X11 Window Tiling & Startup Scripts

Lightweight window tiling and desktop startup profile management for X11 using wmctrl, xdotool, and zenity.

Dependencies

• wmctrl — window manipulation (move, resize, workspace)
• xdotool — display geometry, active window ID, window info
• zenity — profile selection dialog (startup only)

Installation

git clone <repo> ~/.local/bin

Ensure ~/.local/bin is on PATH. Scripts reference each other via relative paths from dirname $0.

Usage

Window Tiling

Run any script to position the active window:

Command	Effect
quarter/quarter-top-left	Top-left quadrant
quarter/quarter-top-right	Top-right quadrant
quarter/quarter-bottom-left	Bottom-left quadrant
quarter/quarter-bottom-right	Bottom-right quadrant
quarter/quarter-center	Centered quarter
one/one-half-left	Left half
one/one-half-right	Right half
one/one-third-left	Left third
one/one-third-right	Right third
one/one-fifth-left	Left fifth
one/one-fifth-right	Right fifth
three/three-quarters-left	Left three-quarters
three/three-quarters-right	Right three-quarters
four/four-fifths-left	Left four-fifths
four/four-fifths-right	Right four-fifths

Incremental Resize

Nudge active window dimensions:

Command	Effect
increase/increase-width	Widen by W_STEP (100px)
increase/increase-height	Heighten by H_STEP (50px)
decrease/decrease-width	Narrow by W_STEP
decrease/decrease-height	Shorten by H_STEP

Startup Profiles

./startup-profile-switcher.sh

Presents a zenity list dialog with three profiles:

• Development — launches Firefox, terminal, Zed, Obsidian; arranges across workspaces
• Personal — personal workspace apps
• Minimal — minimal session

Default fallback is Development.

Directory Structure

~/.local/bin/
├── tiling-common.sh              # Shared screen dims, fractions, helpers
├── startup-profile-switcher.sh   # Zenity profile picker
├── quarter/                      # 5 scripts: 4 quadrants + center
├── one/                          # 6 scripts: 1/2, 1/3, 1/5 left/right
├── three/                        # 2 scripts: 3/4 left/right
├── four/                         # 2 scripts: 4/5 left/right
├── increase/                     # 2 scripts: increase width/height
├── decrease/                     # 2 scripts: decrease width/height
└── startup/
    ├── startup-helpers.sh        # Sourced helpers: get_wid, place_window, place
    ├── startup-dev.sh            # Development profile
    ├── startup-personal.sh       # Personal profile
    └── startup-minimal.sh        # Minimal profile

Script Architecture

tiling-common.sh

Shared variables and helper functions. Sourced by all tiling scripts.

Geometry fractions (derived from xdotool getdisplaygeometry):

Variable	Value
SW, SH	Screen width, height
W_1_2	SW / 2
W_1_3	SW / 3
W_1_4	SW / 4
W_1_5	SW / 5
W_2_3	SW * 2 / 3
W_3_4	SW * 3 / 4
W_4_5	SW * 4 / 5
H_1_2	SH / 2
H_1_4	SH / 4
W_STEP	Width increment (100px)
H_STEP	Height increment (50px)

Helper functions:

• get_active_geometry — resolves active window decimal ID via xdotool getactivewindow, converts to hex for wmctrl, outputs hex_wid X Y WIDTH HEIGHT
• load_active_geometry — parses get_active_geometry output into $WID $X $Y $WIDTH $HEIGHT
• clamp VALUE MIN MAX — constrains value within range
• apply_window_geometry WID W H [X] [Y] — calls wmctrl -i -r with bounds

Tiling Script Pattern

All static tiling scripts follow this pattern:

#!/bin/bash
BIN_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
source "$BIN_ROOT/tiling-common.sh"

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,X,Y,WIDTH,HEIGHT

Incremental Resize Script Pattern

#!/bin/bash
BIN_ROOT="$(cd "$(dirname "$0")/.." && pwd)"
source "$BIN_ROOT/tiling-common.sh"

load_active_geometry
UPDATED_WIDTH=$(clamp $((WIDTH + W_STEP)) 1 $SW)
apply_window_geometry "$WID" "$UPDATED_WIDTH" "$HEIGHT"

Startup Script Pattern

#!/bin/bash
source "$(dirname "$0")/../tiling-common.sh"
source "$(dirname "$0")/startup-helpers.sh"

app1 &
app2 &

place "app.class" X Y WIDTH HEIGHT WORKSPACE

startup-helpers.sh functions:

• get_wid CLASS — polls wmctrl -l -x for window by class (15s timeout, 1s intervals), returns hex window ID
• place_window WID CLASS X Y W H WS — removes maximized state, moves/resizes, sends to workspace
• place CLASS X Y W H WS — convenience wrapper: calls get_wid then place_window

Configuration

Adjust Steps

Edit in tiling-common.sh:

W_STEP=100
H_STEP=50

Add New Tiling Position

Copy an existing tiling script and change the wmctrl -e arguments.

Add New Startup Profile

1. Create startup/startup-<name>.sh
2. Source tiling-common.sh and startup-helpers.sh
3. Launch apps with &
4. Call place for each window
5. Add case in startup-profile-switcher.sh

Keyboard Shortcuts (Suggested)

Bind these in your window manager or desktop environment:

Shortcut	Command
Super+Shift+Left	quarter/quarter-top-left
Super+Shift+Right	quarter/quarter-top-right
Super+Ctrl+Left	one/one-half-left
Super+Ctrl+Right	one/one-half-right
Super+Ctrl+Up	increase/increase-height
Super+Ctrl+Down	decrease/decrease-height
Super+Ctrl+Shift+Right	increase/increase-width
Super+Ctrl+Shift+Left	decrease/decrease-width

Troubleshooting

Window jumps to x=0

wmctrl -e accepts signed 16-bit x-offsets (max 32767). On wide/4K monitors, right-aligned positions that combine large offsets may overflow this limit. When SW > 1366, use fraction-based offsets (e.g., $W_1_2, $W_3_4). Avoid hardcoded values that could exceed 32767.

Command not found

Install missing dependencies:

# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt install wmctrl xdotool zenity

# Arch
sudo pacman -S wmctrl xdotool zenity

# Fedora
sudo dnf install wmctrl xdotool zenity

Window won't move or resize

Remove maximized state first:

wmctrl -i -r "$wid" -b remove,maximized_vert,maximized_horiz

This is handled automatically by place() in startup scripts.

Gaps around windows

Gap management is delegated to compositor window decorations (gtk.css styling). The ASIDE_GAP variable in tiling-common.sh is commented out — adjust your compositor shadow/decorations instead.

Known Limitations

• Signed 16-bit x-offset limit: wmctrl -e caps x at 32767. Scripts using fraction variables are safe; watch for this when adding new positions on monitors wider than 1366px.
• No tests, no CI, no build system: Add new scripts by copying and modifying an existing one.
• Shebang split: Most scripts use #!/bin/bash; two use #!/usr/bin/env bash. Both are supported.