install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install wmctrl

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install wmctrl

MacPorts ports tree · x11/wmctrl/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%

sudo apk add wmctrl

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · wmctrl · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org

Debian aptverified · 92%

sudo apt install wmctrl

Debian stable package indexes · wmctrl · source: deb.debian.org

Fedora dnfverified · 92%

sudo dnf install wmctrl

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · wmctrl · source: dl.fedoraproject.org

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#wmctrl

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/wm/wmctrl/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S wmctrl

Arch Linux sync databases · wmctrl · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

openSUSE zypperverified · 92%

sudo zypper install wmctrl

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · wmctrl · source: download.opensuse.org

overview

Package summary

UNIX/Linux command-line tool to interact with an EWMH/NetWM

Project links

Commands and aliases

wmctrl

history

Project history and usage

wmctrl is a small X11 command-line utility for querying and controlling window managers that implement the Extended Window Manager Hints, also known as EWMH or NetWM. It is an old-fashioned Unix desktop automation tool: scriptable, tiny, and useful precisely because it exposes window-manager operations outside the graphical shell.

Project history

The upstream ChangeLog, preserved in the Conservatory archive, records an initial release by Tomas Styblo on 15 September 2003 and a compact burst of releases through 1.07 on 3 January 2005. The original README identifies Tomas Styblo as author and maintainer, gives the upstream homepage, and states that wmctrl is based on the freedesktop.org EWMH specification.

The Conservatory archive exists because wmctrl had no public upstream version-control repository. Its maintainers imported the upstream tarball history into Git in 2018 and noted that the latest upstream release was still the January 2005 1.07 release.

Adoption history

wmctrl persisted through distribution packaging rather than active upstream development. Debian, Fedora, Arch, Guix, RPM-based distributions, and others have carried version 1.07 or downstream builds because the tool remains handy for X11 desktops, scripts, hotkeys, test automation, and glue code around lightweight window managers.

How it is used

Users run wmctrl to list windows and desktops, activate or close a window, move or resize windows, change desktop geometry, switch desktops, or set EWMH states such as fullscreen, maximized, sticky, or always-on-top. Its usefulness depends on the window manager implementing the EWMH/NetWM protocol, which standardizes interactions between window managers, pagers, taskbars, applications, and desktop utilities.

Why package nerds care

wmctrl is package-nerd significant because it is the kind of tiny, stable X11 utility that survives for decades with little upstream activity. It codifies a desktop protocol into one scriptable binary and is still pulled into environments where shell scripts need to reason about graphical windows.

Timeline

2003: Initial wmctrl release recorded in the upstream ChangeLog.
2005: wmctrl 1.07 released, with additions such as WM_CLASS support, active-window addressing, 64-bit support, and a man page recorded around the same release period.
2011: EWMH 1.5 published by freedesktop.org, documenting the protocol family wmctrl targets.
2018: Conservatory imported the released wmctrl tarball history into a Git archive because no public upstream VCS was available.

Related projects

EWMH/NetWM is the freedesktop.org specification that defines the window-manager properties and client messages wmctrl manipulates.
Zenity is mentioned in the original README as a complementary tool for combining GUI interactions with shell scripts.

Sources

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 13 platform targets.
Installs with 6 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`wmctrl`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-07-08

manager version1.07

manager updated2026-06-19

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://packages.debian.org/sid/wmctrl

infoRelease/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories.https://packages.debian.org/sid/wmctrlnone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:wmctrl
Version	1.07
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/wmctrl
Homepage	https://packages.debian.org/sid/wmctrl
Upstream docs	http://tripie.sweb.cz/utils/wmctrl
License	GPL-2.0-or-later
Source archive	https://deb.debian.org/debian/pool/main/w/wmctrl/wmctrl_1.07.orig.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-19T12:33:04-07:00
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	gettext, glib, libice, libsm, libx11, libxmu
Build dependencies	pkgconf
Bottle	available (on arm64_big_sur, arm64_linux, arm64_monterey, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, big_sur, catalina, monterey, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	wmctrl
Version Scheme	0
Revision	2
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Debian apt95%

wmctrl 1.07+git20240228.1105759-1

control an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager

https://github.com/Conservatory/wmctrl

sudo apt install wmctrl

Section: x11
Architecture: amd64
5 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

Debian stable package indexes · deb.debian.org · Debian stable package indexes: wmctrl from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz

Nix95%

wmctrl

nix profile install nixpkgs#wmctrl

normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/wm/wmctrl/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

Ubuntu apt95%

wmctrl 1.07-7ubuntu3

control an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager

http://tripie.sweb.cz/utils/wmctrl/

sudo apt install wmctrl

Section: universe/x11
Architecture: amd64
4 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes · archive.ubuntu.com · Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: wmctrl from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz

apk95%

wmctrl 1.07-r1

wmctrl is a UNIX/Linux command line tool to interact with an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager

https://sites.google.com/site/tstyblo/wmctrl

sudo apk add wmctrl

License: GPL
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: wmctrl
1 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: wmctrl from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

apk95%

wmctrl-doc 1.07-r1

wmctrl is a UNIX/Linux command line tool to interact with an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager (documentation)

https://sites.google.com/site/tstyblo/wmctrl

sudo apk add wmctrl-doc

License: GPL
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: wmctrl
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

Alpine Linux edge package indexes · dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org · Alpine Linux edge package indexes: wmctrl-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/testing/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz

dnf95%

wmctrl 1.07-41.fc44

Command line tool to interact with an X Window Manager

http://sweb.cz/tripie/utils/wmctrl

sudo dnf install wmctrl

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: Unspecified
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: wmctrl
5 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

Fedora Rawhide package metadata · dl.fedoraproject.org · Fedora Rawhide package metadata: wmctrl from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst

pacman95%

wmctrl 1.07-6

Control your EWMH compliant window manager from command line

http://tripie.sweb.cz/utils/wmctrl/

sudo pacman -S wmctrl

License: GPL
Architecture: x86_64
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: wmctrl from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

zypper95%

wmctrl 1.07-152.6

Command line tool to interact with an EWMH/NetWM compatible X Window Manager

http://sweb.cz/tripie/utils/wmctrl/

sudo zypper install wmctrl

License: GPL-2.0-or-later
Category: System/X11/Utilities
Architecture: x86_64
Source Package: wmctrl
4 dependencies
1 provides
normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · download.opensuse.org · openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: wmctrl from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst

MacPorts95%

wmctrl

sudo port install wmctrl

normalized package name match
Matched by: Wmctrl

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: x11/wmctrl/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/wmctrl.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install wmctrl with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper