Mutter (software)
GNOME window manager and display server
title: "Mutter (software)" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["compositing-window-managers", "free-software-programmed-in-c", "free-x-window-managers", "gnome", "linux-windowing-system-related-software", "software-that-uses-clutter-(software)", "wayland-compositors", "window-managers-that-use-gtk", "software-using-the-gnu-general-public-license"] description: "GNOME window manager and display server" topic_path: "technology/operating-systems" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutter_(software)" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary GNOME window manager and display server ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox software"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| title | Mutter |
| developer | GNOME Project |
| released | |
| latest release version | |
| latest release date | |
| latest preview version | |
| latest preview date | |
| programming language | C |
| operating system | Unix-like |
| size | 40.2 kB (amd64 .deb package) |
| genre | |
| license | GPL-2.0-or-later |
| website | |
| repo | |
| :: |
| title = Mutter | developer = GNOME Project | released = | discontinued = | latest release version = | latest release date = | latest preview version = | latest preview date = | programming language = C | operating system = Unix-like | platform = | size = 40.2 kB (amd64 .deb package) | language = | genre = | license = GPL-2.0-or-later | website =
| repo =
Mutter is a window manager initially designed and implemented for the X Window System, but then evolved to be a display server ("Wayland compositor"). It became the default window manager in GNOME 3, replacing Metacity{{cite web |url = https://lwn.net/Articles/344734/ |title = Mutter: a window manager for GNOME 3 |first = Koen |last = Vervloesem |work = LWN.net |date = 2009-08-04 |access-date = 2011-12-27
Window management
Mutter can function as a standalone window manager for GNOME-like desktops, and serves as the primary window manager for the GNOME Shell, 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.
Release history
-
Support for HiDPI was added to version 3.13 of Mutter by Adel Gadllah.
-
In version 3.13.2 logind integration replaced mutter-launch.
-
In version 3.13.3 (June 24, 2014) the server side bits of
wl_touch_interfacewere implemented by Carlos Garnacho.
Forks
Muffin
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.
References
References
- "Debian Mutter Package in sid".
- "COPYING · master · GNOME / mutter".
- Kissling, Kristian. (2009-07-08). "Mutter: Window Manager in GNOME's Future". [[Linux Magazine]].
- Adel Gadllah. (2014-05-03). "wayland: Add basic hidpi support".
- Florian Müllner. (2014-05-27). "mutter 3.13.2".
- Carlos Garnacho. (2014-06-04). "wayland: Implement the server side bits of wl_touch_interface".
- Florian Müllner. (2014-06-24). "mutter 3.13.3".
- "Bug 724442 – Touchscreen does not work".
- Florian Müllner. (2014-07-23). "mutter 3.13.4".
- Lefebvre, Clement. (23 January 2012). "Cinnamon 1.2 released". cinnamon.linuxmint.com.
::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::