Perfection in Linux isn’t adding features—Openbox taught me its about removing them
Perfection in Linux isn’t adding features—Openbox taught me its about removing them
https://www.howtogeek.com/this-linux-desktop-setup-intentionally-wastes-screen-spaceand-i-love-it/
Publish Date: 2026-07-01 09:30:00
Source Domain: www.howtogeek.com
The French author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry said that “perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” I wanted to see how close I could get to perfection with a minimal Linux desktop running just the Openbox window manager.
Why a window manager?
Can I give up my desktop?
I’ve grown up around desktop environments. The first GUI I ever used was on an Apple Macintosh that my dad had unpacked before he was going to take it to work. I remember playing (a probably pirated copy of) Tetris on it. The first computer that actually belonged in my household had Windows 3.1 installed.
When I finally got into Unix-like systems years later, my desktop habits seemed to have imprinted on me. I’ve never felt entirely comfortable in a bare window manager, but I thought I would try to use one as much as possible. I work almost exclusively on the command-line on Linux, whether in WSL or in a full desktop mode. I only depend on the graphical elements to move windows around or use graphical programs like web browsers.
Why Openbox?
I wanted to see how it would do by itself
I’d had experience with window managers before. I’d tried them out when I first started getting into Linux. I’d dabbled with other window managers like FluxBox, but for this project, I have to admit that the choice of window manager was largely random. I would be getting mostly the same experience.
Since I was on a tight deadline for this piece, I probably wouldn’t delve too much into the intricacies of configuration. I wanted a window manager that was widely supported. OpenBox seemed to fit the bill. It’s available on almost every distro. It’s a common default for minimalists desktops like LXDE. My default desktop is already relatively lightweight, my favorite being Xfce.
