i3toolwait

Launch a program and move it to the correct workspace.

Usage

simple: i3toolwait simple ...
config: i3toolwait config ...

Simple

Run only one program.

Config

Run multiple programs by specifying a yaml configuration file:

---
signal: signal number or name, optional. Should program entries which have signal: true wait for this signal before continuing to the next one.
timeout: timeout in milliseconds
programs:
- match: a filter with which to match the window
  workspace: string or null, the workspace to move windows to
  cmd: string or list, the command to execute
  signal: boolean, should we wait before continuing with the next entry
  timeout: timeout in milliseconds, used only if signal: true - how long to wait for the signal

The programs will be started asynchronously, except when signal = true which means that, before continuing to the next program we wait for a signal. I would start all programs, which do not wait for a signal first and then only the ones depending on the signal to reduce the startup delay.

Installing

Use the makefile: INSTALL_BASE=/usr/local/ make install or install all dependencies python3 -mpip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt and copy the script to your path: cp i3toolwait /usr/local/bin/i3toolwait.

Filtering

The program allows to match the window or container based on the returned IPC data. Some programs might open multiple windows (looking at you, Discord).

In order to move the correct window to the desired workspace a filter can be defined.

The syntax for the filter is lisp-like. To view all spawned containers run the program with --debug --filter=False which will not match any windows and print their properties.

It is then possible to construct a filter for any program.

Available Operators:

and: &: logical and, ungreedy
or: |: logical or, ungreedy
if: ?: branch, if the first argument evaluates to True return the second, otherwise the third
eq: =: equality
neq: !=: inequality
gt: >: greater than
lt: <: less than
load: load: load a key from the provided input (load ".container.app_id")
has-key: has-key: check if a key is in the input: (has-key ".container.app_id")
let: let: assign a local variable: (let x 10)
setq: setq: assign a global variable: (setq x 11)
defun: defun: user-defined functions: ((defun greet (a) (write (+ "Hello " a "!"))) (greet "Alice"))

For example: (> (load ".container.geometry.width") 300) would match the first window where the width is greater than 300.

Multiple filters are combined via nesting: (& (> (load ".container.geometry.width") 300) (= (load ".container.window_properties.class") "discord")).

Starting tray programs in a specific order

To start tray programs in a specific order it is possible to specify the signal parameter. Starting of programs will be halted until the program has received the corresponding signal.

This could be combined with waybar to enforce an ordering of tray applications:

~/.config/waybar/config

"tray": {
    "on-update": "pkill --full --signal SIGUSR1 i3toolwait",
    "reverse-direction": true,
}

config-file

signal: SIGUSR1
timeout: 2000
programs:
- cmd: 'nm-applet --indicator'
  match: '(False)'
  timeout: 1000
  signal: true
- cmd: 'blueman-applet'
  match: '(False)'
  timeout: 1000
  signal: true
- ...

This setup would order the icons in waybar from left-to-right like in the config file.

Troubleshooting

My windows do not get rearranged

It is very likely that the timeout is too short and the program exits before the window spawns. Alternatively your filter might just be wrong. To debug execute the script with the --debug flag to see if the window is recognized.

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