Dmenu and Rofi: 2 Excellent App Launchers for WMs
Continuing with the topic of Application Launchers , today we'll talk about two more that are widely used, especially in Window Managers (WMs) , rather than Desktop Environments (DEs) . These two are called Dmenu and Rofi.
It's worth noting that, as you'll see in the images below, simple, linear launchers like Dmenu and Rofi can also be used in some desktop environments like XFCE . Conversely, powerful graphical launchers like Albert, Kupfer, Ulancher, and Synapse can work in some existing window managers , which I know for sure because I've personally tested several of these launchers in various window managers.
Ulauncher and Synapse: 2 Excellent Application Launchers for Linux
For those who haven't yet seen and/or read our previous and most recent posts about other Application Launchers , you can access them after reading this post by clicking on the following related links:
And remember that there are many other active and inactive Application Launchers , such as:
- Avant Window Navigator (Awn): https://launchpad.net/awn
- bashrun2: http://henning-liebenau.de/bashrun2/
- Dmenu: https://tools.suckless.org/dmenu/
- DockBarX: https://github.com/M7S/dockbarx
- Duck Launcher: https://launchpad.net/~the-duck/+archive/ubuntu/launcher
- jgmenu: https://github.com/johanmalm/jgmenu
- gnome su: https://do.cooperteam.net/
- gnome foot: https://schneegans.github.io/gnome-pie.html
- krunner: https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/Krunner
- Launchy: https://www.launchy.net/index.php
- Lighthouse: https://github.com/emgram769/lighthouse
- Mutate: https://github.com/qdore/Mutate
- Plasma kick-off: https://userbase.kde.org/Plasma/Kickoff
- menu: https://github.com/sgtpep/pmenu
- rofi: https://github.com/davatorium/rofi
- Slingshot: https://launchpad.net/slingshot
- Synapse: https://launchpad.net/synapse-project
- ulauncher: https://ulauncher.io/
- Whisker Menu: https://gottcode.org/xfce4-whiskermenu-plugin/
- wofi: https://hg.sr.ht/~scoopta/wofi
- Zazu: https://zazuapp.org/
Recommended launchers for WMs: Dmenu and Rofi
Dmenu
This lightweight and functional launcher is described on its official website as follows:
“ A dynamic menu for X, originally designed for dwm. It efficiently handles a large number of user-defined menu items . ”
Like others launchers for WMs, Dmenu is also simple and functional, highly adaptable and customizable, in short, open to the possibility of being modified or complemented with own or third party additions, through programs, scripts and / or simple special command orders when configured to be started within the WM's o SD's where it will be executed.
In the script section of their website, you can download some very useful and interesting add-ons. For more advanced customizations, you can use lines of code extracted from the many configuration files (dotfiles) available online, created by passionate users and communities of this popular launcher.
Personally, I really like combining it with the Fzf application , which is a general-purpose command-line fuzzy search engine. Therefore, I usually install Dmenu with Fzf in a single command, as shown below:
«sudo apt install suckless-tools fzf»
I have integrated them as follows, on the wm i3 using the corresponding file in the path: «.config/i3/config»
And using the following useful configuration found on the Internet:
«bindsym $mod+z exec --no-startup-id xterm -e i3-dmenu-desktop --dmenu=fzf for_window floating enable»
Finally, it's worth noting that Dmenu is currently at version 5.0, which was recently released (September 2, 2020), as stated on its official Git repository . Therefore, you can download and use this latest version to experience its newest features if you prefer not to use Dmenu from your distribution's repositories.
rofi
This next simple yet versatile launcher is described on its official website as follows:
“ A window switcher, an application launcher, and a dmenu replacement . ”
And basically, Rofi has acquired its current versatility or number of easy integrated functionalities, because it started as a clone of SimpleSwitcher , written by Sean Pringle , then became the current Rofi by incorporating a wide repertoire of additional features, such as an application launcher and an ssh launcher, allowing it to act as a replacement for the Dropdown Menu and/or Dmenu.
Therefore, Rofi , like Dmenu , can provide the end user of a GNU/Linux Distro with a textual list of options in which one or more can be selected, regardless of whether they are commands for running an application, selecting a window, or options provided by an external script.
Rofi is easy to install, as it's available in most GNU/Linux distribution repositories. For example, I installed it on MX Linux with the following simple command :
«sudo apt install rofi»
Its official GitHub website , in English, is quite comprehensive, making it a well-documented, simple, and quick tool to use. However, as with Dmenu , you can find interesting configurations and customizations for its use and appearance online to try. You can also visit the ever-reliable Arch Wiki for more information about Rofi.
And finally, as you can see in the previous two images, Dmenu and Rofi can be implemented, for example, in a DE like XFCE.
Conclusion
We hope this "useful little post" about these 2 highly recommended and already known ideal app launchers called «Dmenu y Rofi», which are often used by the large user community about their Window Managers (WMS) instead of others, such as Ulauncher, Synapse, Albert and Kupfer; is of great interest and utility, for the entire «Comunidad de Software Libre y Código Abierto» and of great contribution to the diffusion of the wonderful, gigantic and growing ecosystem of applications of «GNU/Linux».
And for more information, always do not hesitate to visit any Online library , the OpenLibra y jedit to read books (PDFs) on this topic or others knowledge areas. For now, if you liked this «publicación», don't stop sharing it with others, in your Favorite websites, channels, groups, or communities of social networks, preferably free and open as Mastodon, or secure and private like Telegram.