lazy.rst

Lazy objects

The lazy.lazy object is a special helper object to specify a command for later execution. This object acts like the root of the object graph, which means that we can specify a key binding command with the same syntax used to call the command through a script or through qtile-shell.

Example

from libqtile.config import Key
from libqtile.command import lazy

keys = [
    Key(
        ["mod1"], "k",
        lazy.layout.down()
    ),
    Key(
        ["mod1"], "j",
        lazy.layout.up()
    )
]

Lazy functions

This is overview of the commonly used functions for the key bindings. These functions can be called from commands on the qtile_commands object or on another object in the command tree.

Some examples are given below.

General functions

function	description
lazy.spawn("application")	Run the application
lazy.spawncmd()	Open command prompt on the bar. See prompt widget.
lazy.reload_config()	Reload the config.
lazy.restart()	Restart Qtile. In X11, it won't close your windows.
lazy.shutdown()	Close the whole Qtile

Group functions

function	description
lazy.next_layout()	Use next layout on the actual group
lazy.prev_layout()	Use previous layout on the actual group
lazy.screen.next_group()	Move to the group on the right
lazy.screen.prev_group()	Move to the group on the left
lazy.screen.toggle_group()	Move to the last visited group
lazy.group.next_window()	Switch window focus to next window in group
lazy.group.prev_window()	Switch window focus to previous window in group
lazy.group["group_name"].toscreen()	Move to the group called group_name. Takes an optional toggle parameter (defaults to False). If this group is already on the screen, it does nothing by default; to toggle with the last used group instead, use toggle=True.
lazy.layout.increase_ratio()	Increase the space for master window at the expense of slave windows
lazy.layout.decrease_ratio()	Decrease the space for master window in the advantage of slave windows

Window functions

function	description
lazy.window.kill()	Close the focused window
lazy.layout.next()	Switch window focus to other pane(s) of stack
lazy.window.togroup("group_name")	Move focused window to the group called group_name
lazy.window.toggle_floating()	Put the focused window to/from floating mode
lazy.window.toggle_fullscreen()	Put the focused window to/from fullscreen mode

ScratchPad DropDown functions

function	description
lazy.group["group_name"].dropdown_toggle("name")	Toggles the visibility of the specified DropDown window. On first use, the configured process is spawned.
lazy.group["group_name"].hide_all()	Hides all DropDown windows.
lazy.group["group_name"].dropdown_reconfigure("name", **configuration)	Update the configuration of the named DropDown.

User-defined functions

function	description
lazy.function(func, *args, **kwargs)	Calls func(qtile, *args, **kwargs). NB. the qtile object is automatically passed as the first argument.

Examples

lazy.function can also be used as a decorator for functions.

from libqtile.config import Key
from libqtile.command import lazy

@lazy.function
def my_function(qtile):
    ...

keys = [
    Key(
        ["mod1"], "k",
        my_function
    )
]

Additionally, you can pass arguments to user-defined function in one of two ways:

1. In-line definition

Arguments can be added to the lazy.function call.

from libqtile.config import Key
from libqtile.command import lazy
from libqtile.log_utils import logger

def multiply(qtile, value, multiplier=10):
    logger.warning(f"Multiplication results: {value * multiplier}")

keys = [
    Key(
        ["mod1"], "k",
        lazy.function(multiply, 10, multiplier=2)
    )
]

2. Decorator

Arguments can also be passed to the decorated function.

from libqtile.config import Key
from libqtile.command import lazy
from libqtile.log_utils import logger

@lazy.function
def multiply(qtile, value, multiplier=10):
    logger.warning(f"Multiplication results: {value * multiplier}")

keys = [
    Key(
        ["mod1"], "k",
        multiply(10, multiplier=2)
    )
]