AfterStep

AfterStep is a highly configurable X11 window manager inspired by NeXTSTEP.

This repository contains the AfterStep 2.x codebase plus updates to build and run on modern Linux/Xorg systems.

Screenshots (2026-01-18, Xvfb)

Full in-repo gallery: screenshots/2026-01-18-xvfb/index.html

Build + install (local prefix)

make distclean
./configure --prefix="$PWD/_install"
make -j"$(nproc)"
make install install.data

Headless smoke tests (optional)

tools/xvfb-smoke.sh
tools/xvfb-full-smoke.sh
tools/xvfb-soak.sh _install 60

Optional:

• Xephyr-based RandR smoke test: tools/xephyr-randr-smoke.sh
• Headless Xorg dummy driver smoke test: tools/xorg-dummy-smoke.sh (requires sudo)

Running AfterStep

• startx / xinit: put exec /path/to/_install/bin/afterstep in ~/.xinitrc
• Display managers: install AfterStep.desktop / AfterStep.session into your system’s xsessions directory (location varies by distro/prefix)

Notes

• Wharf/MonitorWharf buttons may be disabled if the configured applications aren’t installed.
• Set TERMINAL to choose the terminal emulator used by terminal-launch actions.

More

• Historical upstream README (kept for context): README