Edit: I want a graphical window switcher that’s fully keyboard controlled, so I can see the windows before switching them.
The screenshot is from hyprland-easymotion which only shows labels for visible windows. I want a switcher that allows for both switching to windows or the same, or from any app, using just the keyboard and no mouse.
Ideally I could go to a window without pressing tab or another key a bunch of times, perhaps select any window (visible or not) with a letter like easymotion.
Try sway. It’s great and just works.
While I love sway, it’s not the easiest to work with if you want to do something specific. swaymsg -t get_tree and get good at jq 🤣
Does sway have the feature OP is asking for, or are you just suggesting a different tiling window manager, and they would still be left solving the same problem?
Sway does not allow you to jump directly to a non-adjacent window natively, no.
But find sway-easyfocus which I contributed to. It does exactly this.
<mod>+Left, <mod>+Right, for windows. <mod>+1,2,3,… for screens. Doesn’t get easier than that. Love Sway!!
How many windows do you usually have open in a workspace? Wouldn’t the usual Meta+Direction shortcuts be quick enough for 2-4 windows?
I guess, those don’t work for hidden/minimized windows.
Perhaps worth considering a bspwm-like workflow. Rather than minimizing windows, you put them onto another workspace. Just absolves you from dealing with the whole concept of minimized windows…
On a 4k monitor, I sometimes have 6 or 8 visible plus 3 or 4 more on a second and another on a third.
So something like sway-easyfocus for direct jumping via keyboard is quite nice.
Idk if I follow. I believe the default keybinds in hyprland allow you to switch between windows using super+J/K/L/;, and between workspaces using super+number. Hyprland, like all tiled window managers, are specifically designed to be used exclusively with a keyboard.
Are you asking for something more like alt+tab on windows? Where it shows a little preview of all the windows? I think that’s kind of obviated by the concept of a tiled window manager.
This is better than directional arrows or alt tab because you can go directly to any window with one binding to open the utility and a second key to type a window label.
https://github.com/edzdez/sway-easyfocus
The beauty is that it’s the same short process to go to any window no matter if if you 15 visible windows across 3 monitors.
You don’t have to conceptually switch to an output and then to a window or type a string of directional keys like Super+LLLLLJJ
Ahhh I see. That’s really neat, I’ll have to try that.
On Hyprland I have all my windows float & stack by default. I use Hyprland since it can be easily customized with dotfiles.
I think Mangowm and maybe even base dwl have a feature like this, where it shows you windows from other workspaces as well in an overview and you can switch between them, but not entirely sure because i personally don’t use it much aside from trying it once or twice.
MangoWC*
Oh you’re right, i’m still getting used to it not being called maomaowm anymore lol
Thanks, friend, I spend 4 hours configuring Mangowc and DMS yesterday. It was fun. I have not heard of these projects.
Have you tried “niri” wm? Pair it with dankmaterialshell or noctalia-shell for a desktop feeling (cosmic is also and option.)
The keyboard based control you are looking for is almost met, but not quite. That said, you might find this kind of a navigational wm works well for you, based on your description.
The niri website has a decent video demo.
