# Swayr & Swayrbar
[](https://builds.sr.ht/~tsdh/swayr?)
[](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html)
[](https://deps.rs/repo/sourcehut/~tsdh/swayr)
[](https://hitsofcode.com/sourcehut/~tsdh/swayr/view?branch=main)
## Table of Contents
* [Swayr](#swayr)
* [Commands](#swayr-commands)
* [Screenshots](#swayr-screenshots)
* [Installation](#swayr-installation)
* [Usage](#swayr-usage)
* [Configuration](#swayr-configuration)
* [Version changes](#swayr-version-changes)
* [Swayrbar](#swayrbar)
* [Screenshots](#swayrbar-screenshots)
* [Installation](#swayrbar-installation)
* [Configuration](#swayrbar-configuration)
* [Version changes](#swayrbar-version-changes)
* [Questions and patches](#questions-and-patches)
* [Bugs](#bugs)
* [Build status](#build-status)
* [License](#license)
## <a id="swayr">Swayr, a window-switcher & more for [sway](https://swaywm.org/)</a>
[](https://crates.io/crates/swayr)
Swayr consists of a daemon, and a client. The `swayrd` daemon records
window/workspace creations, deletions, and focus changes using sway's JSON IPC
interface. The `swayr` client offers subcommands, see `swayr --help`, and
sends them to the daemon which executes them.
### <a id="swayr-commands">Swayr commands</a>
The `swayr` binary provides many subcommands of different categories.
#### <a id="swayr-non-menu-switchers">Non-menu switchers</a>
Those are commands which switch through a sequence of windows where the
sequence is:
1. All windows with urgency hints.
2. All matching windows where which windows match is specific to the command.
3. The last recently used window at the time of the sequence start.
4. Back to the origin window, i.e., the window which had the focus at the time
of the sequence start.
During each sequence no window will be visited twice, e.g., if some window has
an urgency hint, matches the commands specification, and is also the LRU
window, it's not visited once in each step 1, 2, and 3 but just in step 1.
The steps 1, 3, and 4 can be inhibited with the flags `--skip-urgent`,
`--skip-lru`, and `--skip-origin`, respectively.
As said, which windows match is specific to each command:
* `switch-to-urgent-or-lru-window` matches nothing, so step 2 above is
effectively disabled.
* `switch-to-app-or-urgent-or-lru-window <name>` matches windows with the
specified name. The name is compared literally against the window's `app_id`
for native Wayland windows or to the window class or instance for X11
windows.
* `switch-to-mark-or-urgent-or-lru-window <con_mark>` matches the window having
the given mark. (As `man sway(5)` defines, each mark can only be applied to
a single window at a time.)
* `switch-to-matching-or-urgent-or-lru-window <criteria>` matches windows
according to the the given [criteria query](#swayr-commands-criteria).
#### Menu switchers
Those spawn a menu program where you can select a window (or workspace, or
output, etc.) and act on that.
* `switch-window` displays all windows in the order urgent first, then
last-recently-used, focused last and focuses the selected.
* `steal-window` displays all windows in order urgent first, the
last-recently-used, focused last and moves the window into the current
workspace.
* `steal-window-or-container` displays all windows and containers in order
urgent first, the last-recently-used, focused last and moves the window or
container into the current workspace.
* `switch-workspace` displays all workspaces in LRU order and switches to the
selected one.
* `switch-output` shows all outputs in the menu and focuses the selected one.
* `switch-workspace-or-window` displays all workspaces and their windows and
switches to the selected workspace or window.
* `switch-workspace-container-or-window` shows workspaces, containers, and
their windows in the menu program and switches to the selected one.
* `switch-to` shows outputs, workspaces, containers, and their windows in the
menu program and switches to the selected one.
* `quit-window` displays all windows and quits the selected one. An optional
`--kill` / `-k` flag may be specified in which case the window's process will
be killed using `kill -9 <pid>` rather than only sending a `kill` IPC message
to sway.
* `quit-workspace-or-window` displays all workspaces and their windows and
allows to quit either the selected workspace (all its windows) or the
selected window.
* `quit-workspace-container-or-window` shows workspaces, containers, and their
windows and quits all windows of the selected workspace/container or the
selected window.
* `move-focused-to-workspace` moves the currently focused window or container
to another workspace selected with the menu program. Non-matching input of
the form `#w:<workspace>` where the hash and `w:` shortcut are optional can
be used to move it to a new workspace.
* `move-focused-to` moves the currently focused container or window to the
selected output, workspace, container, window. Non-matching input is handled
like with `move-focused-to-workspace`.
* `swap-focused-with` swaps the currently focused window or container with the
one selected from the menu program.
##### Menu shortcuts for non-matching input
All menu switching commands (`switch-window`, `switch-workspace`, and
`switch-workspace-or-window`) now handle non-matching input instead of doing
nothing. The input should start with any number of `#` (in order to be able to
force a non-match), a shortcut followed by a colon, and some string as required
by the shortcut. The following shortcuts are supported.
- `w:<workspace>`: Switches to a possibly non-existing workspace.
`<workspace>` must be a digit, a name or `<digit>:<name>`. The
`<digit>:<name>` format is explained in `man 5 sway`. If that format is
given, `swayr` will create the workspace using `workspace number
<digit>:<name>`. If just a digit or name is given, the `number` argument is
not used.
- `s:<cmd>`: Executes the sway command `<cmd>` using `swaymsg`.
- Any other input is assumed to be a workspace name and thus handled as
`w:<input>` would do.
#### <a id="swayr-cycling-commands">Cycling commands</a>
Those commands cycle through (a subset of windows) in last-recently-used order.
* `next-window (all-workspaces|current-workspace)` & `prev-window
(all-workspaces|current-workspace)` focus the next/previous window in
depth-first iteration order of the tree. The argument `all-workspaces` or
`current-workspace` define if all windows of all workspaces or only those of
the current workspace are considered.
* `next-tiled-window` & `prev-tiled-window` do the same as `next-window` &
`prev-window` but switch only between windows contained in a tiled container.
* `next-tabbed-or-stacked-window` & `prev-tabbed-or-stacked-window` do the same
as `next-window` & `prev-window` but switch only between windows contained in
a tabbed or stacked container.
* `next-floating-window` & `prev-floating-window` do the same as `next-window`
& `prev-window` but switch only between floating windows.
* `next-window-of-same-layout` & `prev-window-of-same-layout` is like
`next-floating-window` / `prev-floating-window` if the current window is
floating, it is like `next-tabbed-or-stacked-window` /
`prev-tabbed-or-stacked-window` if the current window is in a tabbed or
stacked container, it is like `next-tiled-window` / `prev-tiled-window` if
the current windows is in a tiled container, and is like `next-window` /
`prev-window` otherwise.
* `next-matching-window` / `prev-matching-window` both take a [criteria
query](#swayr-commands-criteria).
#### Layout modification commands
These commands change the layout of the current workspace.
* `tile-workspace exclude-floating|include-floating` tiles all windows on the
current workspace (excluding or including floating ones). That's done by
moving all windows away to some special workspace, setting the current
workspace to `splith` layout, and then moving the windows back. If the
`auto_tile` feature is used, see the Configuration section below, it'll
change from splitting horizontally to vertically during re-insertion.
* `shuffle-tile-workspace exclude-floating|include-floating` shuffles & tiles
all windows on the current workspace. The shuffle part means that (a) the
windows are shuffled before re-insertion, and (b) a randomly chosen already
re-inserted window is focused before re-inserting another window. So while
`tile-workspace` on a typical horizontally oriented screen and 5 windows will
usually result in a layout with one window on the left and all four others
tiled vertially on the right, `shuffle-tile-workspace` in combination with
`auto_tile` usually results in a more balanced layout, i.e., 2 windows tiled
vertically on the right and the other 4 tiled vertially on the left. If you
have less than a handful of windows, just repeat `shuffle-tile-workspace` a
few times until happenstance creates the layout you wanted.
* `tab-workspace exclude-floating|include-floating` puts all windows of the
current workspace into a tabbed container.
* `toggle-tab-shuffle-tile-workspace exclude-floating|include-floating` toggles
between a tabbed and tiled layout, i.e., it calls `shuffle-tile-workspace` if
it is currently tabbed, and calls `shuffle-tile-workspace` if it is currently
tiled.
#### Miscellaneous commands
* `configure-outputs` lets you repeatedly issue output configuration commands
until you abort the menu program.
* `execute-swaymsg-command` displays most swaymsg which don't require
additional input and executes the selected one. That's handy especially for
less often used commands not bound to a key. Non-matching input will be
executed executed as-is with `swaymsg`.
* `execute-swayr-command` displays all commands above and executes the selected
one. (This is useful for accessing swayr commands which are not bound to a
key.)
* `nop` (unsurprisingly) does nothing, the command can be used to break out of
a sequence of [non-menu switching commands](#swayr-non-menu-switchers) or
[window cycling commands](#swayr-cycling-commands). The LRU window order is
frozen when the first cycling command is processed and remains so until a
non-cycling command is received. The `nop` command can conveniently serve to
interrupt a sequence without having any other side effects.
#### <a id="swayr-commands-criteria">Criteria</a>
Swayr supports most of the criteria querys defined by Sway, see section
`CRITERIA` in `man sway(5)`. Right now, these are:
* `app_id=<regex | __focused__>`
* `class=<regex | __focused__>`
* `instance=<regex | __focused__>`
* `title=<regex | __focused__>`
* `workspace=<regex | __focused__>`
* `con_mark=<regex>`
* `con_id=<uint | __focused__>`
* `shell=<"xdg_shell" | "xwayland" | __focused__>`
* `pid=<uint>`
* `floating`
* `tiling`
* `app_name=<regex | __focused__>` (not in sway!)
The last criterion `app_name` is matched against the application's name which
can either be `app_id`, `window_properties.class`, or
`window_properties.instance` (whatever is filled).
All regular expressions are [Rust's regex crates
regexes](https://docs.rs/regex/latest/regex/index.html). With the special
value `__focused__`, comparison is performed literally.
In addition to the simple criteria listed above, criteria queries can be
combined using `and`, `or`, and `not` with the syntax:
* `[and <crit1> <crit2> ...]` which is equivalent to `[<crit1> <crit2> ...]`,
i.e., the `and` is optional for compatibility with sway which only supports
this syntax and has no `or` and `not`. `[and]` and `[]` always match.
* `[or <crit1> <crit2> ...]` where `[or]` never matches.
* `not <crit>` where the following criterion is negated.
The combinators may also be written in all-caps, i.e., `AND`, `OR`, and `NOT`,
or as `&&`, `||`, and `!`.
Obviously, criteria may be nested, so this is a valid one:
```
[|| [app_id="firefox" tiling]
[&& !app_id="firefox" floating workspace=__focused__]]
```
### <a id="swayr-screenshots">Screenshots</a>
### <a id="swayr-installation">Installation</a>
Some distros have packaged swayr so that you can install it using your distro's
package manager. Alternatively, it's easy to build and install it yourself
using `cargo`.
#### Distro packages
The following GNU/Linux and BSD distros package swayr. Thanks a lot to the
respective package maintainers! Refer to the [repology
site](https://repology.org/project/swayr/versions) for details.
[](https://repology.org/project/swayr/versions)
[](https://repology.org/project/swayr/versions)
#### Building with cargo
You'll need to install the current stable rust toolchain using the one-liner
shown at the [official rust installation
page](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install).
Then you can install swayr like so:
```sh
cargo install swayr
```
For getting updates easily, I recommend the cargo `install-update` plugin.
```sh
# Install it once.
cargo install install-update
# Then you can update all installed rust binary crates including swayr using:
cargo install-update --all
# If you only want to update swayr, you can do so using:
cargo install-update -- swayr
```
### <a id="swayr-usage">Usage</a>
You need to start the swayr daemon (`swayrd`) in your sway config
(`~/.config/sway/config`) like so:
```
exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 RUST_LOG=swayr=debug swayrd > /tmp/swayrd.log 2>&1
```
The setting of `RUST_BACKTRACE=1`, `RUST_LOG=swayr=debug` and the redirection
of the output to some logfile is optional but helps a lot when something
doesn't work. Especially, if you encounter a crash in certain situations and
you want to report a bug, it would be utmost helpful if you could reproduce the
issue with backtrace and logging at the `debug` level and attach that to your
bug report. Valid log levels in the order from logging more to logging less
are: `trace`, `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`, `off`.
Beyond starting the daemon, you will want to bind swayr commands to some keys
like so:
```
bindsym $mod+Space exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr switch-window >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&1
bindsym $mod+Delete exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr quit-window >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&1
bindsym $mod+Tab exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr switch-to-urgent-or-lru-window >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&1
bindsym $mod+Next exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr next-window all-workspaces >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&2
bindsym $mod+Prior exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr prev-window all-workspaces >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&2
bindsym $mod+Shift+Space exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr switch-workspace-or-window >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&1
bindsym $mod+c exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr execute-swaymsg-command >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&1
bindsym $mod+Shift+c exec env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 \
swayr execute-swayr-command >> /tmp/swayr.log 2>&1
```
Of course, configure the keys to your liking. Again, enabling rust backtraces
and logging are optional.
Pending a fix for [Sway issue
#6456](https://github.com/swaywm/sway/issues/6456) or a merge of [Sway PR
#6920](https://github.com/swaywm/sway/pull/6920), it will be possible to close
a sequence of [non-menu switching commands](#swayr-non-menu-switchers) or
[window cycling commands](#swayr-cycling-commands) using a `nop` command bound
to the release of the `$mod` key. Assuming your `$mod` is bound to `Super_L`
it could look something like this:
```
bindsym --release Super_L exec swayr nop
```
Until then, there's the `focus.auto_nop_delay` option which see below in the
[Configuration](#swayr-configuration) section.
### <a id="swayr-configuration">Configuration</a>
Swayr can be configured using the `~/.config/swayr/config.toml` or
`/etc/xdg/swayr/config.toml` config file.
If no config files exists, a simple default configuration will be created on the
first invocation for use with the [wofi](https://todo.sr.ht/~scoopta/wofi)
menu program.
It should be easy to adapt that default config for usage with other menu
programs such as [dmenu](https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/),
[bemenu](https://github.com/Cloudef/bemenu),
[rofi](https://github.com/davatorium/rofi), a script spawning a terminal with
[fzf](https://github.com/junegunn/fzf), or whatever. The only requirement is
that the launcher needs to be able to read the items to choose from from stdin
and spit out the selected item to stdout.
The default config looks like this:
```toml
[menu]
executable = 'wofi'
args = [
'--show=dmenu',
'--allow-markup',
'--allow-images',
'--insensitive',
'--cache-file=/dev/null',
'--parse-search',
'--height=40%',
'--prompt={prompt}',
]
[format]
output_format = '{indent}<b>Output {name}</b> <span alpha=\"20000\">({id})</span>'
workspace_format = '{indent}<b>Workspace {name} [{layout}]</b> <span alpha="20000">({id})</span>'
container_format = '{indent}<b>Container [{layout}]</b> on workspace {workspace_name} <i>{marks}</i> <span alpha="20000">({id})</span>'
window_format = 'img:{app_icon}:text:{indent}<i>{app_name}</i> — {urgency_start}<b>“{title}”</b>{urgency_end} on workspace {workspace_name} <i>{marks}</i> <span alpha="20000">({id})</span>'
indent = ' '
urgency_start = '<span background="darkred" foreground="yellow">'
urgency_end = '</span>'
html_escape = true
icon_dirs = [
'/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/apps',
'/usr/share/icons/hicolor/64x64/apps',
'/usr/share/icons/hicolor/48x48/apps',
'/usr/share/icons/Adwaita/64x64/apps',
'/usr/share/icons/Adwaita/48x48/apps',
'/usr/share/pixmaps',
]
[layout]
auto_tile = false
auto_tile_min_window_width_per_output_width = [
[1024, 500],
[1280, 600],
[1400, 680],
[1440, 700],
[1600, 780],
[1920, 920],
[2560, 1000],
[3440, 1000],
[4096, 1200],
]
[focus]
lockin_delay = 750
[misc]
auto_nop_delay = 3000
seq_inhibit = false
```
In the following, all sections are explained.
#### The menu section
In the `[menu]` section, you can specify the menu program using the
`executable` name or full path and the `args` (flags and options) it should get
passed. If some argument contains the placeholder `{prompt}`, it is replaced
with a prompt such as "Switch to window" depending on context.
#### The format section
In the `[format]` section, format strings are specified defining how selection
choices are to be layed out. `wofi` supports [pango
markup](https://docs.gtk.org/Pango/pango_markup.html) which makes it possible
to style the text using HTML and CSS. The following formats are supported
right now.
* `output_format` defines how outputs (monitors) are displayed in the menu
program, `workspace_format` defines how workspaces are displayed,
`container_format` defines how non-workspace containers are displayed, and
`window_format` defines how application windows are displayed.
* In these formats, the following placeholders can be used:
* `{name}` gets replaced by the output name, the workspace number or name or
a window's title. The placeholder `{title}` is an obsolete synonym which
will be removed in a later version.
* `{layout}` shows the workspace or container's layout.
* `{id}` gets replaced by the sway-internal con id.
* `{indent}` gets replaced with N times the new `format.indent` value where N
is the depth in the shown menu input.
* `{app_name}` gets replaced with a window's application name.
* `{marks}` shows a comma-separated list of the container's or window's
marks.
* `{app_icon}` shows the application's icon (a path to a PNG or SVG file).
* `{workspace_name}` gets replaced with the name or number of the workspace
the container or window belongs to.
* The placeholders `{urgency_start}` and `{urgency_end}` get replaced by the
empty string if the window has no urgency flag and with the values of the
same-named formats if the window has the urgency flag set. That makes it
possible to highlight urgent windows as shown in the default config.
* `indent` is a string which is repeatedly inserted at the `{indent}`
placeholder in formats.
* `html_escape` defines if the strings replacing the placeholders above (except
for `{urgency_start}` and `{urgency_end}`) should be HTML-escaped.
* `urgency_start` is a string which replaces the `{urgency_start}` placeholder
in `window_format`.
* `urgency_end` is a string which replaces the `{urgency_end}` placeholder in
`window_format`.
* `icon_dirs` is a vector of directories in which to look for application icons
in order to compute the `{app_icon}` replacement.
* `fallback_icon` is a path to some PNG/SVG icon which will be used as
`{app_icon}` if no application-specific icon can be determined.
All the <a id="fmt-placeholders">placeholders</a> except `{app_icon}`,
`{indent}`, `{urgency_start}`, and `{urgency_end}` may optionally provide a
format string as specified by [Rust's
std::fmt](https://doc.rust-lang.org/std/fmt/). The syntax is
`{<placeholder>:<fmt_str><clipped_str>}`. For example, `{app_name:{:>10.10}}`
would mean that the application name is printed with exactly 10 characters. If
it's shorter, it will be right-aligned (the `>`) and padded with spaces, if
it's longer, it'll be cut after the 10th character. Another example,
`{app_name:{:.10}...}` would mean that the application name is truncated at 10
characters. If it's shorter, it will be printed as-is (no padding), if it's
longer, it'll be cut after the 10th character and the last 3 characters of that
substring will be replaced with `...` (`<clipped_str>`).
It is crucial that during selection (using wofi or some other menu program)
each window has a different display string. Therefore, it is highly
recommended to include the `{id}` placeholder at least in `container_format`
and `window_format`. Otherwise, e.g., two vertical splits on the same
workspace or two terminals (of the same terminal app) with the same working
directory (and therefore, the same title) wouldn't be distinguishable.
**Hint for wofi**: `wofi` supports icons with the syntax
`'img:<image-file>:text:<text>'`, so a suitable `window_format` with
application icon should start with `img:{app_icon}:text:`.
**Hint for rofi**: `rofi` supports icons with the syntax
`"<text>\u0000icon\u00001f<image-file>"`, so a suitable `window_format` with
application icon should end with `"\u0000icon\u001f<image-file>"`. Also note
that you must enclose your `window_format` value with double-quotes and not
with single-quotes. Singe-quote strings are literal strings in
[TOML](https://toml.io/en/v1.0.0#string) where no escape-sequences are
processed whereas for double-quoted strings (so-called basic strings)
escape-sequences are processed. `rofi` requires a null character and a
PARAGRAPH SEPARATOR for image sequences.
#### The layout section
In the `[layout]` section, you can enable auto-tiling by setting `auto_tile` to
`true` (the default is `false`). The option
`auto_tile_min_window_width_per_output_width` defines the minimum width in
pixels which your windows should have per output width. For example, the
example setting above says that on an output which is 1600 pixels wide, each
window should have at least a width of 780 pixels, thus there may be at most
two side-by-side windows (Caution, include your borders and gaps in your
calculation!). There will be no auto-tiling doesn't include your output's
exact width.
If `auto_tile` is enabled, swayr will automatically split either vertically or
horizontally according to this algorithm:
- For all outputs:
+ For all (nested) containers on that output (except the scratchpad):
- For all child windows of that container:
+ If the container is split horizontally and creating another window
would make the current child window smaller than the minimum width,
execute `split vertical` (the `swaymsg` command over IPC) on the child.
+ Else if the container is split vertically and now there is enough space
so that creating another window would still leave the current child
window above or equal to the minimum width, call `split horizontal` on
the child.
+ Otherwise, do nothing for this container. This means that stacked or
tabbed containers will never be affected by auto-tiling.
There is one caveat: it would be nice to also trigger auto-tiling when windows
or containers are resized but unfortunately, resizing doesn't issue any events
over IPC. Therefore, auto-tiling is triggered by new-window events,
close-events, move-events, floating-events, and also focus-events. The latter
are a workaround and wouldn't be required if there were resize-events.
#### The focus section
In the `[focus]` section, you can configure the amount of time a window has to
keep the focus in order to affect the LRU order, the `lockin_delay` (specified
in milliseconds). If a given window is only briefly focused, e.g., by moving
the mouse over it on the way to another window with sway's
`focus_follows_mouse` set to `yes` or `always`, then its position in the LRU
order will not be modified.
#### The misc section
In the `[misc]` section, there's the `auto_nop_delay` option. When some swayr
command is executed, this amount of milliseconds is waited before a `nop`
command (see the [commands documentation](#swayr-commands)) is executed in
order to break out of a `next-*-window`/`prev-*-window` sequence or a
`switch-to-*or-urgent-or-lru-window` cycle automatically. If another swayr
command is executed within this time frame, the auto-`nop` execution will be
delayed for another `auto_nop_delay` milliseconds. If this option is not
specified explicitly, no automatic `nop` commands will be executed.
A more elegant solution using a key release binding is discussed at the end of
the [Usage](#swayr-usage) section. However, that requires a PR to sway which
has not been merged so far.
The `seq_inhibit` boolean controls how `swayrd` behaves during a _sequence_ of
[window cycling commands](#swayr-cycling-commands).
- When the setting is `true`, `swayrd` will inhibit updates to the window LRU
order while a _sequence_ of window cycling commands is in progress. LRU
updates are reactivated when the _sequence_ ends. A _sequence_ is considered
to have ended when any non-window-cycling-command is received by `swayrd`
(e.g. a `nop` command).
Note: LRU update inhibition also applies to focus changes made outside of
`swayr`, for instance by using sway commands directly.
- When the setting is `false` (the default), `swayrd` will handle focus events
the same way regardless of whether a window cycling sequence is in progress
or not.
Note that the key release binding solution lends itself to using
`seq_inhibit=true`.
### <a id="swayr-version-changes">Version changes</a>
Since version 0.8.0, I've started writing a [NEWS](swayr/NEWS.md) file listing the
news, and changes to `swayr` commands or configuration options. If something
doesn't seem to work as expected after an update, please consult this file to
check if there has been some (possibly incompatible) change requiring an update
of your config.
## <a id="swayrbar">Swayrbar</a>
[](https://crates.io/crates/swayrbar)
`swayrbar` is a status command for sway's `swaybar` implementing the
[`swaybar-protocol(7)`](https://man.archlinux.org/man/swaybar-protocol.7).
This means, you would setup your `swaybar` like so in your
`~/.config/sway/config`:
```conf
bar {
swaybar_command swaybar
# Use swayrbar as status command with some logging output which
# is redirected to /tmp/swayrbar.log. Be sure to only redirect
# stderr because the swaybar protocol requires the status_command
# to emit JSON to stdout which swaybar reads.
status_command env RUST_BACKTRACE=1 RUST_LOG=swayr=debug swayrbar 2> /tmp/swayrbar.log
position top
font pango:Iosevka 11
height 20
colors {
statusline #f8c500
background #33333390
}
}
```
`swayrbar`, like [waybar](https://github.com/Alexays/Waybar/), consists of a
set of modules which you can enable and configure via its config file, either
the one specified via the command line option `--config-file`, the
user-specific (`~/.config/swayrbar/config.toml`), or the system-wide
(`/etc/xdg/swayrbar/config.toml`). Modules emit information which `swaybar`
then displays and mouse clicks on a module's space in `swaybar` are propagated
back and trigger some action (e.g., a shell command).
Right now, there are the following modules:
1. The `window` module can show the title and application name of the current
window in sway.
2. The `sysinfo` module can show things like CPU/memory utilization or system
load.
3. The `battery` module can show the current [state of
charge](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_charge), the state (e.g.,
charging), and the [state of
health](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_health).
4. The `date` module can show, you guess it, the current date and time!
5. The `pactl` module can show the current volume percentage and muted state.
Clicks can increase/decrease the volume or toggle the mute state.
6. The `nmcli` module uses NetworkManager's `nmcli` command line tool to show
the currently connected wifi and its signal strength.
I guess there will be more modules in the future as time permits.
[Patches](#questions-and-patches) are certainly very welcome!
### <a id="swayrbar-screenshots">Screenshots</a>
### <a id="swayrbar-installation">Installation</a>
Some distros have a swayrbar package so that you can install it using your
distro's package manager, see the [repology
site](https://repology.org/project/swayrbar/versions) for details.
Alternatively, it's easy to build and install it yourself using `cargo`.
[](https://repology.org/project/swayrbar/versions)
#### Installation via Cargo
You'll need to install the current stable rust toolchain using the one-liner
shown at the [official rust installation
page](https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install).
Then you can install swayrbar like so:
```sh
cargo install swayrbar
```
For getting updates easily, I recommend the cargo `install-update` plugin.
```sh
# Install it once.
cargo install install-update
# Then you can update all installed rust binary crates including swayr using:
cargo install-update --all
# If you only want to update swayr, you can do so using:
cargo install-update -- swayrbar
```
### <a id="swayrbar-configuration">Configuration</a>
When `swayrbar` is run for the very first time and doesn't find an existing
configuration file at `~/.config/swayrbar/config.toml` (user-specific) or
`/etc/xdg/swayrbar/config.toml` (system-wide), it'll create a new user-specific
one where all modules are enabled and set up with some reasonable (according to
the author) default values. Adapt it to your needs.
The syntax of the config file is [TOML](https://toml.io/en/). Here's a short
example with all top-level options (one!) and one module.
```toml
refresh_interval = 1000
[[modules]]
name = 'window'
instance = '0'
format = '🪟 {title} — {app_name}'
html_escape = false
[modules.on_click]
Left = ['swayr', 'switch-to-urgent-or-lru-window']
Right = ['kill', '{pid}']
```
The `refresh_interval` defines the number of milliseconds between refreshes of
`swaybar`.
The remainder of the configuration defines a list of modules with their
configuration (which is an [array of
tables](https://toml.io/en/v1.0.0#array-of-tables) in TOML where a module's
`on_click`).
* `name` is the name or type of the module, e.g., `window`, `sysinfo`,
`battery`, `date`,...
* `instance` is an arbitrary string used for distinguishing two modules of the
same `name`. For example, you might want to have two `sysinfo` modules, one
for CPU and one for memory utilization, simply to have a separator between
these different kinds of information. That's easily doable, just give them
different `instance` values.
* `format` is the string to be printed in `swaybar` where certain placeholders
are substituted with module-specific values. Usually, such placeholders are
written like `{title}`, i.e., inside braces. Like in `swayr`, formatting
(padding, aligning, precision, etc.) is available, see
[here](#fmt-placeholders).
* `html_escape` defines if `<`, `>`, and `&` should be escaped as `<`,
`>`, and `&` because `format` may contain [pango
markup](https://docs.gtk.org/Pango/pango_markup.html). Obviously, if you
make use of this feature, you want to set `html_escape = true` for that
module. This option is optional and may be omitted.
* `on_click` is a table defining actions to be performed when you click on a
module's space in `swaybar`. All placeholders available in `format` are
available here, too. The action for each mouse button is specified as an
array `['command', 'arg1', 'arg2',...]`. The available button names to be
assigned to are `Left`, `Middle`, `Right`, `WheelUp`, `WheelDown`,
`WheelLeft`, and `WheelRight`.
The `on_click` table can also be written as inline table
```toml
on_click = { Left = ['swayr', 'switch-to-urgent-or-lru-window'], Right = ['kill', '{pid}'] }
```
but then it has to be on one single line.
#### The `window` module
The `window` module supports the following placeholders:
* `{title}` or `{name}` expand to the currently focused window's title.
* `{app_name}` is the application name.
* `{pid}` is the process id.
By default, it has the following click bindings:
* `Left` executes `swayr switch-to-urgent-or-lru-window`.
* `Right` kills the process of the window.
#### The `sysinfo` module
The `sysinfo` module supports the following placeholders:
* `{cpu_usage}` is the percentage of CPU utilization.
* `{mem_usage}` is the percentage of memory utilization.
* `{load_avg_1}` is the average system load in the last minute.
* `{load_avg_5}` is the average system load in the last five minutes.
* `{load_avg_15}` is the average system load in the last fifteen minutes.
By default, it has the following click bindings:
* `Left` executes `foot htop`.
#### The `battery` module
The `battery` module supports the following placeholders:
* `{state_of_charge}` is the percentage of charge wrt. the battery's current
capacity.
* `{state_of_health}` is the percentage of the battery's remaining capacity
compared to its original capacity.
* `{state}` is the current state, e.g., something like Discharging or Full.
#### The `pactl` module
The `pactl` module requires the pulse-audio command line tool of the same name
to be installed. It supports the following placeholders:
* `{volume}` is the current volume percentage of the default sink.
* `{muted}` is the string `" muted"` if the default sink is currently muted,
otherwise it is the empty string.
By default, it has the following click bindings:
* `Left` calls the `pavucontrol` program (PulseAudio GUI control).
* `Right` toggles the default sink's mute state.
* `WheelUp` and `WheelDown` increase/decrease the volume of the default sink.
#### The `nmcli` module
The `nmcli` module requires NetworkManager and the `nmcli` command line tool.
It can display information about the wifi connection. It supports the
following placeholders:
* `{name}` wifi network name.
* `{signal}` wireless signal strength.
* `{bars}` a visualization of connection strength, like "▂▄▆_".
#### The `date` module
The `date` module shows the date and time by defining the `format` using
[chrono's strftime
format](https://docs.rs/chrono/0.4.19/chrono/format/strftime/index.html#specifiers).
### <a id="swayr-version-changes">Version changes</a>
Version changes are summarized in the [NEWS](swayrbar/NEWS.md) file. If
something doesn't seem to work as expected after an update, please consult this
file to check if there has been some (possibly incompatible) change requiring
an update of your config.
## <a id="questions-and-patches">Questions & Patches</a>
For asking questions, sending feedback, or patches, refer to [my public inbox
(mailinglist)](https://lists.sr.ht/~tsdh/public-inbox). Please mention the
project you are referring to in the subject, e.g., `swayr` or `swayrbar` (or
other projects in different repositories).
## <a id="bugs">Bugs</a>
It compiles, therefore there are no bugs. Oh well, if you still found one or
want to request a feature, you can do so
[here](https://todo.sr.ht/~tsdh/swayr).
## <a id="build-status">Build status</a>
[](https://builds.sr.ht/~tsdh/swayr?)
## <a id="license">License</a>
Swayr & Swayrbar are licensed under the
[GPLv3](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.en.html) (or later).