otter-idle

otter-idle watches for inactivity and runs configured commands, usually loginctl lock-session or display power-off. It hooks into systemd-logind for sleep and screen saver inhibition.

Usage

otter-idle

Autostart at login: see Session setup.

Configuration

Config file: ~/.config/otter-shell/otter-idle.conf

lock_cmd = pidof otter-lock || otter-lock
unlock_cmd =

before_sleep_cmd = loginctl lock-session
after_sleep_cmd = dpms:on

ignore_dbus_inhibit = false
ignore_systemd_inhibit = false

# Lock after 5 minutes idle
listener_1_timeout = 300
listener_1_on_timeout = loginctl lock-session
listener_1_on_resume =

# DPMS off after 6 minutes, on when active
listener_2_timeout = 360
listener_2_on_timeout = dpms:off
listener_2_on_resume = dpms:on

Up to 8 listeners (listener_1 through listener_8). Each has:

Field	Description
`timeout`	Idle seconds before firing (0 = disabled)
`on_timeout`	Command when user becomes idle
`on_resume`	Command when activity resumes (only if `on_timeout` ran)

Built-in DPMS commands

Command	Effect
`dpms:off`	Turn displays off
`dpms:on`	Turn displays on
`dpms:standby`	Standby mode
`dpms:suspend`	Suspend mode

Any other value runs as a shell command via /bin/sh -c. DPMS backend selection:

wlr-output-power-management-unstable-v1 (preferred)
Compositor IPC fallback (Hyprland, Sway, Niri detected from $XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP)

Inhibitor handling

Three layers can block idle actions:

Wayland-native (zwp_idle_inhibit_manager_v1): handled by compositor
D-Bus (org.freedesktop.ScreenSaver): tracked by otter-idle (video players, etc.)
systemd (loginctl inhibit): checked via logind ListInhibitors

Set ignore_dbus_inhibit = true or ignore_systemd_inhibit = true to skip those checks.

Logind integration

Responds to logind Lock, Unlock, and PrepareForSleep signals. Default lock_cmd keeps otter-lock available when a lock is requested.

Get Started

Desktop Shell

Core Apps

Productivity

Utilities

Configuration

Usage

Configuration

Built-in DPMS commands

Inhibitor handling

Logind integration

​Usage

​Configuration

​Built-in DPMS commands

​Inhibitor handling

​Logind integration

Usage

Configuration

Built-in DPMS commands

Inhibitor handling

Logind integration