Niri

Niri is a scrollable tiling Wayland compositor. Unlike Sway or Hyprland, Niri arranges the windows in an infinite horizontal desktop, where you can scroll to the left or to the right. It is similar to GNOME's PaperWM and KDE's Karousel.

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Archcraft Niri

Get Niri From ko-fi And Support Archcraft Development.

Installation

Follow the instructions below to install Niri :

Download niri_YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz file from ko-fi, and save it in a directory.
Open a terminal in same directory and run the following command to extract the tar file :

$ tar -xzvf niri_YYYY-MM-DD.tar.gz

Once the file is extracted, change to the extracted directory which should be niri

Install On Archcraft
Install On Other Distributions

On Archcraft, You can simply install the provided packages in pkgs directory :

$ sudo pacman -U archcraft-niri-X.Y-Z-any.pkg.tar.zst

If you want to install this setup on Arch Linux or on any other distro, follow the points below :

Install the following programs on your Linux distro: niri hyprlock hyprpicker swaybg swaylock wl-clipboard waybar foot mako grim slurp wf-recorder light yad thunar geany mpv mpd mpc viewnior imagemagick xfce-polkit xwayland-satellite xdg-desktop-portal xdg-desktop-portal-gtk xdg-desktop-portal-gnome gnome-keyring xorg-xwayland playerctl pastel python-pywal alacritty kitty rofi pulsemixer
After installing the programs above, Create niri directory in ~/.config

$ mkdir -p ~/.config/niri

Copy Everything from dotfiles to ~/.config/niri

$ cp -r ./dotfiles/* ~/.config/niri/

Logout and login to your amazingly configured Niri WC.

Install the fonts from fonts and GTK theme, icons and cursor from gtk directory for overall appearance.

Archcraft Prime / WSE

Niri does not come pre-installed on Archcraft WSE and Archcraft Prime ISOs.

Configuration

Niri is pre-configured in Archcraft. In this section, We'll see how the Niri wayland compositor is configured, what tools and utilities are used to make it look and work like a complete desktop environment.

Config Structure

The configuration structure of Niri in Archcraft looks something like this:

~/.config
└── niri              : niri config directory
    ├── alacritty     : alacritty terminal config
    ├── foot          : foot terminal config
    ├── kitty         : kitty terminal config
    ├── mako          : notification daemon config
    │   └── icons     : notification icons
    ├── rofi          : rofi config files
    ├── scripts       : various scripts for functionality
    ├── theme         : current theme and pywal themes
    ├── wallpapers    : wallpapers
    ├── waybar        : statusbar config
    ├── wlogout       : wlogout config
    │   └── icons     : session icons
    ├── config.kdl    : niri config file
    └── hyprlock.conf : lockscreen config file

Terminal

Default
Kitty
Foot

Alacritty is the default terminal. In the Niri wayland compositor, alacritty is launched with an alternative config file. If you need to change anything, make sure you modify the config files in ~/.config/niri/alacritty directory. These are the following config files you can modify to change the behaviour of your alacritty terminal:

~/.config/niri/alacritty/alacritty.toml : Main configuration file
~/.config/niri/alacritty/colors.toml : Colors configurations
~/.config/niri/alacritty/fonts.toml : Fonts configurations

If you need any help with alacritty config, run : man 5 alacritty in terminal.

kitty is the secondary/alternate terminal. In the Niri wayland compositor, kitty is launched with an alternative config file. If you need to change anything, make sure you modify the config files in ~/.config/niri/kitty directory. These are the following config files you can modify to change the behaviour of your kitty terminal:

~/.config/niri/kitty/kitty.conf : Main configuration file
~/.config/niri/kitty/colors.conf : Colors configurations
~/.config/niri/kitty/fonts.conf : Fonts configurations

If you need any help with kitty config, run : man kitty.conf in terminal.

Foot is another alternate terminal. In the Niri wayland compositor, foot is launched with an alternative config file. If you need to change anything, make sure you modify the config files in ~/.config/niri/foot directory. These are the following config files you can modify to change the behaviour of your foot terminal:

~/.config/niri/foot/foot.ini : Main configuration file
~/.config/niri/foot/colors.ini : Colors configurations
~/.config/niri/foot/fonts.ini : Fonts configurations

If you need any help with foot config, run : man foot.ini in terminal.

tip

By Default, alacritty is used But, If you want to use kitty/foot as your default terminal, just edit the ~/.config/niri/config.kdl file and comment the keybindings for Terminal : alacritty and uncomment the bindings for Terminal : kitty or Terminal : foot

warning

When you change the theme, the colors.toml file of alacritty, colors.conf file of kitty and colors.ini file of foot get overwritten by the theme script.

Notification

Mako is used as a notification daemon for notifications in Niri. In the Niri wayland compositor, mako is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.config/niri/mako/config. So, If you need to modify anything, make sure you edit this file.

If you need any help with mako config, run : man 5 mako in terminal.

warning

When you change the theme, the colors in config file get overwritten by the theme script.

Wallpaper

swaybg sets the wallpaper in the Niri. If you want to change the wallpaper, Edit ~/.config/niri/scripts/wallpaper script and add your wallpaper here :

WALLPAPER='/path/to/your/wallpaper'

warning

When you change the theme, the wallpaper path in wallpaper script get overwritten by the theme script.

Statusbar

Waybar is used as the statusbar in Archcraft's Niri wayland compositor.

The configurations for waybar can be found inside ~/.config/niri/waybar. If you want to modify the waybar settings, or perhaps want to add/remove modules, then you need to edit the following files :

~/.config/niri/waybar/config : Main config file
~/.config/niri/waybar/modules : Modules config file
~/.config/niri/waybar/style.css : CSS file for styling
~/.config/niri/waybar/colors.css : CSS colors file

If you need any help with waybar config, run : man waybar

warning

When you change the theme, the colors.css file of waybar get overwritten by the theme script.

Launchers and Applets

Rofi
Wlogout

Rofi is used for application launchers, command runner and various applets. To modify the rofi config, edit ~/.config/rofi/config.rasi file.

If you need any help with rofi config, run : man rofi in terminal.

The scripts for rofi that are used in Niri can be found it ~/.config/niri/scripts directory. These are the following scripts that uses rofi to provide the launchers and applets in Niri :

rofi_asroot : applet to run apps as root user
rofi_bluetooth : bluetooth applet to quickly connect to BT devices
rofi_launcher : an application launcher, cmd runner, file manager and task manager
rofi_music : music applet, that controls MPD with mpc
rofi_network : network manager applet
rofi_powermenu : power menu, with confirmation dialog
rofi_runner : quickly lets you run a command
rofi_screenshot : screenshot applet that works with grim

If you want to modify any applet or perhaps want to extend the functionality of the applet, just edit these scripts.

The configuration of each script can be found inside ~/.config/niri/rofi directory.

Let's say that you want to modify the looks of launcher, then you need to edit the ~/.config/niri/rofi/launcher.rasi file. Same goes for every other applet, Edit the respective file in the same directory.

If you need any help with rofi theming, run : man rofi-theme in terminal.

To change the colors and fonts of the launchers and applets, Edit the ~/.config/niri/rofi/shared/colors.rasi and ~/.config/niri/rofi/shared/fonts.rasi files.

Wlogout, A Wayland logout menu is also configured for session management is Niri.

Edit ~/.config/niri/scripts/wlogout script to adjust the looks of wlogout. The configuration of wlogout can be found inside ~/.config/niri/wlogout directory.

If you want to use wlogout instead of rofi, Edit the config file ~/.config/niri/config.kdl and uncomment wlogout keybindings.

If you need any help with wlogout config, run : man wlogout in terminal.

warning

When you change the theme, the shared/colors.rasi file of rofi gets overwritten by the theme script.

wayland compositor

The configuration of Niri is available in ~/.config/niri. To configure Niri wayland compositor, Edit this file:

config.kdl : main configuration file for Top-level, layout, input/output, keybindings and window rules settings, etc

If you need any help with niri configuration, visit : Niri Wiki

warning

When you change the theme, colors in config.kdl file gets overwritten by the theme script.

Keybindings

Here's a list of some important keybinds you need to know for operating Niri easily. If you want to view, modify or add new keybinds, Edit ~/.config/niri/config.kdl file.

Applications

Keys	Action
`super + Return`	Open terminal
`super + shift + Return`	Open floating terminal
`super + T`	Open fullscreen terminal
`super + shift + F`	Open file manager (thunar)
`super + shift + E`	Open text editor (geany)
`super + shift + W`	Open web browser (firefox)

Keys	Action
`super + D`	Open application launcher
`Alt + F1`	Open application launcher
`Alt + F2`	Open command runner
`super + N`	Open network manager applet
`super + M`	Open music applet
`super + X`	Open powermenu applet
`super + R`	Open asroot applet
`super + S`	Open screenshots applet
`super + B`	Open bluetooth applet

Hardware Keys

Keys	Action
`Print`	Take screenshot
`alt + Print`	Take screenshot in 5 seconds delay
`shift + Print`	Take screenshot in 10 seconds delay
`ctrl + Print`	Take screenshot of currently focused window
`super + Print`	Take screenshot of selected area
`XF86AudioRaiseVolume`	Increase volume
`XF86AudioLowerVolume`	Decrease volume
`XF86AudioMute`	Toggle mute speakers
`XF86AudioMicMute`	Toggle mute microphone
`XF86Audio + Next/Prev/Play/Stop`	Media controls (MPD)
`XF86MonBrightnessUp`	Increase display brightness
`XF86MonBrightnessDown`	Decrease display brightness

Window Management

Keys	Action
`super + O`	Open/close the Overview
`super + Q`	Close the focued window
`super + F`	Maximize the focused column
`super + ctrl + F`	Expand the focused column to available space
`super + C`	Center the focused column on the screen
`super + ctrl + C`	Center all fully visible columns on screen
`super + Space`	Move the focused window between the floating and the tiling layout
`super + shift + Space`	Switch focus between the floating and the tiling window
`super + W`	Toggle tabbed column display mode
`super + Left/Right/Up/Down`	Focus the column/window respectively
`super + ctrl + Left/Right/Up/Down`	Move the column/window respectively
`super + Home/End`	Focus first/last column
`super + ctrl + Home/End`	Move b/w first/last column
`super + shift + Left/Right/Up/Down`	Focus monitors respectively
`super + shift + H/J/K/L`	Focus monitors respectively
`super + shift + ctrl + Left/Right/Up/Down`	Move b/w monitors respectively
`super + shift + ctrl + H/J/K/L`	Move b/w monitors respectively
`super + Page_Down/Page_Up`	Focus to upper/lower workspaces
`super + U/I`	Focus to upper/lower workspaces
`super + ctrl + Page_Down/Page_Up`	Move to upper/lower workspaces
`super + ctrl + U/I`	Move to upper/lower workspaces
`super + shift + Page_Down/Page_Up`	Move a single window to upper/lower workspaces
`super + shift + U/I`	Move a single window to upper/lower workspaces
`super + 1..9`	Focus respective workspace
`super + ctrl + 1..9`	Move column to respective workspace
`super + Tab`	Switches focus between the current and the previous workspace
`super + BracketLeft`	Consume or expel left window
`super + BracketRight`	Consume or expel right window
`super + Comma`	Consume one window from the right to the bottom of the focused column
`super + Period`	Expel the bottom window from the focused column to the right
`super + G`	Switch to preset column width
`super + shift + G`	Switch to preset window height
`super + ctrl + G`	Reset window height
`super + Minus`	Set column width by -10%
`super + Equal`	Set column width by +10%
`super + shift + Minus`	Set column height by -10%
`super + shift + Equal`	Set column height by +10%

Misc Keys

Keys	Action
`super + shift + Slash`	shows a list of important hotkeys
`super + shift + P`	Powers off the monitors
`super + P`	Run colorpicker
`ctrl + alt + L`	Trigger lockscreen
`ctrl + alt + Delete`	Quit Niri

Touchpad Gestures

Gesture	Action
`super + SwipeUp`	Increase display brightness
`super + SwipeDown`	Decrease display brightness
`swipe-3 Left/Right`	Focus/Scroll the windows
`swipe-3 Up/Down`	Change the workspace
`swipe-4`	Open the Overview

Nvidia

If you're on Archcraft and install the provided package, There's nothing else you need to do in order to run it on Nvidia machine. When you install Archcraft on a machine that has Nvidia, It does all the operations (mentioned below) required to run a wayland compositor on such machines. The compositor should work fine.

If you're running any other distribution and want to install this setup on your Nvidia machine, You need to do some tweaking. In this guide, I'm assuing you're using Arch Linux. Follow the steps below to make this wayland compositor work on Nvidia :

Install Nvidia Drivers on your system. NVIDIA
Edit /etc/mkinitcpio.conf file and add nvidia kernel modules

MODULES="nvidia nvidia_modeset nvidia_uvm nvidia_drm"

In the same file, Remove kms hook from hooks array if present.
Rebuild your initrd file with : sudo mkinitcpio -P linux
Edit /etc/default/grub file and add nvidia_drm.modeset=1 kernel parameter for Nvidia

GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT="quiet splash nvidia_drm.modeset=1 ..."

Update your grub config file with : sudo grub-mkconfig -o /boot/grub/grub.cfg
Reboot your Nvidia Machine and login to your wayland compositor, It should work now.

More Information: NVIDIA#Installation, NVIDIA#DRM_kernel_mode_setting

Screenshots

Desktop

Here's few screenshots of Niri desktop. These'll give you an idea of the experience of Niri in Archcraft.

Default
Light

Desktop 1	Desktop 2	Desktop 3	Desktop 4	Desktop 5

Desktop 6	Desktop 7	Desktop 8	Desktop 9	Desktop 10

Desktop 11	Desktop 12	Desktop 13	Desktop 14	Desktop 15

Desktop 16	Desktop 17	Desktop 18	Desktop 19

Themes

To Change the theme, Click on Color Palette icon on waybar. To apply a random theme, Left Click on the theme module and To restore the default theme, Right Click on the theme module.

To switch between Light/Dark mode, click on module with moon/sun icons.

Default Theme	Random Themes	Workspaces	Lockscreen

FAQs

How to update my config to new configs?

Download the updated package from ko-fi (for free) and just install it to update to new configs.

Steps to get updates (or re-download files):

Login to you Ko-fi account
Go to your Ko-fi Payments History
Select the purchases you've made
Click on View Details
Then, Click on View Content to download the updated files.

Why my cursor is not visible?

When using certain graphics drivers (e.g. the VMSVGA graphics controller or the proprietary NVIDIA dhypr), the cursor is invisible. This can be fixed by using software cursors :

$ export WLR_NO_HARDWARE_CURSORS=1

How to change GTK theme, icons and cursor?

To change GTK theme, icons and cursor in Niri session, Edit ~/.config/niri/scripts/gtkthemes script and restart Niri to apply the changes.

THEME='Sweet-Dark'
ICONS='Glassy'
FONT='Noto Sans 9'
CURSOR='Sweet'

How to manage multiple monitors and resolution in Niri?

If you use multiple monitors with Niri wayland compositor, you can manage them as follow:

You can get the names of your outputs with niri msg outputs
Edit ~/.config/niri/config.kdl file and use the information you get by the command above:

output "eDP-1" {
    //off
    mode                  "1920x1080@60.027"
    scale                 1.0
    transform             "normal"
    position              x=0 y=0
    variable-refresh-rate
    focus-at-startup
    background-color "#1b202f"
    backdrop-color "#252b3f"
}

output "HDMI-A-1" {
    //off
    mode                  "1920x1080@60.000"
    scale                 1.0
    transform             "normal"
    position              x=1920 y=0
    variable-refresh-rate on-demand=true
    focus-at-startup
    background-color "#1b202f"
    backdrop-color "#252b3f"
}

Why Alacritty is not working on my computer?

Since Alacritty is a OpenGL based terminal emulator, It may not work on some computer hardwares. You can make it work on such computers by following these methods :

Open alacritty with LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 variable. Edit the keybindings/script launching alacritty and replace alacritty with LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 alacritty
Edit /usr/share/applications/Alacritty.desktop desktop file and replace Exec=alacritty with Exec=env LIBGL_ALWAYS_SOFTWARE=1 alacritty

Installation​

Configuration​

Config Structure​

Terminal​

Notification​

Wallpaper​

Statusbar​

Launchers and Applets​

wayland compositor​

Keybindings​

Applications​

Menu and Applets​

Hardware Keys​

Window Management​

Misc Keys​

Touchpad Gestures​

Nvidia​

Screenshots​

Desktop​

Themes​

FAQs​

Steps to get updates (or re-download files):​

Installation

Configuration

Config Structure

Terminal

Notification

Wallpaper

Statusbar

Launchers and Applets

wayland compositor

Keybindings

Applications

Menu and Applets

Hardware Keys

Window Management

Misc Keys

Touchpad Gestures

Nvidia

Screenshots

Desktop

Themes

FAQs

Steps to get updates (or re-download files):