Niri Windows Plugin for DMS Launcher

A launcher plugin that lists all open windows in the Niri window manager and allows quick switching between them.

Example: Type ! to list all open windows, or !! to list only windows on the current workspace.

Grid Mode

List Mode

Features

• Window Listing: Displays all open windows from the Niri window manager
• Smart Search: Filter windows by application name, window title, or workspace
• Current Workspace Filter: Repeat the configured trigger to show only windows on the current workspace
• Quick Switching: Click or press Enter to instantly switch to any window
• Workspace Info: Shows which workspace each window is on
• Smart Sorting: Focused windows appear first, then sorted by workspace
• Default Trigger: Uses ! as the default trigger prefix (configurable)
• Desktop Integration: Automatically fetches application icons from desktop entries

Installation

Via DMS

dms plugins install NiriWindows

Via DMS GUI

• Mod + ,
• Go to Plugins Tab
• Choose Browse
• Enable third party
• install NiriWindows

Manually

cd ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/plugins
git clone https://github.com/rochacbruno/DankNiriWindows NiriWindows

1. Open DMS Settings (Ctrl+,)
2. Navigate to Plugins tab
3. Click "Scan for Plugins"
4. Enable the "NiriWindow" plugin with the toggle switch

Requirements

• Niri Window Manager: This plugin only works when DMS is running on Niri WM
• DMS Version: Requires DMS version 0.1.18

Usage

With Default Settings (! Trigger)

• Show all windows on all workspaces: !
• Search all workspaces for firefox: !firefox
• Show all windows on current workspace: !!
• Search current workspace for firefox: !!firefox

The current-workspace mode is activated by repeating the configured trigger. For example, if the trigger is changed to @, use @ to show all windows on all workspaces and @@ to show all windows on the current workspace. For multi-character triggers, separate a current-workspace search term with a space (for example, winwin firefox).

Searching for Windows

• By application: !firefox - Shows all Firefox windows
• By title: !document - Shows windows with "document" in the title
• By workspace: !Workspace 2 - Shows windows on Workspace 2
• All windows: ! - Shows all open windows
• Current workspace: !! - Shows all windows on the current workspace
• Current workspace search: !!firefox - Shows Firefox windows on the current workspace

Always Active Mode

Enable Always Active in the plugin settings to include Niri windows in regular launcher searches without an activation trigger. The repeated trigger remains the current-workspace shortcut.

With the default trigger (!):

• Open the launcher with an empty query to include all Niri windows
• Type firefox to search windows across all workspaces
• Type !! to show only windows on the current workspace
• Type !!firefox to search Firefox windows only on the current workspace

Customizing the Trigger

1. Open Settings → Plugins → Niri Windows
2. Change the trigger to a custom value (e.g., @ or win)
3. Use the trigger once for all workspaces and repeat it for the current workspace (e.g., @ / @@ or win / winwin)
4. Or enable Always Active to remove the activation-trigger requirement. The repeated trigger still selects the current workspace

Adding keybindings (niri)

binds {
    Alt+Tab hotkey-overlay-title="Switch Windows" {
        spawn "dms" "ipc" "call" "spotlight" "openQuery" "!";
    }

    Mod+Shift+W hotkey-overlay-title="Windows on Current Workspace" {
        spawn "dms" "ipc" "call" "spotlight" "openQuery" "!!";
    }
}

Window Information Display

Each window item shows:

• Name: Window title (or application name if no title)
• Icon: Application icon from desktop entry
• Comment: Application ID and workspace location

Example:

Window Title
org.mozilla.firefox • Workspace 1

Sorting Behavior

Windows are sorted in the following order:

1. Currently focused window (appears first)
2. Workspace index (lower workspace numbers first)
3. Window name (alphabetically)

How It Works

The plugin integrates with DMS's NiriService to:

1. Monitor all open windows via Niri's event stream
2. Track window properties (app_id, title, workspace, focus state)
3. Track the currently focused workspace for current-workspace filtering
4. Use NiriService.focusWindow(windowId) to switch windows
5. Refresh launcher results when windows or the focused workspace change

Configuration

Settings are stored in ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/plugin_settings.json under the niriWindows plugin key:

{
  "pluginSettings": {
    "niriWindows": {
      "trigger": "!",
      "noTrigger": false
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

No windows appear:

• Make sure you're running DMS on Niri window manager
• Check that the plugin is enabled in Settings → Plugins
• Verify you have open windows

Plugin doesn't work:

• This plugin only works on Niri WM, not Hyprland or other compositors
• Make sure DMS version is > 0.1.18

Wrong icons showing:

• Icons are fetched from desktop entries using heuristic lookup
• Some applications may not have proper desktop entries

Files

• plugin.json - Plugin manifest and metadata
• NiriWindowsLauncher.qml - Main launcher component
• NiriWindowsSettings.qml - Settings UI
• README.md - This documentation file
• screenshot.png - Plugin screenshot

Version

1.2.0

Author

Bruno Cesar Rocha