Floaty

Pin reference images, screenshots, and PDFs on top of your workspace.

Install

Use the DMS CLI:

dms plugins install floaty

Or manually:

git clone https://github.com/hthienloc/dms-floaty ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/plugins/floaty

Features

• Float from anywhere - Clipboard, file picker, drag & drop, or URL
• Multi-format support - PNG, JPG, WebP, BMP, SVG, PDF (page selection)
• Smart layout - Auto-tiling prevents overlapping
• Always on top - Windows stay visible while you work
• IPC ready - Script-friendly commands for automation

Usage

Bar Icon

Action	Result
Left click	Open popout menu
Middle click	Open file browser to select file
Right click	Paste and float from clipboard
Drag & drop	Quick float dropped image, file or text

Floating Windows

Action	Result
Left click + Drag	Move window
Middle click	Close window
Right click	Toggle minimize / expand
Scroll	Resize window

IPC Commands

Use dms ipc call floaty <command> to control Floaty from scripts or keybindings.

Command	Description
floatFromClipboard	Float image/URL from clipboard
selectFileAndFloat	Open file picker and float selection
floatFromUrl "url"	Float from a URL or file path
toggleMinimizeAll	Toggle minimize/expand all windows
minimizeAll	Minimize all floating windows
expandAll	Expand all floating windows
closeAllWindows	Close all floating windows

Keybinding examples

Niri:

bindings {
    Print { spawn "sh" "-c" "dms screenshot region --no-file --no-notify && dms ipc call floaty floatFromClipboard"; }
    Mod+V { spawn "dms" "ipc" "call" "floaty" "floatFromClipboard"; }
}

Hyprland:

bind = , Print, exec, dms screenshot region --no-file --no-notify && dms ipc call floaty floatFromClipboard
bind = SUPER, V, exec, dms ipc call floaty floatFromClipboard

Requirements

• poppler-utils - PDF conversion (pdftocairo, pdfinfo)

License

GPL-3.0

Roadmap / TODO

• Session Restoration: Automatically reload floating images and their positions after a restart or crash.
• Live Annotations: Integrated pen and highlighter tools to mark up reference images without external editors.
• Per-Window Opacity: Individual transparency sliders for each window to prevent obscuring critical background details.
• Quick OCR: One-click text extraction from floating images directly into the clipboard.
• Built-in Cropping: Ability to trim or focus on specific parts of a floated image within the UI.