xstarter is an application launcher for Linux
It lives in terminal and works well with tiling window managers (e.g. xmonad, i3 etc).
Current version: 0.8.2
| Branch | Build |
|---|---|
master |
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dev |
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Check out Emacs interface for xstarter
- a clean, simple interface that works on various terminals
- able to search for applications using environment variables (e.g.
$PATH) and user-provided list of directories - can be configured to launch via a key-binding
- can optionally open an application in terminal (see key shortcuts)
- allows to provide arguments to applications (see key shortcuts)
- remembers previously launched applications allowing to find them more quickly
- allows fuzzy search (parts of the query can be separated with a space)
- applications can be launched with 1, 2, ..., 0 keys, depending on their position in the search results
- fast, uses cache by default
- easy to configure via a single text file
- is able to run an application and detach it from terminal (e.g.
xstarter -e firefox) - can provide contents of the cache to outside programs (
xstarter -P)
xstarter needs to be launched from a terminal ($ xstarter). It is useful to run it using a key binding, preferably by binding your preferred key to a command starting xstarter from a terminal of your choice, e.g. xterm -e xstarter. Alternatively, you can simply bind it to xstarter in which case xstarter will open itself in a terminal.
You can also create an alias in your shell (e.g. bash, zsh): alias xs=xstarter.
It should run on any modern terminal. It is tested on: xterm, rxvt, gnome-terminal, xfce4-terminal, konsole. In case of any problems please report it.
Configuration file is available and includes comments that explain configuration variables. It is located in the ~/.xstarter.d/ directory.
You can provide arguments to applications you wish to open.
- If the number of search results is equal to 1, you can provide arguments the selected application should be started with, e.g.
surf gnu.org - You can provide multiple arguments, e.g.
emacs -nw -Q - You can select the application you want to provide arguments for by pressing Tab key
- This feature works both with GUI (press Enter to start) and terminal applications (press C-o to start)
Use numbers 1..9 and 0 to open an application from the list.
By default, the following shortcuts are available:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Return (enter) | Open selected application |
| C-o | Open selected application in terminal (defined by "terminal" variable in the config file, xterm by default) |
| C-n | Move down the list |
| C-p | Move up the list |
| C-g | Quit |
| C-d | Delete entered character |
| C-w | Delete entire query |
| Tab | Auto-complete using current selection; allow to provide arguments |
GPL