command-launcher

A lightweight, transparent, and minimalist command-line/application launcher GUI written in Python 3 using Gtk+ 3. It provides a quick way to execute commands and see their output via desktop notifications.

Highlights

• Minimalist Design: Transparent UI with no window decorations for a clean look.
• Instant Access: Can be launched via keyboard shortcuts (when mapped in your desktop environment).
• Bash Integration: Executes commands in a full Bash environment, supporting pipes and logic.
• Alias Support: Automatically tries to source ~/.bash_aliases if a command is not found in the standard path.
• Desktop Notifications: Uses notify-send to display command output or error messages.
• Flexible Timeouts: Configurable default timeout with a whitelist for long-running commands.
• Interactive UI:
  • Draggable: Click and drag anywhere to move the window.
  • Quick Close: Close with Esc or Ctrl+C.
• Special Command Modifiers:
  • #: Appending one or more # symbols to a command exponentially increases its timeout.
  • €: Appending a € symbol silences timeout error notifications.

Installation

Ensure you have the required dependencies:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install python3-gi python3-yaml libnotify-bin

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S python-gobject python-yaml libnotify

Install the package using pip or your preferred Python package manager:

pip install .

Usage

Simply run command-launcher from your terminal or bind it to a keyboard shortcut.

command-launcher

Passing Arguments

You can pre-fill the launcher with a command by passing it as an argument:

command-launcher "ls -la"

Keyboard Shortcuts

Within the launcher:

• Enter: Run the entered command.
• Escape: Close the launcher.
• Ctrl+C: Close the launcher.

Configuration

The launcher searches for config.yaml in the following locations:

1. ~/.config/command_launcher/config.yaml
2. Current working directory
3. Project root

Example config.yaml

default_timeout: 30
whitelist:
  "git push": 60     # Adds 60 seconds to the default timeout
  "long-task": null  # No timeout (infinite)
  "backup": 120

License

See the project files for licensing information.