otter-launcher

otter-launcher is a centered search overlay. Same job as fuzzel, rofi, or wofi, on the shared Otter UI stack.

Usage

otter-launcher

Bind it to a compositor hotkey, for example Super+D:

# Hyprland
bind = $mainMod, D, exec, otter-launcher

One shot per run: open, search, launch (or Escape), then exit. A socket prevents duplicate overlays. Launch again to close the open one.

Launcher extensions

Extensions appear above app matches:

Input	Action
`=2+34` or `calc 2+34`	Calculator via otter-calc
`:heart` or `emoji heart`	Emoji search via otter-emoji
`clip` or `clip query`	Clipboard history via otter-clip
`file invoice` or `f invoice`	Fuzzy path search via otter-search
`grep TODO` or `g TODO`	Content (grep) search via otter-search

File and grep modes talk to the otter-search daemon over its runtime socket. Start that daemon first. Session autostart is enough. Queries are debounced so typing does not flood the daemon. Selecting a path opens it with xdg-open (or a matching handler). Launcher plugins can add extra result providers. Enable them in otter-settings Plugins. See Plugins.

Keyboard shortcuts

Key	Action
Escape	Close launcher
Enter	Launch selected item or copy extension result
Up / Down	Move selection
Tab / Shift+Tab	Next / previous
Page Up / Page Down	Scroll by page
Home / End	First / last item
Ctrl+U	Clear search
Ctrl+W	Delete last word
Backspace	Delete character

During IME composition, Escape and Enter go to the IME.

Configuration

Config: ~/.config/otter-shell/otter-launcher.conf. Created on first run.

Size, colors, and placeholder text: otter-settings, Launcher tab.

width_percent = 30
height_percent = 35
border_width = 2
icon_size = 32
item_height = 48
input_height = 40
font_size = 16
placeholder_text = " Search applications..."
overlay_color = "#1b1b1b99"

Most color fields inherit from theme.conf when omitted.

Terminal detection

For .desktop entries with Terminal=true, the launcher picks a terminal:

$TERMINAL environment variable
Probes $PATH for xdg-terminal-exec, foot, otter-term, ghostty, kitty, alacritty, and others

Each terminal uses its correct exec flag (-e, --, etc.).

Get Started

Desktop Shell

Core Apps

Productivity

Utilities

Gaming

Configuration

Usage

Launcher extensions

Keyboard shortcuts

Configuration

Terminal detection

​Usage

​Launcher extensions

​Keyboard shortcuts

​Configuration

​Terminal detection

Usage

Launcher extensions

Keyboard shortcuts

Configuration

Terminal detection