{"slug": "xfce", "name": "Xfce", "category": "os", "category_name": "Operating systems and desktop", "description": "Lightweight open-source desktop environment for Linux and other Unix-like operating systems.", "recommenders": 27, "commenters": 42, "warners": 4, "score": 23.376, "rising": 6.76, "first": "2025-11-14", "latest": "2026-10-23", "why": "HN commenters like Xfce for being lightweight enough to revive old hardware and for a fast, stable interface that rarely changes.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 28, "neutral": 12, "compare": 0, "warn": 4}, "spark": [0, 0, 13, 0, 0, 0, 0, 2, 1, 6, 5, 1], "listed": true, "loved": ["Lightweight", "Stability"], "caveat": "Wayland support", "short_quote": "Anyway, I LOVE XFCE. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles in my DE, I just need it to launch applications, bind some hotkeys, and otherwise stay out of my way.", "icon": true, "domain": "opencollective.com", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://xfce.org", "pricing": "open source", "aliases": ["Xfce", "XFCE"], "verdict": [{"text": "HN commenters like Xfce for being lightweight enough to revive old hardware", "cites": [{"id": 791139681, "item_id": 49446230, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446230", "by": "hochmartinez", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Installing Manjaro (Arch), XFCE and kernel 6.18.", "excerpt": "It's not obsolete at all. Install Linux to unleash the full potential of your M1 (or to liberate any other system with a BloatOs, like macOS or Windows). I resucitated and saved from the landfill a laggy and almost unusable laptop with Window 10, 4GB RAM and a Celeron processor, how?... Installing Manjaro (Arch), XFCE and kernel 6.18. ZSwap and MGLru do wonders with memory and cache management. It's fast enough with ", "context": "", "use_case": "lightweight desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra"}, {"id": 783289760, "item_id": 48955610, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955610", "by": "codelion", "date": "2026-07-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a 2010 Macbook Air with Linux XFCE desktop and it works well for browsing and simple office work.", "excerpt": "I use a 2010 Macbook Air with Linux XFCE desktop and it works well for browsing and simple office work.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop on old MacBook Air", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux"}, {"id": 791112304, "item_id": 49444519, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49444519", "by": "hnsr", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But I too have ran a super snappy XFCE desktop for ages on pretty old hardware.", "excerpt": "Yeah, I think they can be a combination of processor, GPU, memory architecture, and G(UI) software. But I too have ran a super snappy XFCE desktop for ages on pretty old hardware. I only recently switched to KDE+Wayland on much newer hardware and felt like it was snappy enough to not bother me. I also remember there were times were my much more powerful dedicated GPU was outperformed by my CPU integrated GPU, which I", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop on old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra"}, {"id": 748495360, "item_id": 46780960, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46780960", "by": "spicyusername", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "xfce will always have a place in my heart", "excerpt": "Great to see xfce continue on into the next age. I've been using popos for a while, but xfce will always have a place in my heart. If it had tiling support I'd probably use it still. Being so lightweight is a massive boon.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}]}, {"text": " and for a fast, stable interface that rarely changes.", "cites": [{"id": 745403728, "item_id": 46587733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587733", "by": "vdupras", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people.", "excerpt": "Let me join on this XFCE love fest. I also think it rocks, but it's more than that. It's also my go-to install for \"friends and family\" linux installs (Debian stable and XFCE). I've been doing a couple of these over the years, and the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people. So, with XFCE, I explain things once and I d", "context": "sets up Linux for friends and family", "use_case": "Linux installs for friends and family", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745350896, "item_id": 46584431, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584431", "by": "mmh0000", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Anyway, I LOVE XFCE. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles in my DE, I just need it to launch applications, bind some hotkeys, and otherwise stay out of my way.", "excerpt": "I have to agree, XFCE is great! It's weird that when using something like Windows, KDE, or Gnome, I notice a delay between clicking and the thing happening on screen. It's maybe 100ms or so, but after using XFCE for years, there's a notable and, for me, infuriating delay in many modern GUIs. And it's not my computer; I'm sitting here with 32 cores, 128GiB of RAM, and a somewhat fancy AMD video card. Anyway, I LOVE XF", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 794430512, "item_id": 49651907, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49651907", "by": "IvanLudvig", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use and love xfce, for example", "excerpt": "Since software is less constrained by physical resources and has low perceived friction for change, it's easy to adopt a development strategy based on the common ideas that \"more is better\" and that continuous change is inherently good. But things don't have to be this way. Buttons moving around after every update isn't inevitable. AI-assistants in text editors aren't inevitable either. I use and love xfce, for examp", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "I have a theory that software drives people insane"}, {"id": 745368944, "item_id": 46585559, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585559", "by": "jamiejquinn", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Xfce is great generally, pretty easy to backup and share the whole config, ideal collection of apps.", "excerpt": "I ran a pretty vanilla xfce setup from about 2010 until 2024 until I moved to i3. Xfce is great generally, pretty easy to backup and share the whole config, ideal collection of apps. I'm sure gnome and kde have more features but for a good, solid, predictable desktop experience, cannae beat xfce.", "context": "used from 2010 until 2024", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"text": " The most common caveat is its limited Wayland support,", "cites": [{"id": 791147792, "item_id": 49446737, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446737", "by": "bbkane", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love XFCE", "excerpt": "I love XFCE, but I switched to KDE as it supports Wayland (and I want to use WayDroid). KDE has a similar window + shortcut philosophy.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Omacom Foundation Launches with $8M"}, {"id": 745379025, "item_id": 46586189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586189", "by": "kamikazechaser", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years", "excerpt": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years until recently when I moved to KDE Plasma (Fedora) because of Wayland support. Imo, KDE is better and more resource efficient. I also got a free 10 fps boost on DotA 2 on the same hardware and settings. Zed and a lot of other apps are better supported on Wayland.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745368960, "item_id": 46585560, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585560", "by": "avhception", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it.", "excerpt": "When KDE 4 came out, I switched to Gnome 2. When Gnome 3 came out in (checks notes) 2011, I switched to XFCE. And that was that. I have a minimal taskbar at the bottom of my screen, with a little tray and a little button for the whisker menu. But I usually launch that using hyper + space. It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it. Let's hope that it will survive the Wayland transition.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "GNOME 3", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 738302832, "item_id": 46143927, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46143927", "by": "kop316", "date": "2025-12-03", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use XFCE on the laptop and desktop", "excerpt": "I have a desktop and laptop with X11 and another laptop and phone with Wayland. It's not because I prefer one over another intrinsically, it's because I use XFCE on the laptop and desktop, GNOME on the other laptop, and Phosh on the phone. That being said, they all run about the same to me? If XFCE swaps to Wayland, I probably will too. I have run XFCE for a long time, so I have been experimenting if I like GNOME or ", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half of Linux Users Stick with X11, Despite Years of Wayland Being Forced"}]}, {"text": " which has pushed several longtime users to KDE Plasma.", "cites": [{"id": 791147792, "item_id": 49446737, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446737", "by": "bbkane", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love XFCE", "excerpt": "I love XFCE, but I switched to KDE as it supports Wayland (and I want to use WayDroid). KDE has a similar window + shortcut philosophy.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Omacom Foundation Launches with $8M"}, {"id": 745379025, "item_id": 46586189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586189", "by": "kamikazechaser", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years", "excerpt": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years until recently when I moved to KDE Plasma (Fedora) because of Wayland support. Imo, KDE is better and more resource efficient. I also got a free 10 fps boost on DotA 2 on the same hardware and settings. Zed and a lot of other apps are better supported on Wayland.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 797284066, "item_id": 49830254, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49830254", "by": "soulofmischief", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used xfce for pretty much my entire life", "excerpt": "KDE used to be terrible. However today, despite some grievances, it's probably the most polished modern Linux DE experience. Enough so that Valve chose it for SteamOS. I am also enjoying it on a Bazzite system. I used xfce for pretty much my entire life because yes, there's been very little meaningful improvement to the DE experience in 25 years. Modern KDE finally convinced me to switch, and it does feel like a much", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 745376352, "item_id": 46586022, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586022", "by": "liotier", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to love Xfce, when KDE felt clunky to me", "excerpt": "I used to love Xfce, when KDE felt clunky to me and Gnome went in directions I found insane. Since then Gnome remains Gnome, but KDE has matured to a stage where most of the defaults feel like they were designed for me - and any that doesn't can be easily changed. After a period of using more and more K* applications, I realized I might as well switch desktop... Xfce is now a fond memory, and the times have moved on.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Lightweight", "summary": "Runs well on old or low-spec machines, including laptops rescued from the landfill.", "quotes": [{"id": 791139681, "item_id": 49446230, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446230", "by": "hochmartinez", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Installing Manjaro (Arch), XFCE and kernel 6.18.", "excerpt": "It's not obsolete at all. Install Linux to unleash the full potential of your M1 (or to liberate any other system with a BloatOs, like macOS or Windows). I resucitated and saved from the landfill a laggy and almost unusable laptop with Window 10, 4GB RAM and a Celeron processor, how?... Installing Manjaro (Arch), XFCE and kernel 6.18. ZSwap and MGLru do wonders with memory and cache management. It's fast enough with ", "context": "", "use_case": "lightweight desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra"}, {"id": 783289760, "item_id": 48955610, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955610", "by": "codelion", "date": "2026-07-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a 2010 Macbook Air with Linux XFCE desktop and it works well for browsing and simple office work.", "excerpt": "I use a 2010 Macbook Air with Linux XFCE desktop and it works well for browsing and simple office work.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop on old MacBook Air", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux"}, {"id": 748495360, "item_id": 46780960, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46780960", "by": "spicyusername", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "xfce will always have a place in my heart", "excerpt": "Great to see xfce continue on into the next age. I've been using popos for a while, but xfce will always have a place in my heart. If it had tiling support I'd probably use it still. Being so lightweight is a massive boon.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}]}, {"label": "Stability", "summary": "Commenters value that it stays the same across years and behaves predictably.", "quotes": [{"id": 745403728, "item_id": 46587733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587733", "by": "vdupras", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people.", "excerpt": "Let me join on this XFCE love fest. I also think it rocks, but it's more than that. It's also my go-to install for \"friends and family\" linux installs (Debian stable and XFCE). I've been doing a couple of these over the years, and the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people. So, with XFCE, I explain things once and I d", "context": "sets up Linux for friends and family", "use_case": "Linux installs for friends and family", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 794430512, "item_id": 49651907, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49651907", "by": "IvanLudvig", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use and love xfce, for example", "excerpt": "Since software is less constrained by physical resources and has low perceived friction for change, it's easy to adopt a development strategy based on the common ideas that \"more is better\" and that continuous change is inherently good. But things don't have to be this way. Buttons moving around after every update isn't inevitable. AI-assistants in text editors aren't inevitable either. I use and love xfce, for examp", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "I have a theory that software drives people insane"}, {"id": 745368944, "item_id": 46585559, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585559", "by": "jamiejquinn", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Xfce is great generally, pretty easy to backup and share the whole config, ideal collection of apps.", "excerpt": "I ran a pretty vanilla xfce setup from about 2010 until 2024 until I moved to i3. Xfce is great generally, pretty easy to backup and share the whole config, ideal collection of apps. I'm sure gnome and kde have more features but for a good, solid, predictable desktop experience, cannae beat xfce.", "context": "used from 2010 until 2024", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "Snappy response", "summary": "Users report near-instant UI response with no animations by default.", "quotes": [{"id": 745350896, "item_id": 46584431, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584431", "by": "mmh0000", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Anyway, I LOVE XFCE. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles in my DE, I just need it to launch applications, bind some hotkeys, and otherwise stay out of my way.", "excerpt": "I have to agree, XFCE is great! It's weird that when using something like Windows, KDE, or Gnome, I notice a delay between clicking and the thing happening on screen. It's maybe 100ms or so, but after using XFCE for years, there's a notable and, for me, infuriating delay in many modern GUIs. And it's not my computer; I'm sitting here with 32 cores, 128GiB of RAM, and a somewhat fancy AMD video card. Anyway, I LOVE XF", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 788074624, "item_id": 49254664, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49254664", "by": "rjh29", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "On Linux I use XFCE which is almost instant - no animations by default.", "excerpt": "This stuff is user tested, many people prefer animations because they get confused if the UI changes instantly. For example if a button moves position when a sidebar is collapsed, the animation tells the user where the button has gone. You are probably more observant and have good visual processing, so the animation is superfluous to you. Luckily it can be turned off on Android. On Linux I use XFCE which is almost in", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: In your experience, what are sound conventions for e-ink UI development?"}, {"id": 791112304, "item_id": 49444519, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49444519", "by": "hnsr", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But I too have ran a super snappy XFCE desktop for ages on pretty old hardware.", "excerpt": "Yeah, I think they can be a combination of processor, GPU, memory architecture, and G(UI) software. But I too have ran a super snappy XFCE desktop for ages on pretty old hardware. I only recently switched to KDE+Wayland on much newer hardware and felt like it was snappy enough to not bother me. I also remember there were times were my much more powerful dedicated GPU was outperformed by my CPU integrated GPU, which I", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop on old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra"}]}, {"label": "Stays out of the way", "summary": "Seen as a minimal desktop that launches apps, binds hotkeys and otherwise stays out of the way.", "quotes": [{"id": 745368960, "item_id": 46585560, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585560", "by": "avhception", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it.", "excerpt": "When KDE 4 came out, I switched to Gnome 2. When Gnome 3 came out in (checks notes) 2011, I switched to XFCE. And that was that. I have a minimal taskbar at the bottom of my screen, with a little tray and a little button for the whisker menu. But I usually launch that using hyper + space. It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it. Let's hope that it will survive the Wayland transition.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "GNOME 3", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745350896, "item_id": 46584431, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584431", "by": "mmh0000", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Anyway, I LOVE XFCE. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles in my DE, I just need it to launch applications, bind some hotkeys, and otherwise stay out of my way.", "excerpt": "I have to agree, XFCE is great! It's weird that when using something like Windows, KDE, or Gnome, I notice a delay between clicking and the thing happening on screen. It's maybe 100ms or so, but after using XFCE for years, there's a notable and, for me, infuriating delay in many modern GUIs. And it's not my computer; I'm sitting here with 32 cores, 128GiB of RAM, and a somewhat fancy AMD video card. Anyway, I LOVE XF", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 777418928, "item_id": 48588683, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48588683", "by": "MisterTea", "date": "2026-06-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I run XFCE with the Chicago95 theme.", "excerpt": "This is why I run XFCE with the Chicago95 theme. Sure, it's Windows 95 but the 2000 UI wasn't a big divergence from memory. It's familiar and gets out of the way. https://github.com/grassmunk/Chicago95", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "What was nice about the UI of Windows 2000"}]}, {"label": "Just works", "summary": "Reported to work reliably with Nvidia drivers, HiDPI on X11 and everyday apps.", "quotes": [{"id": 745353296, "item_id": 46584581, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584581", "by": "BatteryMountain", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Basically whenever I use a machine that has an nvidia gpu, I always use xfce, as it just works, has least amount of issues & babysitting nvidia drivers & breakages.", "excerpt": "Basically whenever I use a machine that has an nvidia gpu, I always use xfce, as it just works, has least amount of issues & babysitting nvidia drivers & breakages. For everything else I use KDE. I have some old chromebooks (flashed with chromebox firmware) that uses xfce too, which works great! So kde & xfce is the only two desktops I use these days & have patience for.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop on Nvidia machines and old chromebooks", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 779309360, "item_id": 48706835, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48706835", "by": "adrian_b", "date": "2026-06-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use XFCE, where you can set directly the DPI values of the monitors, so that everything will work fine.", "excerpt": "I have used only HiDPI monitors with X11 on Linux for about a dozen years and it has always worked perfectly. However I use XFCE, where you can set directly the DPI values of the monitors, so that everything will work fine. I have heard Gnome users complaining about problems with HiDPI, but those are not caused by X11, but by a bad Gnome UI for desktop settings. So HiDPI is not something at which Wayland is better th", "context": "Linux user with HiDPI monitors", "use_case": "desktop environment with HiDPI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Enhancing X11 Application Security with LXC"}, {"id": 745365024, "item_id": 46585314, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585314", "by": "Daunk", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I really do feel like XFCE on x11 is the logical choice, it \"just works\" and every app runs well", "excerpt": "I've been using XFCE for a long time now. I often give GNOME and KDE Plasma a try, but I have to tweak GNOME so much to make it usable, and KDE Plasma keeps crashing and has weird issues (Steam friends list being delayed for example), which just got worse when they switched to Wayland. I really do feel like XFCE on x11 is the logical choice, it \"just works\" and every app runs well (Discord has broken hotkeys on Wayla", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "Theming", "summary": "Users enjoy retro themes like Chicago95 and Mac OS 7 Platinum.", "quotes": [{"id": 777418928, "item_id": 48588683, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48588683", "by": "MisterTea", "date": "2026-06-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I run XFCE with the Chicago95 theme.", "excerpt": "This is why I run XFCE with the Chicago95 theme. Sure, it's Windows 95 but the 2000 UI wasn't a big divergence from memory. It's familiar and gets out of the way. https://github.com/grassmunk/Chicago95", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "What was nice about the UI of Windows 2000"}, {"id": 748543040, "item_id": 46783940, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46783940", "by": "rcarmo", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been using a Mac OS 7 Platinum theme on all my XFCE desktops for years", "excerpt": "I certainly hope they support themes. I have been using a Mac OS 7 Platinum theme on all my XFCE desktops for years and I want to keep doing so :)", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Wayland support", "summary": "The lack of mature Wayland support led several users to switch to KDE.", "quotes": [{"id": 791147792, "item_id": 49446737, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446737", "by": "bbkane", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love XFCE", "excerpt": "I love XFCE, but I switched to KDE as it supports Wayland (and I want to use WayDroid). KDE has a similar window + shortcut philosophy.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Omacom Foundation Launches with $8M"}, {"id": 745379025, "item_id": 46586189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586189", "by": "kamikazechaser", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years", "excerpt": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years until recently when I moved to KDE Plasma (Fedora) because of Wayland support. Imo, KDE is better and more resource efficient. I also got a free 10 fps boost on DotA 2 on the same hardware and settings. Zed and a lot of other apps are better supported on Wayland.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745368960, "item_id": 46585560, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585560", "by": "avhception", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it.", "excerpt": "When KDE 4 came out, I switched to Gnome 2. When Gnome 3 came out in (checks notes) 2011, I switched to XFCE. And that was that. I have a minimal taskbar at the bottom of my screen, with a little tray and a little button for the whisker menu. But I usually launch that using hyper + space. It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it. Let's hope that it will survive the Wayland transition.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "GNOME 3", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "Others caught up", "summary": "Some former users find modern KDE or GNOME now more polished or efficient.", "quotes": [{"id": 797284066, "item_id": 49830254, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49830254", "by": "soulofmischief", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used xfce for pretty much my entire life", "excerpt": "KDE used to be terrible. However today, despite some grievances, it's probably the most polished modern Linux DE experience. Enough so that Valve chose it for SteamOS. I am also enjoying it on a Bazzite system. I used xfce for pretty much my entire life because yes, there's been very little meaningful improvement to the DE experience in 25 years. Modern KDE finally convinced me to switch, and it does feel like a much", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 745376352, "item_id": 46586022, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586022", "by": "liotier", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to love Xfce, when KDE felt clunky to me", "excerpt": "I used to love Xfce, when KDE felt clunky to me and Gnome went in directions I found insane. Since then Gnome remains Gnome, but KDE has matured to a stage where most of the defaults feel like they were designed for me - and any that doesn't can be easily changed. After a period of using more and more K* applications, I realized I might as well switch desktop... Xfce is now a fond memory, and the times have moved on.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745380448, "item_id": 46586278, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586278", "by": "emilfihlman", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to use XFCE a lot, but since then", "excerpt": "I used to use XFCE a lot, but since then, even though it sucks in its own ways quite a lot, Gnome defaults to a nicer environment nowadays and doesn't seem so resource intensive anymore.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "No tiling", "summary": "The lack of built-in tiling drove some users to other environments.", "quotes": [{"id": 748495360, "item_id": 46780960, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46780960", "by": "spicyusername", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "xfce will always have a place in my heart", "excerpt": "Great to see xfce continue on into the next age. I've been using popos for a while, but xfce will always have a place in my heart. If it had tiling support I'd probably use it still. Being so lightweight is a massive boon.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}, {"id": 745366003, "item_id": 46585375, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585375", "by": "i_am_a_peasant", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "This was my first DM, i even put my mother on it on her home laptop.", "excerpt": "This was my first DM, i even put my mother on it on her home laptop. I use i3 nowadays, glazewm on windows, and aerospace on macos. anything that\u2019s not a tiling window manager nowadays just feels wrong to me. Even if sometimes my screen doesn\u2019t look pretty because i randomly threw on virtual screen 7 all the windows i don\u2019t currently use.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "Visual inconsistency", "summary": "Since the move to GTK 3, Thunar and the settings apps look mismatched to one user.", "quotes": [{"id": 745396416, "item_id": 46587276, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587276", "by": "tmtvl", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "if you put Thunar and the Xfce system settings next to each other they don't look like they're part of the same project", "excerpt": "I used to like Xfce until KDE 4 won me over. Since Xfce switched to GTK 3, though... if you put Thunar and the Xfce system settings next to each other they don't look like they're part of the same project and that's a shame.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "Project direction", "summary": "One user doubts the project can resist GNOME's direction in the long term.", "quotes": [{"id": 745369808, "item_id": 46585613, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585613", "by": "WhereIsTheTruth", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the resistance showed me the project lacks the backbone to resist GNOME long term", "excerpt": "I moved away from XFCE over the CSD drama, despite winning that battle, the resistance showed me the project lacks the backbone to resist GNOME long term", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}]}, {"label": "Not lean enough", "summary": "One user found it too slow compared with minimal window managers like IceWM.", "quotes": [{"id": 738852819, "item_id": 46178301, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46178301", "by": "shevy-java", "date": "2025-12-06", "stance": "warn", "quote": "XFCE, mate-desktop, KDE and GNOME are too slow or too crap", "excerpt": "Interesting how Brian works. I guess it is the UNIX spirit he carries there. Or perhaps he is damn fast with the tabbed WM. Or is that OSX? I use mostly IceWM these days. I can't use the leaner WMs such as ion or ratpoison and XFCE, mate-desktop, KDE and GNOME are too slow or too crap (KDE unfortunately also now; before that only GNOME was crap. KDE killing xorg-support also means it is one less thing I can use anywa", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Screenshots from developers: 2002 vs. 2015 (2015)"}]}], "who": [{"by": "walrus01", "context": "Runs a headless VM reached via VNC/SSH", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50214315", "date": "2026-10-23"}, {"by": "president_zippy", "context": "forced to use Ubuntu at their job", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50132421", "date": "2026-10-17"}, {"by": "rjh29", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49254664", "date": "2026-08-11"}, {"by": "codelion", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955610", "date": "2026-07-17"}, {"by": "adrian_b", "context": "Linux user with HiDPI monitors", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48706835", "date": "2026-06-28"}, {"by": "hu3", "context": "long-time Xfce user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46780250", "date": "2026-01-27"}, {"by": "vdupras", "context": "sets up Linux for friends and family", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587733", "date": "2026-01-12"}, {"by": "pjmlp", "context": "used UNIX environments since 1994", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586089", "date": "2026-01-12"}, {"by": "jamiejquinn", "context": "used from 2010 until 2024", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585559", "date": "2026-01-12"}, {"by": "kop316", "context": "Linux user", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46143927", "date": "2025-12-03"}], "tags": ["for old hardware", "for non-technical users", "for Nvidia GPU machines", "for HiDPI on X11", "for remote VM desktops"], "use_cases": ["desktop environment", "vm desktop environment", "lightweight desktop", "desktop on old hardware", "desktop environment with less disk writes", "desktop on old macbook air"], "compared": [{"slug": "kde", "name": "KDE", "co": 13, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 4}, {"slug": "gnome", "name": "GNOME", "co": 17, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "kde-plasma", "name": "KDE Plasma", "co": 4, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 2}, {"slug": "i3", "name": "i3", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 2}, {"slug": "debian", "name": "Debian", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "cde", "name": "CDE", "co": 2, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "window-maker", "name": "Window Maker", "co": 1, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584173", "title": "XFCE Is Great", "mentions": 15}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46779645", "title": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49433292", "title": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50198675", "title": "OpenShell \u2013 A safe, private runtime for fleets of autonomous AI agents", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50131256", "title": "Solar surpasses nuclear power globally for first time", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49908757", "title": "Upgrade your desktop: Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS is now available", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {"neutral": 1}, "2025-12": {"neutral": 1, "warn": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 13, "neutral": 4, "warn": 3}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"neutral": 1, "recommend": 2}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 6}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 803429043, "item_id": 50214315, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50214315", "by": "walrus01", "date": "2026-10-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "added xorg and xfce4", "excerpt": "In my case it's a fairly boring proxmox server. The KVM VM started as a bare bones debian install and then I added xorg and xfce4 and the tiger vnc server. I have a GUI on it for when I want to use it that way (in screen dimensions that are a 1:1 mapping of the native resolution of my laptop for full screen VNC session), or of course I also talk to it by regular SSH session, and screen or tmux. The VNC server listens", "context": "Runs a headless VM reached via VNC/SSH", "use_case": "VM desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "OpenShell \u2013 A safe, private runtime for fleets of autonomous AI agents"}, {"id": 802118738, "item_id": 50132421, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50132421", "by": "president_zippy", "date": "2026-10-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I was using OpenBSD w/ xfce", "excerpt": "I've been forced to use Ubuntu 22.04 and 24.04 at my job for the past 4 years, and the longer I use it, the more it makes me wish I was using OpenBSD w/ xfce.", "context": "forced to use Ubuntu at their job", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Solar surpasses nuclear power globally for first time"}, {"id": 798559040, "item_id": 49909940, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49909940", "by": "theandrewbailey", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've since moved away from it (and Ubuntu in general), but not XFCE.", "excerpt": "I had a programming class just as Ubuntu was getting started, and the instructor gave us live CDs. I toyed with it for a few months, but went back to Windows. A few years later (2008-ish), my college issued everybody Thinkpads. The default solution to nearly every problem was \"re-image\". Strangely, the images they used still had the 4-ish GB OEM recovery partition. I had enough insight to know they didn't use it. Aft", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Upgrade your desktop: Ubuntu 26.04.1 LTS is now available"}, {"id": 797284066, "item_id": 49830254, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49830254", "by": "soulofmischief", "date": "2026-09-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used xfce for pretty much my entire life", "excerpt": "KDE used to be terrible. However today, despite some grievances, it's probably the most polished modern Linux DE experience. Enough so that Valve chose it for SteamOS. I am also enjoying it on a Bazzite system. I used xfce for pretty much my entire life because yes, there's been very little meaningful improvement to the DE experience in 25 years. Modern KDE finally convinced me to switch, and it does feel like a much", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ideas on modernizing the open-source desktop"}, {"id": 797000784, "item_id": 49812549, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49812549", "by": "dlcarrier", "date": "2026-09-23", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It works great", "excerpt": "My theory on the term \"user experience\" is that the difference between an interface and an experience is that an experience is overt and memorable, whereas an interface is subtle and forgettable. For real life examples: A door that can be pushed in either direction is an interface. It does its job well, you can use it however you want without any consideration for how it works, and you aren't likely to even remember ", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "CDE", "story": "Are we going to use the same Desktop UX forever? [video]"}, {"id": 795358034, "item_id": 49709877, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49709877", "by": "noir_lord", "date": "2026-09-15", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "XFCE, Cinnamon and KDE all clear that bar", "excerpt": "Still supports a proper taskbar, one per screen with windows from only that screen on that screens taskbar (that's just how I've done it since the 90's but it's a must have because I think in terms of screen relations to where stuff is, it's my mental model) and virtual desktops (Cinnamon and XFCE both do this as do others) and it supports Wayland (which is why I'm not still on Cinnamon which I really liked as it's j", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Cpak \u2013 OCI application package format for Linux desktops, servers and devices"}, {"id": 795293410, "item_id": 49705838, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49705838", "by": "qu4z-2", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I recommend trying KDE or XFCE instead.", "excerpt": "> \"I don't care what you had it at before, now you are getting a full screen window or something random I made up\". Claude tells me this is an intentional design decision on their part... Yeah, Gnome devs hate their users for some reason and want them to suffer (although some people are into it, I guess). I recommend trying KDE or XFCE instead.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "GNOME", "story": "Microsoft patches Windows and Excel \u2013 breaks audio, remote access, and paste"}, {"id": 794430512, "item_id": 49651907, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49651907", "by": "IvanLudvig", "date": "2026-09-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use and love xfce, for example", "excerpt": "Since software is less constrained by physical resources and has low perceived friction for change, it's easy to adopt a development strategy based on the common ideas that \"more is better\" and that continuous change is inherently good. But things don't have to be this way. Buttons moving around after every update isn't inevitable. AI-assistants in text editors aren't inevitable either. I use and love xfce, for examp", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "I have a theory that software drives people insane"}, {"id": 792013792, "item_id": 49500862, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49500862", "by": "dingdingdang", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I for one hold out for them releasing an optimized XFCE variant", "excerpt": "I for one hold out for them releasing an optimized XFCE variant - don't by any means dislike keyboard driven software but I like it as an extension of a regular functional UI experience not as a \"argh the windows are stuck in xyz pattern until I re-remember xyz combo\"-experience: the UI surface is not the speed limit in my optics, rather it is the apps I use or (increasingly due to local AI) the computational hardwar", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Omarchy: Any User Process Can Escalate to Root"}, {"id": 791147792, "item_id": 49446737, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446737", "by": "bbkane", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I love XFCE", "excerpt": "I love XFCE, but I switched to KDE as it supports Wayland (and I want to use WayDroid). KDE has a similar window + shortcut philosophy.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Omacom Foundation Launches with $8M"}, {"id": 791139681, "item_id": 49446230, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49446230", "by": "hochmartinez", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Installing Manjaro (Arch), XFCE and kernel 6.18.", "excerpt": "It's not obsolete at all. Install Linux to unleash the full potential of your M1 (or to liberate any other system with a BloatOs, like macOS or Windows). I resucitated and saved from the landfill a laggy and almost unusable laptop with Window 10, 4GB RAM and a Celeron processor, how?... Installing Manjaro (Arch), XFCE and kernel 6.18. ZSwap and MGLru do wonders with memory and cache management. It's fast enough with ", "context": "", "use_case": "lightweight desktop", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra"}, {"id": 791112304, "item_id": 49444519, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49444519", "by": "hnsr", "date": "2026-08-26", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "But I too have ran a super snappy XFCE desktop for ages on pretty old hardware.", "excerpt": "Yeah, I think they can be a combination of processor, GPU, memory architecture, and G(UI) software. But I too have ran a super snappy XFCE desktop for ages on pretty old hardware. I only recently switched to KDE+Wayland on much newer hardware and felt like it was snappy enough to not bother me. I also remember there were times were my much more powerful dedicated GPU was outperformed by my CPU integrated GPU, which I", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop on old hardware", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple introduces M6 and M5 Ultra"}, {"id": 788667040, "item_id": 49291690, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49291690", "by": "graemep", "date": "2026-08-13", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I noticed plasmashell is write heavy and logs to journald a lot so I have just switched to XFCE", "excerpt": "I noticed plasmashell is write heavy and logs to journald a lot so I have just switched to XFCE partly for that reason.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment with less disk writes", "switched_from": "plasmashell", "story": "Single log line is 49KB+ (ext4) / 110KB+ (btrfs) of systemd-journald disk writes"}, {"id": 788074624, "item_id": 49254664, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49254664", "by": "rjh29", "date": "2026-08-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "On Linux I use XFCE which is almost instant - no animations by default.", "excerpt": "This stuff is user tested, many people prefer animations because they get confused if the UI changes instantly. For example if a button moves position when a sidebar is collapsed, the animation tells the user where the button has gone. You are probably more observant and have good visual processing, so the animation is superfluous to you. Luckily it can be turned off on Android. On Linux I use XFCE which is almost in", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: In your experience, what are sound conventions for e-ink UI development?"}, {"id": 784536676, "item_id": 49033542, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49033542", "by": "zepearl", "date": "2026-07-24", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "For gaming, mediacenter-PC and webradio-miniPC I use Linux Mint with Xfce.", "excerpt": "Gentoorian here as well, cheers. I use it since ~20 years on most of my notebooks/PCs/root servers mainly because of its flexibility and I often end up wanting to use the very latest versions of software (e.g. ZFS, kernels, etc...) without struggling as most things are available from the official central package repository. I admit that updating/upgrading the OS is a pain from the time perspective (because of the lon", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Linux distro do you daily drive?"}, {"id": 783289760, "item_id": 48955610, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48955610", "by": "codelion", "date": "2026-07-17", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use a 2010 Macbook Air with Linux XFCE desktop and it works well for browsing and simple office work.", "excerpt": "I use a 2010 Macbook Air with Linux XFCE desktop and it works well for browsing and simple office work.", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop on old MacBook Air", "switched_from": "", "story": "Reviving a 15-year-old netbook with Arch Linux"}, {"id": 779309360, "item_id": 48706835, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48706835", "by": "adrian_b", "date": "2026-06-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I use XFCE, where you can set directly the DPI values of the monitors, so that everything will work fine.", "excerpt": "I have used only HiDPI monitors with X11 on Linux for about a dozen years and it has always worked perfectly. However I use XFCE, where you can set directly the DPI values of the monitors, so that everything will work fine. I have heard Gnome users complaining about problems with HiDPI, but those are not caused by X11, but by a bad Gnome UI for desktop settings. So HiDPI is not something at which Wayland is better th", "context": "Linux user with HiDPI monitors", "use_case": "desktop environment with HiDPI", "switched_from": "", "story": "Enhancing X11 Application Security with LXC"}, {"id": 777418928, "item_id": 48588683, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48588683", "by": "MisterTea", "date": "2026-06-18", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "This is why I run XFCE with the Chicago95 theme.", "excerpt": "This is why I run XFCE with the Chicago95 theme. Sure, it's Windows 95 but the 2000 UI wasn't a big divergence from memory. It's familiar and gets out of the way. https://github.com/grassmunk/Chicago95", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "What was nice about the UI of Windows 2000"}, {"id": 777094370, "item_id": 48568398, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48568398", "by": "BatteryMountain", "date": "2026-06-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "xfce (old favourite of mine for tablet & low spec pc)", "excerpt": "I don't have historic use of kde but I switched to it about a year ago, after a big release, and its been awesome. Very stable for me, allows custom dpi's for each of my monitors, it doesn't break itself like gnome does. I haven't bothered with other DE's since I tried it, not even xfce (old favourite of mine for tablet & low spec pc), kde performs even well on low specs. And highly configurable out of the box. Its t", "context": "", "use_case": "tablet and low-spec PC", "switched_from": "", "story": "KDE Plasma 6.7 Released"}, {"id": 759787937, "item_id": 47486746, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47486746", "by": "Guestmodinfo", "date": "2026-03-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use AntiX linux with XFCE.", "excerpt": "For my use case, you are making mountain out of a mole hill. I use AntiX linux with XFCE. I have to use zoom professionally with writing tablet on my laptop for hours daily. Never faced even tiny bit of a problem. Never have to install any drivers for tablet. Nothing. AntiX is fully usable and very fast Debian based OS and doesn't uses systemd. It uses runit.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Is possible a modern Linux without systemd? artix/dinit/labwc/noctalia"}, {"id": 751990161, "item_id": 46999385, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46999385", "by": "mlaretallack", "date": "2026-02-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use xfce, multiple workspaces", "excerpt": "Not the best way to do it, but I use xfce, multiple workspaces, each with there own version of AWS Kiro, and each kiro has its own project I am working on. This allows me to \"switch context\" easier between each project to check how the agents are getting on. Kiro also notifies me when an agent wants somthing. Usually I keep it to about 4 projects at a time, just to keep the context switching down.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop workspaces", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Are you using an agent orchestrator to write code?"}, {"id": 748657793, "item_id": 46791112, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46791112", "by": "dlcarrier", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "a prime example of what I love about XFCE", "excerpt": "This bullet point from the reason to chose one library over another is a prime example of what I love about XFCE: \u2022 smithay has great documentation. Not only are they considering it, but they're expressly calling it out. I'm convinced that the publication of the Agile Manifesto was an exercise in Cunningham's Law, and to that end the XFCE team has produced something great by doing the opposite.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}, {"id": 748543040, "item_id": 46783940, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46783940", "by": "rcarmo", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have been using a Mac OS 7 Platinum theme on all my XFCE desktops for years", "excerpt": "I certainly hope they support themes. I have been using a Mac OS 7 Platinum theme on all my XFCE desktops for years and I want to keep doing so :)", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}, {"id": 748495360, "item_id": 46780960, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46780960", "by": "spicyusername", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "xfce will always have a place in my heart", "excerpt": "Great to see xfce continue on into the next age. I've been using popos for a while, but xfce will always have a place in my heart. If it had tiling support I'd probably use it still. Being so lightweight is a massive boon.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}, {"id": 748484000, "item_id": 46780250, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46780250", "by": "hu3", "date": "2026-01-27", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've been using Xfce as a daily driver in one machine for about a decade now.", "excerpt": "I've been using Xfce as a daily driver in one machine for about a decade now. Great to know there's work on the wayland support front. Also, writing it in Rust should help bring more contributors to the project. If you use Xfce I urge you to donate to their Open Collective: https://opencollective.com/xfce https://opencollective.com/xfce-eu", "context": "long-time Xfce user", "use_case": "daily desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Xfwl4 \u2013 The Roadmap for a Xfce Wayland Compositor"}, {"id": 747702561, "item_id": 46731410, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46731410", "by": "FrostViper8", "date": "2026-01-23", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This stuff works properly on gnome and not on Xfce.", "excerpt": "There is so much wrong here I don't really know where to start. There is a bunch of the usual flawed assumptions on things that haven't been relevant in decades. So I am going to pick the most egregious examples. > But the big point is, it's there. I'd rather have confusing customisation (as Xfce can be) than no customisation like GNOME. Those gnome plugins I install and extensions I must have imagined. https://exten", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "200 MB RAM FreeBSD Desktop"}, {"id": 745403728, "item_id": 46587733, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587733", "by": "vdupras", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people.", "excerpt": "Let me join on this XFCE love fest. I also think it rocks, but it's more than that. It's also my go-to install for \"friends and family\" linux installs (Debian stable and XFCE). I've been doing a couple of these over the years, and the great thing about XFCE is that it doesn't change, while at the same time being fairly intuitive and discoverable to the tech-unsavvy people. So, with XFCE, I explain things once and I d", "context": "sets up Linux for friends and family", "use_case": "Linux installs for friends and family", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745396416, "item_id": 46587276, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46587276", "by": "tmtvl", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "if you put Thunar and the Xfce system settings next to each other they don't look like they're part of the same project", "excerpt": "I used to like Xfce until KDE 4 won me over. Since Xfce switched to GTK 3, though... if you put Thunar and the Xfce system settings next to each other they don't look like they're part of the same project and that's a shame.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745380448, "item_id": 46586278, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586278", "by": "emilfihlman", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to use XFCE a lot, but since then", "excerpt": "I used to use XFCE a lot, but since then, even though it sucks in its own ways quite a lot, Gnome defaults to a nicer environment nowadays and doesn't seem so resource intensive anymore.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745379025, "item_id": 46586189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586189", "by": "kamikazechaser", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years", "excerpt": "I used XFCE (MxLinux) for 5 years until recently when I moved to KDE Plasma (Fedora) because of Wayland support. Imo, KDE is better and more resource efficient. I also got a free 10 fps boost on DotA 2 on the same hardware and settings. Zed and a lot of other apps are better supported on Wayland.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745377424, "item_id": 46586089, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586089", "by": "pjmlp", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Xfce is what I settled on, when still using GNU/Linux desktops.", "excerpt": "Xfce is what I settled on, when still using GNU/Linux desktops. I used a multitude of UNIX environments since 1994, starting with IBM X Windows terminals connected to DG/UX, and thanks to the way Unity got dropped, the way GNOME 3.0 went down, windowmaker no longer being actively developed, Xfce it was.", "context": "used UNIX environments since 1994", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "Window Maker", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745376352, "item_id": 46586022, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46586022", "by": "liotier", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I used to love Xfce, when KDE felt clunky to me", "excerpt": "I used to love Xfce, when KDE felt clunky to me and Gnome went in directions I found insane. Since then Gnome remains Gnome, but KDE has matured to a stage where most of the defaults feel like they were designed for me - and any that doesn't can be easily changed. After a period of using more and more K* applications, I realized I might as well switch desktop... Xfce is now a fond memory, and the times have moved on.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745370096, "item_id": 46585631, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585631", "by": "liampulles", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm a longtime fan of XFCE.", "excerpt": "I'm a longtime fan of XFCE. I try all sorts of DEs from time time on spare computers, but I reliably come back to XFCE, which is really just a fairly low-resource, stable embodiment of the classic GNOME feel. I used mainline Ubuntu for a few years until they released GNOME 3 (which I hated then and hate now) and then I switched to Xubuntu and was happy again. I made a conscious decision a few years ago (after trying ", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment for work machines", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745369808, "item_id": 46585613, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585613", "by": "WhereIsTheTruth", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "warn", "quote": "the resistance showed me the project lacks the backbone to resist GNOME long term", "excerpt": "I moved away from XFCE over the CSD drama, despite winning that battle, the resistance showed me the project lacks the backbone to resist GNOME long term", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745368960, "item_id": 46585560, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585560", "by": "avhception", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it.", "excerpt": "When KDE 4 came out, I switched to Gnome 2. When Gnome 3 came out in (checks notes) 2011, I switched to XFCE. And that was that. I have a minimal taskbar at the bottom of my screen, with a little tray and a little button for the whisker menu. But I usually launch that using hyper + space. It gets out of my way, it gets shit done, I love it. Let's hope that it will survive the Wayland transition.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "GNOME 3", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745368944, "item_id": 46585559, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585559", "by": "jamiejquinn", "date": "2026-01-12", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Xfce is great generally, pretty easy to backup and share the whole config, ideal collection of apps.", "excerpt": "I ran a pretty vanilla xfce setup from about 2010 until 2024 until I moved to i3. Xfce is great generally, pretty easy to backup and share the whole config, ideal collection of apps. I'm sure gnome and kde have more features but for a good, solid, predictable desktop experience, cannae beat xfce.", "context": "used from 2010 until 2024", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745366003, "item_id": 46585375, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585375", "by": "i_am_a_peasant", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "This was my first DM, i even put my mother on it on her home laptop.", "excerpt": "This was my first DM, i even put my mother on it on her home laptop. I use i3 nowadays, glazewm on windows, and aerospace on macos. anything that\u2019s not a tiling window manager nowadays just feels wrong to me. Even if sometimes my screen doesn\u2019t look pretty because i randomly threw on virtual screen 7 all the windows i don\u2019t currently use.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745365024, "item_id": 46585314, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46585314", "by": "Daunk", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I really do feel like XFCE on x11 is the logical choice, it \"just works\" and every app runs well", "excerpt": "I've been using XFCE for a long time now. I often give GNOME and KDE Plasma a try, but I have to tweak GNOME so much to make it usable, and KDE Plasma keeps crashing and has weird issues (Steam friends list being delayed for example), which just got worse when they switched to Wayland. I really do feel like XFCE on x11 is the logical choice, it \"just works\" and every app runs well (Discord has broken hotkeys on Wayla", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745353296, "item_id": 46584581, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584581", "by": "BatteryMountain", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Basically whenever I use a machine that has an nvidia gpu, I always use xfce, as it just works, has least amount of issues & babysitting nvidia drivers & breakages.", "excerpt": "Basically whenever I use a machine that has an nvidia gpu, I always use xfce, as it just works, has least amount of issues & babysitting nvidia drivers & breakages. For everything else I use KDE. I have some old chromebooks (flashed with chromebox firmware) that uses xfce too, which works great! So kde & xfce is the only two desktops I use these days & have patience for.", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop on Nvidia machines and old chromebooks", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745352592, "item_id": 46584537, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584537", "by": "tommica", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Xfce is really good, used to have it as a daily driver.", "excerpt": "Xfce is really good, used to have it as a daily driver. His points about how they do not feel the need to change does seem correct, and it is amazing. As a windows user you should be able to figure it out pretty easily!", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 745350896, "item_id": 46584431, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46584431", "by": "mmh0000", "date": "2026-01-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Anyway, I LOVE XFCE. I don't need a lot of bells and whistles in my DE, I just need it to launch applications, bind some hotkeys, and otherwise stay out of my way.", "excerpt": "I have to agree, XFCE is great! It's weird that when using something like Windows, KDE, or Gnome, I notice a delay between clicking and the thing happening on screen. It's maybe 100ms or so, but after using XFCE for years, there's a notable and, for me, infuriating delay in many modern GUIs. And it's not my computer; I'm sitting here with 32 cores, 128GiB of RAM, and a somewhat fancy AMD video card. Anyway, I LOVE XF", "context": "", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "XFCE Is Great"}, {"id": 738302832, "item_id": 46143927, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46143927", "by": "kop316", "date": "2025-12-03", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use XFCE on the laptop and desktop", "excerpt": "I have a desktop and laptop with X11 and another laptop and phone with Wayland. It's not because I prefer one over another intrinsically, it's because I use XFCE on the laptop and desktop, GNOME on the other laptop, and Phosh on the phone. That being said, they all run about the same to me? If XFCE swaps to Wayland, I probably will too. I have run XFCE for a long time, so I have been experimenting if I like GNOME or ", "context": "Linux user", "use_case": "desktop environment", "switched_from": "", "story": "Half of Linux Users Stick with X11, Despite Years of Wayland Being Forced"}]}