niri-dynamic-workspaces

Install

Nix (flake)

# flake.nix inputs
niri-dynamic-workspaces.url = "github:nickolaj-jepsen/niri-dynamic-workspaces";

Build directly:

nix build github:nickolaj-jepsen/niri-dynamic-workspaces
nix run github:nickolaj-jepsen/niri-dynamic-workspaces

Home Manager module

# Add to your Home Manager imports
imports = [ inputs.niri-dynamic-workspaces.homeModules.default ];

# Enable
programs.niri-dynamic-workspaces = {
  enable = true;
  keybind = "Mod+D";              # default — open switcher
  deleteKeybind = "Mod+Ctrl+D";  # default — open delete overlay
  moveWindowKeybind = "Mod+Shift+D"; # default — open move-window overlay
  daemon = true;                  # default — start daemon at login
  settings = {
    general.workspace_prefix = "dyn-";
  };
};

This installs the package, adds a niri keybind, and writes the config file.

Cargo

Requires GTK4, gtk4-layer-shell, and pkg-config development headers.

cargo install --git https://github.com/nickolaj-jepsen/niri-dynamic-workspaces

Configuration

Config file: ~/.config/niri-dynamic-workspaces/config.toml

All fields are optional with sensible defaults.

[general]
workspace_prefix = "dyn-"          # prefix for dynamic workspace names
default_programs = ["kitty"]       # programs launched when creating any new workspace
auto_delete_empty = true           # daemon: auto-delete empty unfocused workspaces
layout = "qwerty"                  # keyboard layout for the overlay (see table below)

# [layout] options below are no longer used (kept for backwards compatibility).
# The overlay now displays a virtual keyboard layout instead of a card grid.
# max_columns = 4
# min_columns = 2
# max_windows_per_card = 4
# app_name_max_chars = 12
# window_title_max_chars = 18

[keybinds]
close = ["Escape", "Ctrl+c", "Ctrl+w", "Ctrl+q"]  # keys to dismiss the overlay

[workspace.a]                          # key: a-z or 0-9
name = "Browser"                       # optional display name shown on the key
programs = ["firefox", "slack"]        # programs launched on create (replaces defaults)
# Configured workspaces that don't exist yet appear as muted keys with a dashed border.

[workspace.b]
programs = ["kitty --title myterm"]    # arguments supported via whitespace splitting

[workspace.1]                          # digit workspaces work too
name = "Comms"
programs = ["slack", "discord"]

Available keyboard layouts

All layouts contain the same 36 keys (a–z, 0–9) arranged in the physical positions of each keyboard layout. The value is case-insensitive.

Usage

• niri-dynamic-workspaces or niri-dynamic-workspaces switch — opens the switcher overlay (press key to switch/create)
• niri-dynamic-workspaces delete — opens the delete overlay (press key to delete)
• niri-dynamic-workspaces move-window — opens the move-window overlay (press key to move the focused window)
• niri-dynamic-workspaces daemon — starts as a background daemon (no overlay shown)

All modes support toggle behavior: running the same command again closes the overlay.

Direct mode (no overlay)

Pass a workspace key to act immediately without opening the overlay:

niri-dynamic-workspaces switch a        # switch to / create dyn-a
niri-dynamic-workspaces delete a        # delete dyn-a
niri-dynamic-workspaces move-window a   # move focused window to dyn-a

Daemon mode

By default the overlay process starts fresh each time a keybind is pressed, which includes GTK and CSS initialization. For faster overlay display, start a background daemon at login:

spawn-at-startup "niri-dynamic-workspaces" "daemon"

The daemon keeps GTK initialized and subsequent switch/delete/move-window invocations are forwarded to it over D-Bus, skipping startup overhead.

The Home Manager module enables daemon mode by default. To disable it:

programs.niri-dynamic-workspaces.daemon = false;

Development

Enter the dev shell and build:

nix develop
cargo build

Lint and test:

cargo fmt -- --check   # check formatting
cargo clippy           # lint (clippy all + pedantic)
cargo test             # run unit tests