Mutter is a window manager initially designed and implemented for the X Window System, but then evolved to be a Wayland compositor. It became the default window manager in GNOME 3, replacing Metacity[4] which used GTK for rendering.
Developer(s) | GNOME Project |
---|---|
Initial release | April 2011 |
Stable release | 46.1[1]
/ 19 April 2024 |
Repository | gitlab |
Written in | C |
Operating system | Unix-like |
Size | 40.2 kB (amd64 .deb package)[2] |
Type | |
License | GPL-2.0-or-later[3] |
Website | mutter |
Mutter uses a graphics library called Clutter giving it OpenGL capability. "Mutter" is a portmanteau of "Metacity" and "Clutter". Mutter can function as a standalone window manager for GNOME-like desktops, and serves as the primary window manager for the GNOME Shell,[5] which is an integral part of GNOME 3. Mutter is extensible with plug-ins, and supports numerous visual effects. GNOME Shell is written as a plug-in to Mutter.
Muffin is a fork of Mutter by the Linux Mint team for their Cinnamon desktop environment. Cinnamon's shell, a fork of GNOME Shell, is written as a plugin for Muffin.[12]