The Future Is Niri
I'm a long-time tiling window manager user, with thirty-five percent of my life spent using Sway and two years with i3. The realization of those numbers (and my age) has dawned upon me, leaving an irresistible urge to share my thoughts on this topic. This may be worse than finding grey hairs – I'm ready to give my opinion.
As the master of switching between Linux distributions and window managers, it's no surprise that I jumped on Wayland before it was cool. I had to adapt to a lot of broken stuff, just like I did with my entire Linux-on-modern-laptop experience. But with Sway, I found a workflow I loved – for years.
I went about my life, dismissing alternatives as straying from the "One True Path" set forth by anonymous forum-goers. It was what all the cool kids online were using, and I was too young to make good decisions. But when Sway broke me emotionally with a click-and-drag issue, I had no choice but to seek help.
I clicked-and-dragged text and mouse released – my workflow disintegrated in an instant. The realisation that traditional tiling window managers are not the power-user workflow of choice hit me hard. They artificially limit space, force content reflows, and don't work well with non-standard monitor layouts.
I'd been running out of space on Sway for years – eleven workspaces open was a common sight! But switching to Niri changed everything. I can have three large projects open, various chat apps, a YouTube video, and still use only five workspaces. The same setup would spill over onto workspace fifteen on Sway, leaving me confused and frustrated.
Niri's true power shines when paired with an ultrawide monitor. Their model allows for tiling to happen much more naturally, using the full space of the monitor. I can now enjoy seamless transitions between projects and windows, without ever having to close them or switch between workspaces.
The mixed DPI issue was another reason I needed Niri in my life – a 4K monitor and an FHD monitor at the same physical size are like apples and oranges. Scaling windows is essential for a smooth user experience.
X11 struggled with this, but Wayland supported it as a core feature. It's amazing how much better it works compared to X11's implementation.
Inter-process communication (IPC) allows me to send messages to Niri from other programs – move columns around, blank the screen, and so on. This is like having superpowers!
Niri has genuinely improved my life as a user. I urge everyone using Sway or another traditional tiling window manager to try Niri right now.
Want to learn more about my configurations? My keybindings are published on Sourcehut if you're looking for a similar experience. Don't wait – go ahead and join the revolution!
Contact me if you want to hire me or discuss any topic in the Fediverse – Bluesky, to be specific. I love making puns.