qtile-migrate.rst

qtile migrate

qtile migrate is a tool to help users update their configs to reflect any breaking changes/deprecations introduced in later versions.

The tool can automatically apply updates but it can also be used to highlight impacted lines, allowing users to update their configs manually.

The tool can take a number of options when running:

Argument	Description	Default
-c, --config	Sets the path to the config file	~/.config/qtile/config.py
--list-migrations	Lists all the available migrations that can be run by the tool.	n/a
--info ID	Show more detail about the migration implement by ID.	n/a
--after-version VERSION	Only runs migrations relating to changes implemented after release VERSION.	Not set (i.e. runs all migrations).
-r ID, --run-migrations ID	Run selected migrations identified by ID. Comma separated list if using multiple values.	Not set (i.e. runs all migrations).
--yes	Automatically apply changes without asking user for confirmation.	Not set (i.e. users will need to confirm application of changes).
--show-diff	When used with --yes will cause diffs to still be shown for information purposes only.	Not set.
--no-colour	Disables colour output for diff.	Not set
--lint	Outputs linting lines showing location of changes. No changes are made to the config.	Not set.

Available migrations

The following migrations are currently available.

Running migrations

Assuming your config file is in the default location, running qtile migrate is sufficent to start the migration process.

Let's say you had a config file with the following contents:

import libqtile.command_client

keys = [
    KeyChord(
        [mod],
        "x",
        [Key([], "Up", lazy.layout.grow()), Key([], "Down", lazy.layout.shrink())],
        mode="Resize layout",
    )
]

qtile.cmd_spawn("alacritty")

Running qtile migrate will run each available migration and, where the migration would result in changes, a diff will be shown and you will be asked whether you wish to apply the changes.

UpdateKeychordArgs: Updates ``KeyChord`` argument signature.

--- original
+++ modified
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@

        [mod],
        "x",
        [Key([], "Up", lazy.layout.grow()), Key([], "Down", lazy.layout.shrink())],
-        mode="Resize layout",
+        name="Resize layout",
+    mode=True,
    )
]

Apply changes? (y)es, (n)o, (s)kip file, (q)uit.

You will see from the output above that you are shown the name of the migration being applied and its purpose, along with the changes that will be implemented.

If you select quit the migration will be stopped and any applied changes will be reversed.

Once all migrations have been run on a file, you will then be asked whether you want to save changes to the file:

Save all changes to config.py? (y)es, (n)o.

At the end of the migration, backups of your original config will still be in your config folder. NB these will be overwritten if you re-run qtile migrate.

Linting

If you don't want the script to modify your config directly, you can use the --lint option to show you where changes are required.

Running qtile migrate --lint on the same config as shown above will result in the following output:

config.py:
[Ln 1, Col 7]: The 'libqtile.command_*' modules have been moved to 'libqtile.command.*'. (ModuleRenames)
[Ln 8, Col 8]: The use of mode='mode name' for KeyChord is deprecated. Use mode=True and value='mode name'. (UpdateKeychordArgs)
[Ln 12, Col 6]: Use of 'cmd_' prefix is deprecated. 'cmd_spawn' should be replaced with 'spawn' (RemoveCmdPrefix)

Explanations of migrations

The table below provides more detail of the available migrations.