In Linux you generally have two types of desktops: DEs, which are full featured (KDE, GNOME, Cosmic, Cinnamon, etc.), and window managers. Window managers do only what they say on the tin, if you used one with genuinely no config (they usually have minor defaults to prevent this) you would be completely soft-locked: an empty desktop just a cursor to play with, no way to launch apps, nothing.

They have a special layer into which apps can spawn windows that typically do things like adding a launcher, or an app switcher, notifications, or whatever else you want. It's the unix philosophy brought to the UI domain. Usually you have a separate app for each, but DMS brings in a full suite: allowing you to use the window manager without having to spend hours ricing your system.

a vibe-coded "shell", which is a term that has evolved to describe a suite of software that does all the desktop-environment stuff that you don't get when you use an X11 window manager or Wayland compositor that isn't part of a bigger desktop ecosystem.

From the link:

> DankMaterialShell (DMS) 1.5

From the home page:

> Dank Linux: Modern Desktop

Seems like an overall UI (user interface) framework for Linux Desktop.

Visit https://danklinux.com/ to learn more.