rofi/doc/rofi.1.markdown

ROFI 1 rofi

NAME

rofi - A window switcher, application launcher, ssh dialog, dmenu replacement and more

SYNOPSIS

rofi [ -show mode ]|[ -dmenu ]|[ -e msg ] [ CONFIGURATION ]

DESCRIPTION

rofi is an X11 pop-up window switcher, run dialog, dmenu replacement, and more. It focuses on being fast to use and have minimal distraction. It supports keyboard and mouse navigation, type to filter, tokenized search and more.

USAGE

rofi's main functionality is to assist in your workflow, allowing you to quickly switch between windows, start applications or log into a remote machine via ssh. There are different modi for different types of actions. rofi is a standalone application and should not be integrated into scripts. For integration into scripts it has a special mode that functions as a (drop-in) replacement for dmenu(1). See emulating dmenu below.

Running rofi

To launch rofi directly in a certain mode, specify a mode with rofi -show <mode>. To show the run dialog:

rofi -show run

Emulating dmenu

rofi can emulate dmenu(1) (a dynamic menu for X11) when launched with the -dmenu flag.

For more information see rofi-dmenu(5).

Display Error message

rofi error dialog can also be called from the command line.

rofi -e "my message"

Markup support can be enabled, see CONFIGURATION options.

CONFIGURATION

There are currently three methods of setting configuration options (evaluated in order below):

• System configuration file (for example /etc/rofi.rasi). It first checks XDG_CONFIG_DIRS, and then SYSCONFDIR (that is passed at compile time). It loads the first config file it finds, it does not merge multiple system configuration files.
• Rasi theme file: The new theme format can be used to set configuration values.
• Command-line options: Arguments passed to rofi.

To get a template config file, run: rofi -dump-config > config.rasi

This will contain (commented) all current configuration options, modified options are uncommented.

The configuration system supports the following types:

• string
• integer (signed and unsigned)
• char
• boolean
• lists

For the syntax of these options, see the rofi-theme(5) manpage.

For use on the command line, Boolean options have a non-default command-line syntax. Example to enable option X:

-X

To disable option X:

-no-X

Below is a list of the most important options:

General

-help

The help option shows the full list of command-line options and the current set values. These include dynamic (run-time generated) options.

-version

Show the rofi version and exit.

-dump-config

Dump the current active configuration, in rasi format, to stdout and exit. Information about the rasi format can be found in the rofi-theme(5) manpage.

-dump-theme

Dump the current active theme, in rasi format, to stdout and exit.

-rasi-validate filename

Try to parse the file and return 0 when successful, non-zero when failed.

-threads num

Specify the number of threads rofi should use:

• 0: Autodetect the number of supported hardware threads.

• 1: Disable threading

• 2..n: Specify the maximum number of threads to use in the thread pool.

  Default: Autodetect

-display display

The X server to contact. Default is $DISPLAY.

-dmenu

Run rofi in dmenu mode. This allows for interactive scripts. In dmenu mode, rofi reads from STDIN, and output to STDOUT. A simple example, displaying three pre-defined options:

echo -e "Option #1\nOption #2\nOption #3" | rofi -dmenu

Or get the options from a script:

~/my_script.sh | rofi -dmenu

-show mode

Open rofi in a certain mode. Available modes are window, run, drun, ssh, combi. The special argument keys can be used to open a searchable list of supported key bindings (see KEY BINDINGS)

To show the run-dialog:

rofi -show run

If -show is the last option passed to rofi, the first enabled modi is shown.

-modi mode1,mode2

Specify an ordered, comma-separated list of modes to enable. Enabled modes can be changed at runtime. Default key is Ctrl+Tab. If no modes are specified, all configured modes will be enabled. To only show the run and ssh launcher:

rofi -modi "run,ssh" -show run

Custom modes can be added using the internal script mode. Each such mode has two parameters:

<name>:<script>

Example: Have a mode called 'Workspaces' using the i3_switch_workspaces.sh script:

rofi -modi "window,run,ssh,Workspaces:i3_switch_workspaces.sh" -show Workspaces

Notes: The i3 window manager dislikes commas in the command when specifying an exec command. For that case, # can be used as a separator.

TIP: The name is allowed to contain spaces:

rofi -modi "My File Browser:fb.sh" -show "My File Browser"

-case-sensitive

Start in case-sensitive mode. This option can be changed at run-time using the -kb-toggle-case-sensitivity key binding.

-cycle

Cycle through the result list. Default is 'true'.

-filter filter

Filter the list by setting text in input bar to filter

-config filename

Load an alternative configuration file.

-cache-dir filename

Directory that is used to place temporary files, like history.

-scroll-method method

Select the scrolling method. 0: Per page, 1: continuous.

-normalize-match

Normalize the string before matching, so o will match ö, and é matches e.
This is not a perfect implementation, but works. For now, it disables highlighting of the matched part.

-no-lazy-grab

Disables lazy grab, this forces the keyboard being grabbed before gui is shown.

-no-plugins

Disable plugin loading.

-plugin-path directory

Specify the directory where rofi should look for plugins.

-show-icons

Show application icons in drun and window modes.

-icon-theme

Specify icon theme to be used. If not specified default theme from DE is used, Adwaita and gnome themes act as fallback themes.

-application-fallback-icon

Specify an icon to be used when the application icon in run/drun are not yet loaded or is not available.

-markup

Use Pango markup to format output wherever possible.

-normal-window

Make rofi react like a normal application window. Useful for scripts like Clerk that are basically an application.

-[no-]steal-focus

Make rofi steal focus on launch and restore close to window that held it when launched.

Matching

-matching method

Specify the matching algorithm used. Currently, the following methods are supported:

• normal: match the int string

• regex: match a regex input

• glob: match a glob pattern

• fuzzy: do a fuzzy match

• prefix: match prefix

  Default: normal

Note: glob matching might be slow for larger lists

-tokenize

Tokenize the input.

-drun-categories category1,category2

Only show desktop files that are present in the listed categories.

-drun-match-fields field1,field2,...

When using drun, match only with the specified Desktop entry fields. The different fields are:

• name: the application's name

• generic: the application's generic name

• exec: the application's executable

• categories: the application's categories

• comment: the application comment

• all: all the above

  Default: name,generic,exec,categories,keywords

-drun-display-format

The format string for the drun dialog:

• name: the application's name
• generic: the application's generic name
• exec: the application's executable
• categories: the application's categories
• comment: the application comment

Pango markup can be used to formatting the output.

Default: {name} [<span weight='light' size='small'><i>({generic})</i></span>]

Note: Only fields enabled in -drun-match-fields can be used in the format string.

-[no-]drun-show-actions

Show actions present in the Desktop files.

Default: false

-window-match-fields field1,field2,...

When using window mode, match only with the specified fields. The different fields are:

• title: window's title

• class: window's class

• role: window's role

• name: window's name

• desktop: window's current desktop

• all: all the above

  Default: all

-matching-negate-char char

Set the character used to negate the query (i.e. if it does not match the next keyword). Set to '\x0' to disable.

Default: '-'

Layout and Theming

IMPORTANT: In newer rofi releases, all the theming options have been moved into the new theme format. They are no longer normal rofi options that can be passed directly on the command line (there are too many). Small snippets can be passed on the command line: rofi -theme-str 'window {width: 50%;}' to override a single setting. They are merged into the current theme. They can also be appended at the end of the rofi config file to override parts of the theme.

Most of the following options are deprecated and should not be used. Please use the new theme format to customize rofi. More information about the new format can be found in the rofi-theme(5) manpage.

-location

Specify where the window should be located. The numbers map to the following locations on screen:

  1 2 3
  8 0 4
  7 6 5

Default: 0

-fixed-num-lines

Keep a fixed number of visible lines.

-sidebar-mode

Open in sidebar-mode. In this mode, a list of all enabled modes is shown at the bottom. (See -modi option) To show sidebar, use:

rofi -show run -sidebar-mode 

-hover-select

Automatically select the entry the mouse is hovering over. This option is best combined with custom mouse bindings. To utilize hover-select and accept an entry in a single click, use:

rofi -show run -hover-select -me-select-entry '' -me-accept-entry MousePrimary

-eh number

Set row height (in chars) Default: 1

-auto-select

When one entry is left, automatically select it.

-m num

-m name

-monitor num

-monitor name

Select monitor to display rofi on. It accepts as input: primary (if primary output is set), the xrandr output name, or integer number (in order of detection). Negative numbers are handled differently:

• -1: the currently focused monitor.

• -2: the currently focused window (that is, rofi will be displayed on top of the focused window).

• -3: Position of mouse (overrides the location setting to get normal context menu behavior.)

• -4: the monitor with the focused window.

• -5: the monitor that shows the mouse pointer.

  Default: -5

See rofi -h output for the detected monitors, their position, and size.

-theme filename

Path to the new theme file format. This overrides the old theme settings.

-theme-str string

Allow theme parts to be specified on the command line as an override.

For example:

rofi -theme-str '#window { fullscreen: true; }'

This option can be specified multiple times. This is now the method to tweak the theme via the command line.

-dpi number

Override the default DPI setting.

• If set to 0, it tries to auto-detect based on X11 screen size (similar to i3 and GTK).
• If set to 1, it tries to auto-detect based on the size of the monitor that rofi is displayed on (similar to latest Qt 5).

-selected-row selected row

Select a certain row.

Default: 0

PATTERN setting

-terminal

Specify which terminal to start.

rofi -terminal xterm

Pattern: {terminal}

Default: x-terminal-emulator

-ssh-client client

Override the used ssh client.

Pattern: {ssh-client}

Default: ssh

SSH settings

-ssh-command cmd

Set the command to execute when starting an ssh session. The pattern {host} is replaced by the selected ssh entry.

Pattern: {ssh-client}

Default: {terminal} -e {ssh-client} {host}

-parse-hosts

Parse the /etc/hosts file for entries.

Default: disabled

-parse-known-hosts -no-parse-known-hosts

Parse the ~/.ssh/known_hosts file for entries.

Default: enabled

Run settings

-run-command cmd

Set command ({cmd}) to execute when running an application. See PATTERN.

Default: {cmd}

-run-shell-command cmd

Set command to execute when running an application in a shell. See PATTERN.

Default: {terminal} -e {cmd}

-run-list-command cmd

If set, use an external tool to generate a list of executable commands. Uses run-command.

Default: {cmd}

Window switcher settings

-window-format format

Format what is being displayed for windows.

format: {field[:len]}

field:

• w: desktop name
• t: title of window
• n: name
• r: role
• c: class

len: maximum field length (0 for auto-size). If length and window width are negative, field length is width - len.
If length is positive, the entry will be truncated or padded to fill that length.

default: {w} {c} {t}

-window-command cmd

Set command to execute on selected window for an alt action (-kb-accept-alt). See PATTERN.

Default: "wmctrl -i -R {window}"

-window-thumbnail

Show window thumbnail (if available) as icon in the window switcher.

You can stop rofi from exiting when closing a window (allowing multiple to be closed in a row).

configuration {
  window {
      close-on-delete: false;
  }
}

Combi settings

-combi-modi mode1,mode2

The modi to combine in combi mode. For syntax to -combi-modi, see -modi. To get one merge view, of window,run, and ssh:

rofi -show combi -combi-modi "window,run,ssh" -modi combi

NOTE: The i3 window manager dislikes commas in the command when specifying an exec command. For that case, # can be used as a separator.

History and Sorting

-disable-history -no-disable-history (re-enable history)

Disable history

-sort to enable -no-sort to disable

Enable, disable sorting. This setting can be changed at runtime (see -kb-toggle-sort).

-sorting-method 'method' to specify the sorting method.

There are 2 sorting methods:

• levenshtein (Default)
• fzf sorting.

-max-history-size number

Maximum number of entries to store in history. Defaults to 25. (WARNING: can cause slowdowns when set too high)

Message dialog

-e message

Pops up a message dialog (used internally for showing errors) with message. Message can be multi-line.

File browser settings

File browser behavior can be controlled via the following options:

configuration {
   filebrowser {
      /** Directory the file browser starts in. */
      directory: "/some/directory";
      /**
        * Sorting method. Can be set to:
        *   - "name"
        *   - "mtime" (modification time)
        *   - "atime" (access time)
        *   - "ctime" (change time)
        */
      sorting-method: "name";
      /** Group directories before files. */
      directories-first: true;
   }
}

Other

-drun-use-desktop-cache

Build and use a cache with the content of desktop files. Usable for systems with slow hard drives.

-drun-reload-desktop-cache

If drun-use-desktop-cache is enabled, rebuild a cache with the content of desktop files.

-drun-url-launcher command

Command to open a Desktop Entry that is a Link.

-pid path

Make rofi create a pid file and check this on startup. The pid file prevents multiple rofi instances from running simultaneously. This is useful when running rofi from a key-binding daemon.

-replace

If rofi is already running, based on pid file, try to kill that instance.

-display-{mode} string

Set the name to use for mode. This is used as prompt and in combi-browser.

It is now preferred to use the configuration file:

configuration {
  {mode} {
    display-name: *string*;
  }
}

-click-to-exit -no-click-to-exit

Click the mouse outside the rofi window to exit.

Default: enabled

PATTERN

To launch commands (for example, when using the ssh launcher), the user can enter the used command-line. The following keys can be used that will be replaced at runtime:

• {host}: the host to connect to
• {terminal}: the configured terminal (see -terminal)
• {ssh-client}: the configured ssh client (see -ssh-client)
• {cmd}: the command to execute
• {window}: the window ID of the selected window (in window-command)

THEMING

Please see rofi-theme(5) manpage for more information on theming.

KEY BINDINGS

rofi has the following key bindings:

• Control-v, Insert: Paste from clipboard
• Control-Shift-v, Shift-Insert: Paste primary selection
• Control-u: Clear the line
• Control-a: Beginning of line
• Control-e: End of line
• Control-f, Right: Forward one character
• Alt-f, Control-Right: Forward one word
• Control-b, Left: Back one character
• Alt-b, Control-Left: Back one word
• Control-d, Delete: Delete character
• Control-Alt-d: Delete word
• Control-h, Backspace, Shift-Backspace: Backspace (delete previous character)
• Control-Alt-h: Delete previous word
• Control-j,Control-m,Enter: Accept entry
• Control-n,Down: Select next entry
• Control-p,Up: Select previous entry
• Page Up: Go to previous page
• Page Down: Go to next page
• Control-Page Up: Go to previous column
• Control-Page Down: Go to next column
• Control-Enter: Use entered text as a command (in ssh/run modi)
• Shift-Enter: Launch the application in a terminal (in run mode)
• Control-Shift-Enter: As Control-Enter and run the command in terminal (in run mode)
• Shift-Enter: Return the selected entry and move to the next item while keeping rofi open. (in dmenu)
• Shift-Right: Switch to the next mode. The list can be customized with the -modi argument.
• Shift-Left: Switch to the previous mode. The list can be customized with the -modi argument.
• Control-Tab: Switch to the next mode. The list can be customized with the -modi argument.
• Control-Shift-Tab: Switch to the previous mode. The list can be customized with the -modi argument.
• Control-space: Set selected item as input text.
• Shift-Del: Delete entry from history.
• grave: Toggle case sensitivity.
• Alt-grave: Toggle sorting.
• Alt-Shift-S: Take a screenshot and store it in the Pictures directory.
• Control-l: File complete for run dialog.

This list might not be complete, to get a full list of all key bindings supported in your rofi, see rofi -h. The options starting with -kb are keybindings.

Key bindings can be modified using the configuration systems. Multiple keys can be bound to one action by comma separating them. For example -kb-primary-paste "Conctrol+v,Insert"

To get a searchable list of key bindings, run rofi -show keys.

A key binding starting with ! will act when all keys have been released.

You can bind certain events to key-actions:

Timeout

You can configure an action to be taken when rofi has not been interacted with for a certain amount of seconds. You can specify a keybinding to trigger after X seconds.

configuration {
  timeout {
      delay:  15;
      action: "kb-cancel";
  }
}

Input change

When the input of the textbox changes:

configuration {
  inputchange {
      action: "kb-row-first";
  }
}

For a full list of bindings, see the rofi-keys(5) manpage.

Available Modi

window

Show a list of all the windows and allow switching between them. Pressing the delete-entry binding (shift-delete) will close the window. Pressing the accept-custom binding (control-enter or shift-enter) will run a command on the window. (See option window-command );

If there is no match, it will try to launch the input.

windowcd

Shows a list of the windows on the current desktop and allows switching between them. Pressing the delete-entry binding (shift-delete) will kill the window. Pressing the accept-custom binding (control-enter or shift-enter) will run a command on the window. (See option window-command );

If there is no match, it will try to launch the input.

run

Shows a list of executables in $PATH and can launch them (optional in a terminal). Pressing the delete-entry binding (shift-delete) will remove this entry from the run history. Pressing the accept-custom binding (control-enter) will run the command as entered in the entry box. Pressing the accept-alt binding (shift-enter) will run the command in a terminal.

When pressing the mode-complete binding (Control-l), you can use the File Browser mode to launch the application with a file as the first argument.

drun

Same as the run launches, but the list is created from the installed desktop files. It automatically launches them in a terminal if specified in the Desktop File. Pressing the delete-entry binding (shift-delete) will remove this entry from the run history. Pressing the accept-custom binding (control-enter) will run the command as entered in the entry box. Pressing the accept-alt binding (shift-enter) will run the command in a terminal.

When pressing the mode-complete binding (Control-l), you can use the File Browser mode to launch the application passing a file as argument if specified in the desktop file.

The DRUN mode tries to follow the XDG Desktop Entry Specification and should be compatible with applications using this standard. Some applications create invalid desktop files, rofi will discard these entries. See the debugging section for more info on DRUN mode, this will print why desktop files are discarded.

There are two advanced options to tweak the behaviour:

configuration {
   drun {
      /** Parse user desktop files. */
      parse-user:   true;
      /** Parse system desktop files. */
      parse-system: false;
   }
}

ssh

Shows a list of SSH targets based on your ssh config file, and allows to quickly ssh into them.

keys

Shows a searchable list of key bindings.

script

Allows custom scripted Modi to be added, see the rofi-script(5) manpage for more information.

combi

Combines multiple modi in one list. Specify which modi are included with the -combi-modi option.

When using the combi mode, a !bang can be used to filter the results by modi. All modi that match the bang as a prefix are included. For example, say you have specified -combi-modi run,window,windowcd. If your query begins with the bang !w, only results from the window and windowcd modi are shown, even if the rest of the input text would match results from run.

If no match, the input is handled by the first combined modi.

FAQ

The text in the window switcher is not nicely aligned.

Try using a mono-space font.

The window is completely black.

Check quotes used on the command-line: you might have used “ ("smart quotes") instead of " ("machine quotes").

What does the icon in the top right show?

The indicator shows:

` ` Case insensitive and no sorting.
`-` Case sensitivity enabled, no sorting.
`+` Case insensitive and Sorting enabled
`±` Sorting and Case sensitivity enabled"

Why do I see different icons for run,drun and window mode

Each of these modes uses different methods of resolving the icon:

• Window: It first uses the icon that the application exposes via the X11 Server, if none is set it does a lookup of the window Class name in the icon theme.
• drun: It uses the icon set in the desktop file.
• run: It does a lookup using the executable name.

EXAMPLES

Some basic usage examples of rofi:

Show the run dialog:

rofi -modi run -show run

Show the run dialog, and allow switching to Desktop File run dialog (drun):

rofi -modi run,drun -show run

Combine the run and Desktop File run dialog (drun):

rofi -modi combi -show combi -combi-modi run,drun

Combine the run and Desktop File run dialog (drun), and allow switching to window switcher:

rofi -modi combi,window -show combi -combi-modi run,drun

Pop up a text message claiming that this is the end:

rofi -e "This is the end"

Pop up a text message in red, bold font claiming that this is still the end:

rofi -e "<span color='red'><b>This is still the end</b></span>" -markup

Show all key bindings:

rofi -show keys

Use qalc to get a simple calculator in rofi:

 rofi -show calc -modi "calc:qalc +u8 -nocurrencies"

i3

In i3 you want to bind rofi to be launched on key release. Otherwise, it cannot grab the keyboard. See also the i3 manual:

Some tools (such as import or xdotool) might be unable to run upon a KeyPress event, because the keyboard/pointer is still grabbed. For these situations, the --release flag can be used, as it will execute the command after the keys have been released.

LICENSE

MIT/X11

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining
a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the
"Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including
without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish,
distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to
permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to
the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be
included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS
OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY
CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT,
TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE
SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

WEBSITE

rofi website can be found here

SUPPORT

rofi support can be obtained:

• GitHub Discussions
• Forum (Reddit)
• IRC (#rofi on irc.libera.chat),

DEBUGGING

To debug, it is smart to first try disabling your custom configuration: -no-config

Disable parsing of configuration. This runs rofi in stock mode.

If you run custom C plugins, you can disable them using:

-no-plugins

Disables the loading of plugins.

To further debug the plugin, you can get a trace with (lots of) debug information. This debug output can be enabled for multiple parts in rofi using the glib debug framework. Debug domains can be enabled by setting the G_MESSAGES_DEBUG environment variable. At the time of creation of this page, the following debug domains exist:

• all: Show debug information from all domains.
• X11Helper: The X11 Helper functions.
• View: The main window view functions.
• Widgets.Box: The Box widget.
• Dialogs.DMenu: The dmenu mode.
• Dialogs.Run: The run mode.
• Dialogs.DRun: The desktop file run mode.
• Dialogs.Window: The window mode.
• Dialogs.Script: The script mode.
• Dialogs.Combi: The script mode.
• Dialogs.Ssh: The ssh mode.
• Rofi: The main application.
• Timings: Get timing output.
• Theme: Theme engine debug output. (warning lots of output).
• Widgets.Icon: The Icon widget.
• Widgets.Box: The box widget.
• Widgets.Container: The container widget.
• Widgets.Window: The window widget.
• Helpers.IconFetcher: Information about icon lookup.

The output of this can provide useful information when writing an issue.

More information (possibly outdated) see this wiki entry.

ISSUE TRACKER

The rofi issue tracker can be found here

When creating an issue, please read this first.

SEE ALSO

rofi-sensible-terminal(1), dmenu(1), rofi-theme(5), rofi-script(5), rofi-keys(5),rofi-theme-selector(1)

AUTHOR

• Qball Cow qball@blame.services
• Rasmus Steinke rasi@xssn.at
• Quentin Glidic sardemff7+rofi@sardemff7.net

Original code based on work by: Sean Pringle sean.pringle@gmail.com

For a full list of authors, check the AUTHORS file.