CompizConfig

CompizConfig, short for CompizConfig Settings Manager, is a graphical configuration tool for the Compiz window manager on X11. It provides a centralized interface to enable, disable, and tune the numerous plugins that comprise Compiz, and to adjust global and per-plugin options such as window decorations, desktop effects, and key bindings.

CCSM exposes a hierarchical set of panels for individual plugins, allowing users to customize behavior without editing text configuration files. Features include plugin management (enable/disable), per-plugin options, global settings, and the ability to configure transitions, animations, and effects such as cube, wobbly windows, and desktop zoom. Users can create and modify keyboard shortcuts and trigger conditions for effects. Because CCSM exposes experimental options and plugins, enabling certain settings can cause instability or poor performance.

CCSM is typically distributed as a separate package across Linux distributions (for example, the package name often includes “ccsm”). It serves as the primary user interface for configuring Compiz, though changes can affect stability; some environments caution users about experimenting with advanced effects.

History and role: CompizConfig emerged to provide a user-friendly way to control the modular Compiz plugins introduced during the Compiz Fusion era. It gained widespread use with desktop environments that adopted Compiz, such as Ubuntu with its Unity interface, during the late 2000s and early 2010s. As Compiz’s prominence declined, CCSM remained available in repositories for users who still run Compiz-based setups, though many modern distributions have moved to alternatives or different compositing managers.

Configuration storage varies by distribution and version, with CCSM settings stored within the plugin configurations and managed by the underlying desktop environment’s configuration system.