MATE-WM(1)

📦 version 1.28.0, in alpine 3.24, arch rolling, debian bookworm, debian trixie, epel 9, fedora 43, fedora 44, nixos 26.05, nixpkgs unstable, opensuse-leap 16.0, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 MATE-WM — bestie's guide to the window manager starter 💖

okay so this page? it's mate-wm from the MATE Desktop Environment, and it's literally the little program that gets your window manager up and running. general commands manual energy. let's go 🦋

✨ NAME ✨

mate-wm — starts the window manager that the user configured. that's it, that's the whole job 💅

🌸 SYNOPSIS 🌸

mate-wm [--default-wm=WINDOWMANAGER] [--sm-client-id=ID]

🎀 DESCRIPTION 🎀

so the mate-wm program starts the window manager that you, the user, configured. iconic behaviour tbh.

but here's the thing — if you haven't actually chosen a window manager? it's not gonna leave you hanging. it will launch a MATE compliant window manager instead. it's giving "i got you, bestie" 🫶

⭐ USAGE ⭐

you can define your preferred window manager with the /org/mate/desktop/session/required-components/windowmanager dconf key. yes, that's a long one, breathe, you got this.

the value of this key should be the name of the desktop file of the desired window manager — without its .desktop extension. so no extension, periodt.

and if this key is set to mate-wm? then mate-wm will simply look for an appropriate window manager. it's not gonna fight itself, that would be embarrassing.

you can also override the selection of a window manager by setting the WINDOW_MANAGER environment variable. override queen 👑

if the --default-wm option is used, mate-wm will use WINDOWMANAGER as the window manager if:

  • the WINDOW_MANAGER environment variable is not set, and
  • the /org/mate/desktop/session/required-components/windowmanager dconf key does not define a specific window manager, or if the configured window manager cannot be found.

the --sm-client-id option is translated to an appropriate option depending on which window manager will be started. so it shapeshifts to fit whichever WM shows up. versatile 💫

🌈 OPTIONS 🌈

the following options are supported, and yes they're both here, short and sweet:

  • --default-wm=WINDOWMANAGER — define the default window manager to start if no window manager is configured, or if the configured window manager cannot be found. your fallback bestie fr fr
  • --sm-client-id=ID — specify the session management ID when connecting to the session manager. the secret handshake 🤝

🦋 ENVIRONMENT 🦋

mate-wm uses the value of the WINDOW_MANAGER environment variable to let the user override the configured window manager.

💀 BUGS 💀

Should you encounter any bugs, they may be reported at:

http://github.com/mate-desktop/mate-session-manager/issues
not me telling you to file a bug report but like... if something's broken, say something 💖 they literally asked.

👑 AUTHORS 👑

This Man Page has been updated for the MATE Desktop Environment by:

  • Adam Erdman <hekel@archlinux.info> (2014)

🧚 HISTORY 🧚

This Manual was originally written for gnome-session by:

  • Miguel de Icaza <miguel@helixcode.com> (2000)
  • Vincent Untz <vuntz@gnome.org> (2009-2010)

look at that lineage. ancestors of the manpage. we respect them 🫡

🌟 SEE ALSO 🌟

further information may also be available at: http://wiki.mate-desktop.org/docs

and that's the whole vibe, bestie. go forth and let mate-wm pick your window manager for you, no cap 🍓

MATE Desktop Environment · 11 February 2014 · MATE-WM(1)

mwah 💋 stan a window manager startup script.

📦 where this page comes from