Desktop app launchers

• Arch wiki: Application launchers
• What are the best app launchers for UNIX-like systems?

Walker

• GitHub
• Active, >800 commits, 10 contributors
• Go
• AUR package: walker-bin

Walker plugins

• Easy to extend: simple stdin/stdout (external or via configuration, see wiki)
• Wiki: Plugins

Ulauncher

See ./ulauncher.md

Albert

• Website
• GitHub
  • Active, >2k commits, 29 contributors
  • 2024: only commits from 1 author
• albert AUR package

Albert plugins

• Docs: Extensions
  • C++ or Python
• Official Albert Python plugins
  • Active, 440 commit, 46 contributors
  • i.e.
    • bitwarden, aur, arch_wiki, emoji, ...
  • Bitwarden plugin example (139 loc)
• Official Albert C++ plugins
  • Active, 893 commits, 16 contributors
• No plugins packaged in Arch/AUR

Issues

• ~/bin/ not searched
• Terminal programs launch N windows when launched for the Nth time

Terminal

When invoking a command from albert (i.e. ls -la), it uses this cmd to start the binary in a terminal:

sh -ic "/bin/zsh -ic ''/bin/ls' '-al''; exec /bin/zsh"

Together with the configurable terminal prefix (i.e. xterm -e):

xterm -e sh -ic "/bin/zsh -ic ''/bin/ls' '-al''; exec /bin/zsh"

Terminals to try out:

• https://github.com/jwilm/alacritty

Terminals which won't work:

• Termite
  • Can't start termite
  • support termite cmds with spaces
• Sakura
• Terminator

Terminal which work:

• xterm
• tilix
• Kitty

Wofi

Rofi-like alternative for wlroots-based wayland compositors

• Website
• Repo

Still clunky Fuzzy matching, i.e.

gopass ls --flat | wofi -d -i -M fuzzy

bemenu

Dynamic menu library and client program inspired by dmenu https://github.com/Cloudef/bemenu

• Works with wayland
• Very good fuzzy matching (better than wofi)

Build:

make clients wayland
sudo make install

Outdated

• Cerebro
  • GitHub
  • Last release 2023-02
• Synapse: Last commit 2018
• Zazu App
  • Official GitHub repo archived