Dmenufm

September 26, 2022 · View on GitHub

A simple dmenu file manager written in POSIX-compliant shell script.

Minimal (only require POSIX compliant shell and coreutils)
File management (yank, move, symbolic link, ranger style bulk rename, etc)
Remember you last path (CD on Exit)
Rolling menu for dynamic file browsing (Rolling Menu)
Compatible with other menu system

Distrotube introduced my project much better than I would.

Table of Content

Preview
Dependencies
Installation
Usage
Configuration
- Use other menu system
- Use terminal menu system
Note
Troubleshooting
TODO
License

Preview

Dmenufm Introduction 1 Dmenufm Introduction 2

Dependencies

With POSIX-compliance in mind, dmenufm makes use of and requires (or recommends) the below utilities.

sed, grep
xclip, find
cat, wc, cp, mv, rm, mkdir, touch (GNU coreutils)
wmctrl for EYE action
tar, unlzma, bunzip2, unrar, unzip, uncompress, 7z, unxz, cabextract

In Debian- or Ubuntu-based distributions of Linux, the packages needed (versions are a guideline) are listed below, at least as is the case in Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial).

bzip2 >= 1.0.6-8
findutils >= 4.6.0+git+20160126-2
grep >= 2.25-1~16.04.1
gzip >= 1.6-4
sed >= 4.2.2-7
suckless-tools >= 42-1
tar >= 1.28-2.1
unzip >= 6.0-20
xclip >= 0.12+svn84-4
xz-utils >= 5.1.1alpha+20120614-2

Installation

For Arch Linux user, there is an AUR package available.

If you are not a archlinux user

do this:

In order for this to work you need to install make, git, dmenu
Install this programs.
clone this gitrepo git clone https://github.com/huijunchen9260/dmenufm/
cd to the repo directory you just cloned cd dmenufm
run sudo make install

To uninstall dmenufm, type sudo make uninstall in terminal. On the gitrepo directory.

Usage

Type dmenufm to launch, or assign dmenufm to your favorite hot key. You may supply a directory as an argument to start dmenufm in the specified directory.
../ to go back to parent directory.
./ to open your file manager in current working directory (determined by xdg-open)
Choices with / are directory; choices without / are files.

Usage output (as of 2019-12-16) showing optional arguments for custom usage:

$ dmenufm --help
            DMENUFM
            Written by huijunchen9260 <chen.9260@osu.edu>

            Simple file manager using dmenu

SYNTAX:     dmenufm [OPTS]

OPTS:       -h | --help               - Show this usage information.
            -d | --directory          - Only directories.
            -f | --file               - Only show files.
            -D | --dotdirectory       - Only show hidden directories.
            -F | --dotfile            - Only show hidden files.
            -p | --lastpath           - Opens in last working directory. (cd on exit)
            -r | --rollingmenu        - Rolling menu based on selected files.
            -t | --termpath           - Print out the path of file / directory.
	    -m | --menu               - Choose other menu system
	    -o | --option             - Choose options for other menu system
	   -no | --notif-option      - Choose NotiPrompt options for other menu system
	   -do | --danger-option     - Choose DangerPrompt options for other menu system

Terminal to open terminal in current working directory. To define terminal, add export TERMINAL=<your terminal> to the end of your .bashrc file (or any other system configuration file, like .profile, zshrc, etc).

Open in...

Open in... to temporarily open a file in a different program from FM_OPENER or xdg-open.

Requires dmenu_path. This function use dmenu_path to search for programs that is going to open the next selected file.

CD on Exit

Use -p | --lastpath option:

dmenufm -p

Use -r option for rolling menu based on the file that you opened:

dmenufm -r

For example, the original list is

../
./
Actions
Terminal
file1
file2
file3
file4

You open file3. After you close file3, the menu would be

../
./
Actions
Terminal
file3
file4
file1
file2

Actions

Actions is the actions you can do.

`PCP` to copy path.

Example:

current working directory is $HOME (your user's own home directory), if ESC is pressed to leave dmenufm, then $HOME will be copied into xclip.
You can browse into the directory; inside that directory, choose ./, and the current working directory will be copied.

`NEW` to make new file / directory

Name with slash will consider as a directory; without as file.

Example: Type dirname/ to create new directory, and filename to create new file.

`MVV` to move file

To move file to destination:
- Choose source and destination to move your file. Enter the directory and choose ./ to confirm the destination.
- Bulk Move for multi-selection
- Bulk Move All to move all the content in the directory.
- Bulk Move Mass to move contents that is selected by editing the list of content in default text editor.

`YAK` to copy files

The usage of this action is the same as MVR, but will copy the file instead of moving it.

`LNK` to create symbolic links

The usage of this action is the same as MVR, but will create the symbolic link for the file instead of moving it.

`DEL` to remove

Delete directories or files.

Bulk Delete for multi-selection
Bulk Delete All to delete all the content in the directory.
Bulk Delete Mass to delete contents that is selected by editing the list of content in default text editor.

`TRH` to put in trash.

$HOME/.cache/dmenufm/trash is the directory storing trashes for dmenufm.
Move file to trash will generate a new dmenu prompt.
- Choose any file to move to trash.
- To move a directory to trash, enter the directory, and choose ./ to confirm this directory..
- Bulk Trash for multi-selection
- Bulk Trash All to delete all the content in the directory.
- Bulk Trash Mass to delete contents that is selected by editing the list of content in default text editor.
Go to trash will cd to trash directory.
Empty trash will remove all files/directories in trash directory.

`REM` to rename files / directories

Open the name of the selected files / directories to your $EDITOR / text editor.
- Bulk Rename for multi-selection
- Bulk Rename All to rename all the content in the directory.
- Bulk Rename Mass to rename contents that is selected by editing the list of content in default text editor.

`HIS` to record history

history file stored in $HOME/.config/dmenufm/dmenufm_history.
The maximum number of history is 5000.

`BMK` to store as bookmarks

Choose the listed bookmark to enter that directory. Bookmarks are stored in $HOME/.config/dmenufm/dmenufm_bookmark
Choose Add BMK to browse between directories using new dmenu prompt.
- To add file to bookmark, choose files in new dmenu prompt.
- To add directory to bookmark, enter the directory and choose ./ to confirm.
Choose "Delete BMK" to delete one file/directory in bookmark.

`CMD` to store command

Choose "Add CMD" to add both the command and command description in $HOME/.config/dmenufm/dmenufm_command.
Choose "Delete CMD" to delete any command in $HOME/.config/dmenufm/dmenufm_command.
Choose any stored command to execute.
- If your command is a single command with no argument, e.g. ncdu, then dmenufm will open a terminal to run this command.
- If your command has arguments, e.g. chmod +x \$1, you only need to write one argument ($1 part), and dmenufm will open a bulk mode, which allows you to choose files to execute.

`CMD` Notes:

GUI application will open only one windows, and terminal application will open a terminal for this command.

If there is no terminal opened for your terminal application, you need to modify executecmd function in dmenufm.

ExecCMD () { # Usage ExecCMD [CMD]
    software=$(printf '%s' "${1%% *}")
    appdesktop=$(find "$XDGDIR1" "$XDGDIR2" -name "*$software*.desktop" | tail -n 1)
    if [ -n "$appdesktop" ] && grep 'Terminal=false' "$appdesktop"; then
	printf '%s' "\$1" | ${SHELL:-"/bin/sh"}
    else
	$TERMINAL -e \$1 | ${SHELL:-"/bin/sh"}
    fi
}

$TERMINAL -e \$1 is the one you need to modify.

`SDO` to enter super user mode

Enter you password to enter super user mode (sudo).

The prompt will be all red because this is a dangerous action.

`EYE` to preview your file

The EYE prompt will appear at the button of the screen.

Recommend using this function with Rolling Menu

Need wmctrl to automatically close the opened file.

Open files

Files are opened using xdg-open. If you have any trouble, go to troubleshooting on xdg-open

For compression, now you can choose the compression, and it will extract into a new directory named by the compression.

Configuration

There are many environment variables you can use to configure dmenufm by exporting them in your system or shell configuration file.

Alternatively, you can cp /etc/dmenufm.conf $HOME/.config/dmenufm/dmenufm.conf and modify $HOME/.config/dmenufm/dmenufm.conf to your needs.

To use other menu system, you need to specify seven additional variables in dmenufm.conf. Take the default value for bemenu as example:

FM_PROG="bemenu"
FM_OPTS="-l 10"
FM_OPT_PROMPT="-p"
FM_OPTS_GENERIC="--sb='#005577'"
FM_OPTS_ACTION_LV1="--sb='#33691e'"
FM_OPTS_ACTION_LV2="--sb='#FF8C00'"
FM_OPTS_ACTION_BULK="--sb='#CB06CB'"

The terminal menu system, such as fzf and shellect, will slightly change the stty settings in an unknown way such that the original terminal color scheme will be distorted when opening text files in vim/neovim. The way to fix it is to use install a vim/neovim colorscheme, and include the following line in your .vimrc / init.vim:

set tgc

This will enable the termguicolors setting inside vim/neovim, and force the color scheme to match your installed vim/neovim color scheme.

Note

If you hate GUIarrowy world like me, based on man dmenu, you can

Ctrl-n to go up,
Ctrl-p to go down,
Ctrl-y to paste from primary X selection
- Everything your "are selecting" can be paste into dmenu by this hot key.
Meta-h to go up,
Meta-l to go down,
Meta-k to go one page up,
Meta-j to go one page down,

where Meta is also called Alt.

Troubleshooting

Why some of my GUI app will open in terminal?

For GUI application like sxiv, default setting will open sxiv in a new terminal. In total, 2 windows will be opened.

This is because sxiv.desktop has no Terminal=false entry.

To fix this, use

< $(locate sxiv.desktop | tail -n 1) sudo ${EDITOR:-vi}

to open .desktop file in your editor, and add

Terminal=false

You can replace sxiv to any GUI application which has the same issue.

Why files do not open in the right application

dmenufm use xdg-open to open files in the default application.

To open in the application that you want, you need to

find the filetype (minor/major) of the file
Set xdg-open default applications.

For example, I am using sxhkd. So I need to modify sxhkdrc. However, it is not opened in nvim.desktop, but in firefox.desktop.

So I

find the filetype:

# Go to directory
cd ~/.config/sxhkd
# find the filetype
xdg-mime query filetype sxhkdrc

Find filetype text/x-matlab

Set xdg-open default applications:

xdg-mime default nvim.desktop text/x-matlab

and you are all set.