Blackbox

Fast, lightweight window manager for X, without all those annoying library dependencies. Blackbox is built with C++ and contains completely original code (even though the graphics implementation is similar to that of WindowMaker).

Installation

Once you finish installing Archcraft, Blackbox can be installed on the top of it. It's pre-configured and ready to go. Open a terminal and run the following command to install Blackbox :

$ sudo pacman -Sy archcraft-blackbox

Configuration

Blackbox is pre-configured in Archcraft. In this section, We'll see how the Blackbox window manager 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 Blackbox in Archcraft looks something like this:

/usr/bin/run-blackbox   : Autostart programs
~/.blackboxrc           : main blackbox config file
~/.blackbox             : blackbox config directory
├── alacritty           : terminal config
├── scripts             : scripts used for blackbox
├── styles              : blackbox styles/themes
├── theme               : desktop theme (polybar, rofi configs) 
├── dunstrc             : dunst config for notifications
├── menu                : blackbox menu config
├── picom.conf          : compositor config
├── sxhkdrc             : keybindings config
└── xsettingsd          : gtk themes, icons and fonts config file

Terminal

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

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

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

Notification

Dunst is used as a notification daemon for notifications in Blackbox. In the Blackbox window manager, dunst is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.blackbox/dunstrc. So, If you need to modify anything, make sure you edit this file.

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

Wallpaper

hsetroot sets the wallpaper in the Blackbox. If you want to change the wallpaper, Edit /usr/bin/run-blackbox script and add the path to your wallpaper :

# Restore wallpaper
hsetroot -cover '/path/to/your/wallpaper'

Statusbar

Polybar is used as the statusbar in Archcraft's Blackbox window manager.

The configurations for polybar can be found inside the theme directory directory of Blackbox ~/.blackbox/theme

If you want to modify the polybar settings, or perhaps want to add/remove modules, then you need to edit the following files :

~/.blackbox/theme/polybar/config.ini : Main config file
~/.blackbox/theme/polybar/colors.ini : Colors config file
~/.blackbox/theme/polybar/modules.ini : Modules config file

If you need any help with polybar config, visit : polybar wiki

Launchers and Applets

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 Blackbox can be found it ~/.blackbox/scripts directory. These are the following scripts that uses rofi to provide the launchers and applets in Blackbox :

rofi_askpass : rofi based sudo frontend to get root password
rofi_asroot : applet to open apps as root
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_powermenu : power menu, with confirmation dialog
rofi_runner : quickly lets you run a command
rofi_screenshot : screenshot applet that works with maim

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

The configuration of each script can be found inside the theme directory of Blackbox ~/.blackbox/theme

Let's say you want to modify the looks of launcher, then you need to edit the ~/.blackbox/theme/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 ~/.blackbox/theme/rofi/shared/colors.rasi and ~/.blackbox/theme/rofi/shared/fonts.rasi files.

Compositor

Picom is used for compositing. It's a lightweight compositor with shadowing, advanced blurring and fading. In Blackbox, picom is launched with an alternative config file, which is ~/.blackbox/picom.conf.

If you need to change anything related to picom, Edit this picom config file.

If you need any help with picom config, check the picom's default config file in /etc/xdg/picom.conf

info

If you're having screen-tearing issues, using glx backend can solve this issue.
If you're facing lagging, hangs and freezes, try switching between xrender and glx backend.

Window Manager

The configuration of Blackbox is available in your home directory. To configure Blackbox window manager, these are the files that are used :

~/.blackboxrc : main configuration file responsible for determining the behaviour and settings of the overall session. Edit this file to configure slit, toolbar, workspaces, menu and blackbox appearance.
~/.blackbox/sxhkdrc : keyboard shortcuts, Edit this file to add/remove keybindings.
~/.blackbox/menu : Right click menu, Edit this file to add/remove menu items.

If you need any help with blackbox configuration, run : man blackbox in terminal.
If you need any help with sxhkd configuration, run : man sxhkd in terminal.

Keybindings

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

Applications

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

Menu and Applets

Keys	Action
super	Open application launcher
alt + F1	Open application launcher
alt + F2	Open command runner
super + N	Open network manager applet
super + B	Open bluetooth applet
super + M	Open music applet
super + X	Open powermenu applet
super + S	Open screenshots applet
super + R	Open apps as root 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

Misc Keys

Keys	Action
ctrl + alt + V	Open vim in terminal
ctrl + alt + R	Open ranger in terminal
ctrl + alt + H	Open htop in terminal
ctrl + alt + M	Run ncmpcpp with album art
ctrl + alt + L	Trigger lockscreen
super + P	Run colorpicker
super + C	Run xkill
super + Escape	Reload sxhkd configuration file

Screenshots

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

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

FAQs

How to update my config to new configs?

When a new version of Archcraft Blackbox get released, And you update the system by sudo pacman -Syu or you update the Blackbox package by sudo pacman -S archcraft-blackbox, New config files get installed as ~/.blackbox_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD and ~/.blackboxrc_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD in your home directory.

To use new configs :

• backup your old ~/.blackbox directory and ~/.blackboxrc file
• move ~/.blackbox_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD to ~/.blackbox
• move ~/.blackboxrc_pacnew_YYYY-MM-DD to ~/.blackboxrc
• logout and login again.

How to change GTK theme, icons and cursor?

To change GTK theme, icons and cursor in Blackbox session, Edit ~/.blackbox/xsettingsd file and restart Blackbox to apply the changes.

Net/ThemeName "Kripton"
Net/IconThemeName "Zafiro"
Gtk/CursorThemeName "Qogirr"

How to manage multiple monitors and resolution in Blackbox?

If you use multiple monitors with Blackbox window manager, you can manage them by running Manager Monitors or archcraft-randr app.

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 :

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