NimLaunch (SDL2)

NimLaunch is a lightweight, keyboard-first launcher with fuzzy search, themes, shortcuts, power actions, and optional Vim mode. This build uses SDL2 for native Wayland/X11 support (no Xlib/Xft) with GPU-backed compositing.

Features

• Fuzzy app search with typo tolerance; MRU bias for empty query.
• Prefix commands: :t themes, :c config files, :s file search, :r shell run, ! shorthand, and custom shortcut groups (default power alias :p).
• Vim mode (optional): hjkl navigation, / : ! command bar, gg/G, :q, etc.
• Themes with live preview; clock overlay; status/toast messages.
• Icons from .desktop files (PNG/SVG) with a fallback alias map; icons can be toggled off in config.
• Window opacity setting (0.1–1.0) via SDL2 when supported.

Install

Grab a compiled binary from the releases: https://github.com/DrunkenAlcoholic/NimLaunch-SDL2/releases

Build

Note

Deps: nim >= 2.0, sdl2, sdl2_ttf, sdl2_image, librsvg, plus a font (default ttf-dejavu).

Tip

Install a nerd font and change prompt/cursor characters for a nicer effect.

[font]
fontname = "MesloLGL Nerd Font Propo:size=16"

[input]
prompt = " "
cursor = " "

Archlinux

sudo pacman -S sdl2 sdl2_ttf sdl2_image librsvg ttf-dejavu --needed

Ubuntu

sudo apt install libsdl2-dev libsdl2-ttf-dev libsdl2-image-dev librsvg2-bin fonts-dejavu

OpenSUSE

sudo zypper install SDL2 SDL2_ttf SDL2_image-devel rsvg-convert dejavu-fonts

Build

git clone https://github.com/DrunkenAlcoholic/NimLaunch-SDL2.git
cd NimLaunch-SDL2

nimble release   # or: nimble debug

For a more portable build (e.g., to run on other distros), use:

nimble zigRelease

or

nim c -d:release --opt:speed -o:./bin/nimlaunch src/main.nim

./bin/nimlaunch

Place the binary (nimlaunch) somewhere on your PATH (e.g., ~/.local/bin) and bind a hotkey to launch it. The TOML config is auto-generated on first run.

Wayland/X11

Runs natively on both via SDL2 (no XWayland required on Wayland). Borderless window like the original. GPU compositing handles fills/icons/text blits; SDL_ttf still rasterizes glyphs in software.

Quick Reference

Every query updates the result list in real time. These shortcuts cover the core workflow:

Trigger	Context	Effect
Type text	Normal	Fuzzy-search applications; top hit updates instantly
Enter	Normal or command bar	Launch the highlighted entry immediately
Esc	Command bar	Close the bar, keep the narrowed results selected
Esc	Normal	Exit NimLaunch
↑ / ↓ / PgUp / PgDn / Home / End	Any	Navigate the results list
/	Normal	Toggle the command bar (restores previous / search)
: / !	Normal	Open the bar primed for a prefix or ! command
Ctrl+U	Command bar	Clear the current query
Ctrl+H / Backspace	Command bar	Delete one character (closes the bar when empty)

Built-in prefixes

Prefix	Example	Description
none	fire	Regular app search; rankings favour prefixes and recent launches
:t	:t nord	Browse themes; Up/Down preview, Enter to keep selection
:s	:s notes	Search files (fd → locate → bounded $HOME walk)
:c	:c sway	Match files inside ~/.config and open with the default handler
:r	:r htop	Run a shell command inside your preferred terminal
!	!htop	Shorthand for :r without the colon
:<group>	:p lock	Run grouped shortcuts (e.g., :p for power)

Configuration

The config lives at ~/.config/nimlaunch/nimlaunch.toml. It is auto-generated on first run, shipping with sensible defaults and a long list of themes.

[window]
width = 500
opacity = 1.0          # 0.1–1.0; may be ignored on some Wayland setups
max_visible_items = 10
center = true
position_x = 20
position_y = 500
vertical_align = "one-third"
display = 0

[font]
fontname = "Noto Sans:size=12"

[input]
prompt   = "> "
cursor   = "_"
vim_mode = false

[terminal]
program = "kitty"

[border]
width = 2

[icons]
enabled = true                    # Set to false to hide icons in the list

[[groups]]
name = "power"
query_mode = "filter"

[[shortcuts]]
prefix = ":g"            # write "g", ":g", or "g:" — all map to :g in the UI
label  = "Search Google: "
base   = "https://www.google.com/search?q={query}"
mode   = "url"            # other options: "shell", "file"

[power]
prefix = ":p"            # default alias for the power group

[[shortcuts]]
group     = "power"
label     = "Shutdown"
base      = "systemctl poweroff"
mode      = "shell"
run_mode  = "spawn"
stay_open = false

[[themes]]
name                = "Nord"
bgColorHex          = "#2E3440"
fgColorHex          = "#D8DEE9"
highlightBgColorHex = "#88C0D0"
highlightFgColorHex = "#2E3440"
borderColorHex      = "#4C566A"
matchFgColorHex     = "#f8c291"

[theme]
last_chosen = "Nord"

vertical_align only affects the Y position when center = true: top pins the window toward the top, center centers it vertically, and one-third places it about 1/3 down the display.

display selects which monitor to use when center = true (0 = primary, 1 = second, etc.).

Shortcuts (how they work)

A shortcut is a template you trigger with :. The text you type after the prefix becomes {query}.

Example: typing :g cats uses the shortcut below and opens Google with "cats".

[[shortcuts]]
prefix = "g"
label  = "Search Google: "
base   = "https://www.google.com/search?q={query}"
mode   = "url"

Shortcut fields:

• prefix: what you type after : (e.g., g, note, rg).
• label: text shown in the results list.
• base: template command/URL/path. Use {query} where the input should go.
• mode:
  • url: opens the URL in a browser (query is URL-encoded).
  • shell: runs a shell command (query is safely quoted).
  • file: opens a file or folder (expands ~).

If group is set, the entry does not need a prefix because the group name becomes the prefix (e.g., :dev, :sys, :p).

Groups (powerful shortcuts)

Groups let you collect shortcuts under a shared prefix like :dev or :p. Each group has a query_mode:

• filter: your input filters the list by label (safe for power/system).
• pass: your input is passed to each shortcut as {query} (great for search/dev).

Filter example (menu-style):

[[groups]]
name = "sys"
query_mode = "filter"

[[shortcuts]]
group    = "sys"
label    = "Lock"
base     = "loginctl lock-session"
mode     = "shell"
run_mode = "spawn"

[[shortcuts]]
group    = "sys"
label    = "Suspend"
base     = "systemctl suspend"
mode     = "shell"
run_mode = "spawn"

Usage: :sys shows the list, :sys su narrows to Suspend.

Pass-through example (multi-tool search):

[[groups]]
name = "dev"
query_mode = "pass"

[[shortcuts]]
group = "dev"
label = "Issues: "
base  = "gh issue list --search {query}"
mode  = "shell"

[[shortcuts]]
group = "dev"
label = "Docs: "
base  = "https://docs.example.com/search?q={query}"
mode  = "url"

Usage: :dev crash shows both results using "crash" as the query.

Power group

The power menu is just a group named power. The :p prefix is an alias controlled by [power].prefix.

Vim mode

Enable by setting [input].vim_mode = true in ~/.config/nimlaunch/nimlaunch.toml. Vim mode adds:

Trigger	Effect
h / j / k / l	Move cursor left/down/up/right (acts on the result list)
gg / Shift+G	Jump to top / bottom of the list
/	Toggle the command bar; reopening restores the last slash search
: / !	Open the command bar primed for colon or bang commands
Enter	Launch the highlighted entry immediately
Esc	Leave command mode but keep the current filtered results
:q (then Enter)	Quit NimLaunch from the command bar
Ctrl+H	Delete one character (when empty, closes the bar)
Ctrl+U	Clear the entire command

File discovery & caching

NimLaunch indexes .desktop files from:

1. ~/.local/share/applications
2. ~/.local/share/flatpak/exports/share/applications
3. /usr/share/applications
4. /var/lib/flatpak/exports/share/applications

Metadata is cached at ~/.cache/nimlaunch/apps.json. The cache is invalidated automatically when source directories change. Entries flagged as NoDisplay=true, Terminal=true, or belonging solely to the Settings / System categories are skipped so the list remains focused on launchable apps.

Recent launches are tracked in ~/.cache/nimlaunch/recent.json, ensuring the empty-query view always surfaces the last applications you opened.

Themes

• :t shows the theme list; move with Up/Down to preview instantly and press Enter to keep the selection. Leaving :t without pressing Enter restores the theme you started with.
• Add or edit [[themes]] blocks in the TOML to create your own colour schemes.

Popular presets include Nord, Catppuccin (all flavours), Ayu, Dracula, Gruvbox, Solarized, Tokyo Night, Monokai, Palenight, and more.