This article details how to customize the user interface on Debian using IceWM and picom, and includes a useful font. This applies to Debian 12 at present and applies to any installation of IceWM and Picom as of this date. The version of IceWM used is 3.31, which is copyright 1992-2012 Markko Macke, and 2001 Mathias Hasselman. The Picom version is 9.1, which is from 2022. These are the versions in the Debian repositories for Debian 12 as of this writing.
Download themes.tar, which contains 155 themes for IceWM including BlueSteel. This theme set is larger than the default extra-themes archive that one finds in Arch Linux or older version of other distributions. Download ubuntu-font-family-0.83 for the complete set of Ubuntu fonts. One font that I enjoy is AG57, Akzidenze Grotesk, some details of which can be found online. That font is the precursor of Helvetica, which is also a wonderful font to use .
Extract the individual themes to ~/.icewm/themes.
Then, to modify that size of the text in the title bars regardless of theme, create a prefoverride file. This is needed in the case of high resolution displays where the standard scaling settings do not modify the size of the window title bar text in IceWM.
Filename: ~/.icewm/prefoverride
# TitleFontNameXft="Impact, Condensed:size=10"
TitleFontNameXft="ubuntu:size=12"
In this example, the font that I enjoyed called Impact is commented out, and Ubuntu is set to active. I used Impact, but choose to change it to Ubuntu. I left the comment there so that I could remember that one in the future.
By default, with this version, there is a sample config file in /usr/share/doc/picom/examples/picom.sample.conf. Copy this file to ~/.config/picom/picom.conf and modify to to suit your preferences.
In my case, I changed the shadow widths on the windows and their starting locations. I also disabled transparency because I dislike the effect of partially transparent windows.
Here is my config file (~/.config/picom/picom.conf):
#################################
# Shadows #
#################################
# Enabled client-side shadows on windows. Note desktop windows
# (windows with '_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE_DESKTOP') never get shadow,
# unless explicitly requested using the wintypes option.
#
# shadow = false
shadow = true;
# The blur radius for shadows, in pixels. (defaults to 12)
# shadow-radius = 12
shadow-radius = 12;
# The opacity of shadows. (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0.75)
shadow-opacity = .60
# The left offset for shadows, in pixels. (defaults to -15)
# shadow-offset-x = -15
shadow-offset-x = -10;
# The top offset for shadows, in pixels. (defaults to -15)
# shadow-offset-y = -15
shadow-offset-y = -10;
# Red color value of shadow (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0).
# shadow-red = 0
# Green color value of shadow (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0).
# shadow-green = 0
# Blue color value of shadow (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0).
# shadow-blue = 0
# Hex string color value of shadow (#000000 - #FFFFFF, defaults to #000000). This option will override options set shadow-(red/green/blue)
# shadow-color = "#000000"
# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should have no shadow.
#
# examples:
# shadow-exclude = "n:e:Notification";
#
# shadow-exclude = []
shadow-exclude = [
"name = 'Notification'",
"class_g = 'Conky'",
"class_g ?= 'Notify-osd'",
"class_g = 'Cairo-clock'",
"_GTK_FRAME_EXTENTS@:c"
];
# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should have no shadow painted over, such as a dock window.
# clip-shadow-above = []
# Specify a X geometry that describes the region in which shadow should not
# be painted in, such as a dock window region. Use
# shadow-exclude-reg = "x10+0+0"
# for example, if the 10 pixels on the bottom of the screen should not have shadows painted on.
#
# shadow-exclude-reg = ""
# Crop shadow of a window fully on a particular Xinerama screen to the screen.
# xinerama-shadow-crop = false
#################################
# Fading #
#################################
# Fade windows in/out when opening/closing and when opacity changes,
# unless no-fading-openclose is used.
# fading = false
fading = true;
# Opacity change between steps while fading in. (0.01 - 1.0, defaults to 0.028)
# fade-in-step = 0.028
fade-in-step = 0.03;
# Opacity change between steps while fading out. (0.01 - 1.0, defaults to 0.03)
# fade-out-step = 0.03
fade-out-step = 0.03;
# The time between steps in fade step, in milliseconds. (> 0, defaults to 10)
# fade-delta = 10
# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should not be faded.
# fade-exclude = []
# Do not fade on window open/close.
# no-fading-openclose = false
# Do not fade destroyed ARGB windows with WM frame. Workaround of bugs in Openbox, Fluxbox, etc.
# no-fading-destroyed-argb = false
#################################
# Transparency / Opacity #
#################################
# Opacity of inactive windows. (0.1 - 1.0, defaults to 1.0)
# inactive-opacity = 1
#inactive-opacity = 0.8;
# Opacity of window titlebars and borders. (0.1 - 1.0, disabled by default)
# frame-opacity = 1.0
#frame-opacity = 0.7;
# Let inactive opacity set by -i override the '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' values of windows.
# inactive-opacity-override = true
#inactive-opacity-override = false;
# Default opacity for active windows. (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 1.0)
active-opacity = 1.0
# Dim inactive windows. (0.0 - 1.0, defaults to 0.0)
# inactive-dim = 0.0
# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should never be considered focused.
# focus-exclude = []
#focus-exclude = [ "class_g = 'Cairo-clock'" ];
# Use fixed inactive dim value, instead of adjusting according to window opacity.
# inactive-dim-fixed = 1.0
# Specify a list of opacity rules, in the format `PERCENT:PATTERN`,
# like `50:name *= "Firefox"`. picom-trans is recommended over this.
# Note we don't make any guarantee about possible conflicts with other
# programs that set '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' on frame or client windows.
# example:
# opacity-rule = [ "80:class_g = 'URxvt'" ];
#
#opacity-rule = []
#################################
# Corners #
#################################
# Sets the radius of rounded window corners. When > 0, the compositor will
# round the corners of windows. Does not interact well with
# `transparent-clipping`.
corner-radius = 0
# Exclude conditions for rounded corners.
rounded-corners-exclude = [
"window_type = 'dock'",
"window_type = 'desktop'"
];
#################################
# Background-Blurring #
#################################
# Parameters for background blurring, see the *BLUR* section for more information.
# blur-method =
# blur-size = 12
#
# blur-deviation = false
#
# blur-strength = 5
# Blur background of semi-transparent / ARGB windows.
# Bad in performance, with driver-dependent behavior.
# The name of the switch may change without prior notifications.
#
# blur-background = false
# Blur background of windows when the window frame is not opaque.
# Implies:
# blur-background
# Bad in performance, with driver-dependent behavior. The name may change.
#
# blur-background-frame = false
# Use fixed blur strength rather than adjusting according to window opacity.
# blur-background-fixed = false
# Specify the blur convolution kernel, with the following format:
# example:
# blur-kern = "5,5,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1";
#
# blur-kern = ""
blur-kern = "3x3box";
# Exclude conditions for background blur.
# blur-background-exclude = []
blur-background-exclude = [
"window_type = 'dock'",
"window_type = 'desktop'",
"_GTK_FRAME_EXTENTS@:c"
];
#################################
# General Settings #
#################################
# Daemonize process. Fork to background after initialization. Causes issues with certain (badly-written) drivers.
# daemon = false
# Specify the backend to use: `xrender`, `glx`, or `xr_glx_hybrid`.
# `xrender` is the default one.
#
# backend = "glx"
backend = "xrender";
# Enable/disable VSync.
# vsync = false
vsync = true;
# Enable remote control via D-Bus. See the *D-BUS API* section below for more details.
# dbus = false
# Try to detect WM windows (a non-override-redirect window with no
# child that has 'WM_STATE') and mark them as active.
#
# mark-wmwin-focused = false
mark-wmwin-focused = true;
# Mark override-redirect windows that doesn't have a child window with 'WM_STATE' focused.
# mark-ovredir-focused = false
mark-ovredir-focused = true;
# Try to detect windows with rounded corners and don't consider them
# shaped windows. The accuracy is not very high, unfortunately.
#
# detect-rounded-corners = false
detect-rounded-corners = true;
# Detect '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' on client windows, useful for window managers
# not passing '_NET_WM_WINDOW_OPACITY' of client windows to frame windows.
#
# detect-client-opacity = false
# detect-client-opacity = true;
# Use EWMH '_NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW' to determine currently focused window,
# rather than listening to 'FocusIn'/'FocusOut' event. Might have more accuracy,
# provided that the WM supports it.
#
# use-ewmh-active-win = false
# Unredirect all windows if a full-screen opaque window is detected,
# to maximize performance for full-screen windows. Known to cause flickering
# when redirecting/unredirecting windows.
#
# unredir-if-possible = false
# Delay before unredirecting the window, in milliseconds. Defaults to 0.
# unredir-if-possible-delay = 0
# Conditions of windows that shouldn't be considered full-screen for unredirecting screen.
# unredir-if-possible-exclude = []
# Use 'WM_TRANSIENT_FOR' to group windows, and consider windows
# in the same group focused at the same time.
#
# detect-transient = false
detect-transient = true;
# Use 'WM_CLIENT_LEADER' to group windows, and consider windows in the same
# group focused at the same time. This usually means windows from the same application
# will be considered focused or unfocused at the same time.
# 'WM_TRANSIENT_FOR' has higher priority if detect-transient is enabled, too.
#
# detect-client-leader = false
# Resize damaged region by a specific number of pixels.
# A positive value enlarges it while a negative one shrinks it.
# If the value is positive, those additional pixels will not be actually painted
# to screen, only used in blur calculation, and such. (Due to technical limitations,
# with use-damage, those pixels will still be incorrectly painted to screen.)
# Primarily used to fix the line corruption issues of blur,
# in which case you should use the blur radius value here
# (e.g. with a 3x3 kernel, you should use `--resize-damage 1`,
# with a 5x5 one you use `--resize-damage 2`, and so on).
# May or may not work with *--glx-no-stencil*. Shrinking doesn't function correctly.
#
# resize-damage = 1
# Specify a list of conditions of windows that should be painted with inverted color.
# Resource-hogging, and is not well tested.
#
# invert-color-include = []
# GLX backend: Avoid using stencil buffer, useful if you don't have a stencil buffer.
# Might cause incorrect opacity when rendering transparent content (but never
# practically happened) and may not work with blur-background.
# My tests show a 15% performance boost. Recommended.
#
# glx-no-stencil = false
# GLX backend: Avoid rebinding pixmap on window damage.
# Probably could improve performance on rapid window content changes,
# but is known to break things on some drivers (LLVMpipe, xf86-video-intel, etc.).
# Recommended if it works.
#
# glx-no-rebind-pixmap = false
# Disable the use of damage information.
# This cause the whole screen to be redrawn everytime, instead of the part of the screen
# has actually changed. Potentially degrades the performance, but might fix some artifacts.
# The opposing option is use-damage
#
# no-use-damage = false
use-damage = true;
# Use X Sync fence to sync clients' draw calls, to make sure all draw
# calls are finished before picom starts drawing. Needed on nvidia-drivers
# with GLX backend for some users.
#
# xrender-sync-fence = false
# GLX backend: Use specified GLSL fragment shader for rendering window contents.
# See `compton-default-fshader-win.glsl` and `compton-fake-transparency-fshader-win.glsl`
# in the source tree for examples.
#
# glx-fshader-win = ""
# Force all windows to be painted with blending. Useful if you
# have a glx-fshader-win that could turn opaque pixels transparent.
#
# force-win-blend = false
# Do not use EWMH to detect fullscreen windows.
# Reverts to checking if a window is fullscreen based only on its size and coordinates.
#
# no-ewmh-fullscreen = false
# Dimming bright windows so their brightness doesn't exceed this set value.
# Brightness of a window is estimated by averaging all pixels in the window,
# so this could comes with a performance hit.
# Setting this to 1.0 disables this behaviour. Requires --use-damage to be disabled. (default: 1.0)
#
# max-brightness = 1.0
# Make transparent windows clip other windows like non-transparent windows do,
# instead of blending on top of them.
#
# transparent-clipping = false
# Set the log level. Possible values are:
# "trace", "debug", "info", "warn", "error"
# in increasing level of importance. Case doesn't matter.
# If using the "TRACE" log level, it's better to log into a file
# using *--log-file*, since it can generate a huge stream of logs.
#
# log-level = "debug"
log-level = "warn";
# Set the log file.
# If *--log-file* is never specified, logs will be written to stderr.
# Otherwise, logs will to written to the given file, though some of the early
# logs might still be written to the stderr.
# When setting this option from the config file, it is recommended to use an absolute path.
#
# log-file = "/path/to/your/log/file"
# Show all X errors (for debugging)
# show-all-xerrors = false
# Write process ID to a file.
# write-pid-path = "/path/to/your/log/file"
# Window type settings
#
# 'WINDOW_TYPE' is one of the 15 window types defined in EWMH standard:
# "unknown", "desktop", "dock", "toolbar", "menu", "utility",
# "splash", "dialog", "normal", "dropdown_menu", "popup_menu",
# "tooltip", "notification", "combo", and "dnd".
#
# Following per window-type options are available: ::
#
# fade, shadow:::
# Controls window-type-specific shadow and fade settings.
#
# opacity:::
# Controls default opacity of the window type.
#
# focus:::
# Controls whether the window of this type is to be always considered focused.
# (By default, all window types except "normal" and "dialog" has this on.)
#
# full-shadow:::
# Controls whether shadow is drawn under the parts of the window that you
# normally won't be able to see. Useful when the window has parts of it
# transparent, and you want shadows in those areas.
#
# clip-shadow-above:::
# Controls wether shadows that would have been drawn above the window should
# be clipped. Useful for dock windows that should have no shadow painted on top.
#
# redir-ignore:::
# Controls whether this type of windows should cause screen to become
# redirected again after been unredirected. If you have unredir-if-possible
# set, and doesn't want certain window to cause unnecessary screen redirection,
# you can set this to `true`.
#
wintypes:
{
tooltip = { fade = true; shadow = true; opacity = 0.75; focus = true; full-shadow = false; };
dock = { shadow = false; clip-shadow-above = true; }
dnd = { shadow = false; }
popup_menu = { opacity = 0.95; }
dropdown_menu = { opacity = 0.95; }
};
To use picom effectively, add “picom -b” to the session manager for startup options. Steam does not like picom, so use “pkill picom” before launching games that rely on Steam. In my particular case I have a session that uses the KDE destkop and I switch into that for steam gaming and then back to my LXQT session with IceWM and Picom for everything else.
