991|P348|P548=Q51930650}}
| latest preview date    = {{wikidata|qualifier|preferred|single|Q751991|P348|P548=Q51930650|P577}}
| programming language   = [[C++]]
| operating system       =
| platform               = [[Unix-like]]
| language               =
| genre                  = [[X window manager]]
| license                = [[MIT License|MIT]]<ref name= "dir-fsf">{{cite web|url=http://directory.fsf.org/blackbox.html|publisher=FSF.org|title=Blackbox - Window manager written in C++}}</ref>
| website                = {{URL|https://github.com/bradleythughes/blackbox/|Bradley T. Hughes' repository}}<br />{{URL|https://github.com/bbidulock/blackboxwm/tree/master|Repository of Brian Bidulock's fork}}
}}
[[File:Blackbox 0.7.ogv|thumb|Blackbox 0.7 Xsession running on [[Debian]] 7 [[Linux]]]]
'''Blackbox''' is a [[free and open-source]] [[stacking window manager]] for the [[X Window System]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wrightson |first1=Katherine |last2=Merlino |first2=Joseph |title=Mastering UNIX |date=2006 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9780782153033 |pages=107–108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OaNDxa_z9CMC |access-date=January 16, 2019 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Davies |first1=Justin |last2=Whittaker |first2=Roger |last3=Hagen |first3=William von |title=SUSE Linux 9 Bible |date=2005 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=9780764588761 |pages=186, 276–280 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7k6xIz7YlioC |language=en}}</ref>

Blackbox has specific design goals, and some functionality is provided only through other applications. One example is the bbkeys [[keyboard shortcut|hotkey]] application.

Blackbox is written in [[C++]]<ref name="dir-fsf" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net:80/HackingGuide|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214041749/http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/HackingGuide|url-status=dead|archive-date=February 14, 2018|title=Hacking Guide - Blackbox|date=February 14, 2018|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref> and contains completely original code.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/AboutBlackbox|publisher=Sourceforge.net|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061206102805/http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/AboutBlackbox|archive-date=December 6, 2006|title=About Blackbox}}</ref> It was created by Bradley T. Hughes<ref name="ManPages/blackbox - Blackbox"/> and is available under the [[MIT License]]. Blackbox has compliance with the [[Extended Window Manager Hints]] specification.<ref name="compliance">{{cite web|title= ICCCM & EWMH Compliance |website= [[GitHub]] |url= https://github.com/bbidulock/blackboxwm/blob/master/COMPLIANCE |access-date= February 20, 2021 }}</ref>

The original author seems to have ceased updating the repository with the exception of a minor fix of compilation problems in 2015,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://github.com/bradleythughes/blackbox/commit/107b7618f6151fb78c373ef480926d01b6317484|title=Compile with clang and libc++ · bradleythughes/Blackbox@107b761|website=[[GitHub]]}}</ref> leaving the last original version at 0.70.1. However an actively maintained fork by Brian Bidulock has been picked up by several [[Linux]] distributions in its place,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://packages.slackware.com/?r=slackware-current&p=blackbox-0.74-i586-2.txz|title=The Slackware Linux Project: Packages|website=packages.slackware.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |website=Fedora Packages |url=https://apps.fedoraproject.org/packages/blackbox/sources/spec/ |title=Package Blackbox |access-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-date=August 13, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190813012647/https://apps.fedoraproject.org/packages/blackbox/sources/spec |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/blackbox/|title=Arch Linux - blackbox 0.77-1 (x86_64)|website=archlinux.org|access-date=July 6, 2021|archive-date=December 19, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211219145015/https://archlinux.org/packages/community/x86_64/blackbox/|url-status=dead}}</ref> and it is featured in [[pkgsrc]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://pkgsrc.se/wm/blackbox70|title=pkgsrc.se &#124; The NetBSD package collection|website=pkgsrc.se}}</ref> Despite that, some other Linux distributions still use the original source code,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://packages.ubuntu.com/disco/blackbox|title=Ubuntu – Error|website=packages.ubuntu.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://packages.debian.org/sid/blackbox|title = Debian -- Details of package blackbox in sid}}</ref> as does [[FreeBSD]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://svnweb.freebsd.org/ports/head/x11-wm/blackbox/|title=[ports] Index of /head/x11-wm/blackbox|website=svnweb.freebsd.org}}</ref>

== Features ==
Features of the Blackbox window manager include:
* A stacking window manager
* Written in [[C++]]
* Freely available under the [[MIT license]]
* Compliance with the Extended Window Manager Hints Specification
* Title bars have minimize, [[maximize]], and close buttons
* Support for simple themes
* Support for color changes
* No support for desktop shortcuts
* Compatibility with both KDE and GNOME<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.xwinman.org/blackbox.php|title=Window Managers for X: Blackbox|website=www.xwinman.org|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>

== Related projects ==
There are a number of other window manager forks of Blackbox:<ref name=":0">{{cite web|url=https://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net:80/RelatedProjects|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171026143823/http://blackboxwm.sourceforge.net/RelatedProjects|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 26, 2017|title=Related Projects - Blackbox|date=October 26, 2017|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>

* [[Fluxbox]]
* [[Hackedbox]]
* [[Openbox]] (until version 3.0)

=== Windows shell replacements ===
Although they do not share the same codebase, these projects are also inspired by Blackbox.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://bb4win.sourceforge.net/|publisher=Sourceforge.net|title=BlackBox for Windows}}</ref>

* BB4Win<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.extremetech.com/extreme/76706-customizing-your-pcs-desktop|title=Customizing Your PC's Desktop - ExtremeTech|website=www.extremetech.com|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref> (the first and most prominent clone/port of Blackbox on Windows)
* [[bbLean]] 
* xoblite (has releases from 2021)
* bbZero (a branch of bbLean)<ref>{{cite web|title=GitHub - xzero450/bbclean-xzero450|url=https://github.com/xzero450/bbclean-xzero450|date=February 6, 2016|website=GitHub|access-date=January 16, 2019}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Portal|Free and open-source software}}

* [[Comparison of X window managers]]
{{-}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* {{Official website|https://github.com/bradleythughes/blackbox}}
* [http://directory.fsf.org/blackbox.html Blackbox] at Free Software Directory

{{X desktop environments and window managers}}
{{FOSS}}

[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Free software programmed in C++]]
[[Category:Free X window managers]]
[[Category:Software using the MIT license]]