otter-launcher

otter-launcher is a centered application search overlay built on the shared Otter UI stack. It is an alternative to fuzzel, rofi, or wofi.

Usage

otter-launcher

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

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

The launcher exits after you launch an item or press Escape. A socket prevents duplicate overlays. Run it again to close an open launcher.

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).

Lua providers

Launcher plugins are Lua directories containing plugin.toml and init.lua. Compiled .so plugins are not supported. The manifest must declare provides = ["launcher"]. Enable providers and review their capability grants in otter-settings Plugins. See Plugins. Providers can return app-mode results or extend calculator, emoji, clipboard, file, and grep modes. Changes reload while the launcher is open. User plugins under $XDG_DATA_HOME/otter-shell/plugins (default ~/.local/share/otter-shell/plugins) override system plugins with the same directory name. The bundled calc, emoji, clip, and search Lua providers are off by default because the native extensions already supply those results. Enable them explicitly in plugins.conf if you want them; enabling both paths can duplicate results. snippet-provider also defaults off. Other custom providers default on unless plugins.conf disables them.

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

System setup

Gaming

Configuration

Usage

Launcher extensions

Lua providers

Keyboard shortcuts

Configuration

Terminal detection

​Usage

​Launcher extensions

​Lua providers

​Keyboard shortcuts

​Configuration

​Terminal detection

Usage

Launcher extensions

Lua providers

Keyboard shortcuts

Configuration

Terminal detection