qtile cmd-obj

This is a simple tool to expose qtile.command functionality to shell. This can be used standalone or in other shell scripts.

How it works

qtile cmd-obj works by selecting a command object and calling a specified function of that object.

As per Architecture, Qtile's command graph has seven nodes: layout, window, group, bar, widget, screen, and a special root node. These are the objects that can be accessed via qtile cmd-obj (NB the root node is called cmd when using the cmd-obj script to give it an addressable name).

Running the command against a selected object without a function (-f) will run the help command and list the commands available to the object. Commands shown with an asterisk ("*") require arguments to be passed via the -a flag.

Selecting an object

With the exception of cmd, all objects need an identifier so the correct object can be selected. Refer to Navigating the command graph for more information.

Note

You will see from the graph on Architecture that certain objects can be accessed from other objects. For example, qtile cmd-obj -o group term layout will list the commands for the current layout on the term group.

Information on functions

Running a function with the -i flag will provide additional detail about that function (i.e. what it does and what arguments it expects).

Passing arguments to functions

Arguments can be passed to a function by using the -a flag. For example, to change the label for the group named "1" to "A", you would run qtile cmd-obj -o group 1 -f set_label -a A.

Warning

It is not currently possible to pass non-string arguments to functions via qtile cmd-obj. Doing so will result in an error.

Examples

Output of qtile cmd-obj -h

$ qtile cmd-obj -h
usage: qtile cmd-obj [-h] [--object OBJ_SPEC [OBJ_SPEC ...]]
                    [--function FUNCTION] [--args ARGS [ARGS ...]] [--info]

Simple tool to expose qtile.command functionality to shell.

optional arguments:
    -h, --help            show this help message and exit
    --object OBJ_SPEC [OBJ_SPEC ...], -o OBJ_SPEC [OBJ_SPEC ...]
                          Specify path to object (space separated). If no
                          --function flag display available commands.
    --function FUNCTION, -f FUNCTION
                          Select function to execute.
    --args ARGS [ARGS ...], -a ARGS [ARGS ...]
                          Set arguments supplied to function.
    --info, -i            With both --object and --function args prints
                          documentation for function.

Examples:
    qtile cmd-obj
    qtile cmd-obj -o cmd
    qtile cmd-obj -o cmd -f prev_layout -i
    qtile cmd-obj -o cmd -f prev_layout -a 3 # prev_layout on group 3
    qtile cmd-obj -o group 3 -f focus_back
    qtile cmd-obj -o widget textbox -f update -a "New text"
    qtile cmd-obj -o cmd -f restart # restart qtile

Output of qtile cmd-obj -o group 3

$ qtile cmd-obj -o group 3
-o group 3 -f commands            Returns a list of possible commands for this object
-o group 3 -f doc               * Returns the documentation for a specified command name
-o group 3 -f eval              * Evaluates code in the same context as this function
-o group 3 -f focus_back          Focus the window that had focus before the current one got it.
-o group 3 -f focus_by_name     * Focus the first window with the given name. Do nothing if the name is
-o group 3 -f function          * Call a function with current object as argument
-o group 3 -f info                Returns a dictionary of info for this group
-o group 3 -f info_by_name      * Get the info for the first window with the given name without giving it
-o group 3 -f items             * Returns a list of contained items for the specified name
-o group 3 -f next_window         Focus the next window in group.
-o group 3 -f prev_window         Focus the previous window in group.
-o group 3 -f set_label         * Set the display name of current group to be used in GroupBox widget.
-o group 3 -f setlayout
-o group 3 -f switch_groups     * Switch position of current group with name
-o group 3 -f toscreen          * Pull a group to a specified screen.
-o group 3 -f unminimize_all      Unminimise all windows in this group

Output of qtile cmd-obj -o cmd

$ qtile cmd-obj -o cmd
-o cmd -f add_rule              * Add a dgroup rule, returns rule_id needed to remove it
-o cmd -f addgroup              * Add a group with the given name
-o cmd -f commands                Returns a list of possible commands for this object
-o cmd -f critical                Set log level to CRITICAL
-o cmd -f debug                   Set log level to DEBUG
-o cmd -f delgroup              * Delete a group with the given name
-o cmd -f display_kb            * Display table of key bindings
-o cmd -f doc                   * Returns the documentation for a specified command name
-o cmd -f error                   Set log level to ERROR
-o cmd -f eval                  * Evaluates code in the same context as this function
-o cmd -f findwindow            * Launch prompt widget to find a window of the given name
-o cmd -f focus_by_click        * Bring a window to the front
-o cmd -f function              * Call a function with current object as argument
-o cmd -f get_info                Prints info for all groups
-o cmd -f get_state               Get pickled state for restarting qtile
-o cmd -f get_test_data           Returns any content arbitrarily set in the self.test_data attribute.
-o cmd -f groups                  Return a dictionary containing information for all groups
-o cmd -f hide_show_bar         * Toggle visibility of a given bar
-o cmd -f info                    Set log level to INFO
-o cmd -f internal_windows        Return info for each internal window (bars, for example)
-o cmd -f items                 * Returns a list of contained items for the specified name
-o cmd -f list_widgets            List of all addressible widget names
-o cmd -f next_layout           * Switch to the next layout.
-o cmd -f next_screen             Move to next screen
-o cmd -f next_urgent             Focus next window with urgent hint
-o cmd -f pause                   Drops into pdb
-o cmd -f prev_layout           * Switch to the previous layout.
-o cmd -f prev_screen             Move to the previous screen
-o cmd -f qtile_info              Returns a dictionary of info on the Qtile instance
-o cmd -f qtilecmd              * Execute a Qtile command using the client syntax
-o cmd -f remove_rule           * Remove a dgroup rule by rule_id
-o cmd -f restart                 Restart qtile
-o cmd -f run_extension         * Run extensions
-o cmd -f run_external          * Run external Python script
-o cmd -f screens                 Return a list of dictionaries providing information on all screens
-o cmd -f shutdown                Quit Qtile
-o cmd -f simulate_keypress     * Simulates a keypress on the focused window.
-o cmd -f spawn                 * Run cmd in a shell.
-o cmd -f spawncmd              * Spawn a command using a prompt widget, with tab-completion.
-o cmd -f status                  Return "OK" if Qtile is running
-o cmd -f switch_groups         * Switch position of groupa to groupb
-o cmd -f switchgroup           * Launch prompt widget to switch to a given group to the current screen
-o cmd -f sync                    Sync the X display. Should only be used for development
-o cmd -f to_layout_index       * Switch to the layout with the given index in self.layouts.
-o cmd -f to_screen             * Warp focus to screen n, where n is a 0-based screen number
-o cmd -f togroup               * Launch prompt widget to move current window to a given group
-o cmd -f tracemalloc_dump        Dump tracemalloc snapshot
-o cmd -f tracemalloc_toggle      Toggle tracemalloc status
-o cmd -f warning                 Set log level to WARNING
-o cmd -f windows                 Return info for each client window