niri
niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor: windows are arranged in columns on an endless strip that scrolls sideways, and workspaces are stacked vertically.
| Login screen | greetd |
| Terminal | kitty |
| Bar | Waybar |
| Launchers | fuzzel, nwggrid, d77run |
| Notifications | dunst |
| Lock screen | swaylock, with Super + T or after 5 minutes idle; screen off after 10 |
| Browser | Brave |
Where to change things
| What | File |
|---|---|
| keys, programs started with the session, keyboard, outputs, layout | ~/.config/niri/config.kdl |
| the bar | ~/.config/waybar/ |
| fuzzel launcher and power menu | ~/.config/fuzzel/ |
| lock screen | ~/.config/swaylock/config |
niri applies config.kdl as soon as it is saved. The originals are in
/etc/skel/.config/.
Programs started with the session are the spawn-at-startup lines in
config.kdl.
Keys
Super is the modifier (Mod).
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Super + Return | terminal |
| Super + D | fuzzel (application launcher) |
| Super + N | nwggrid (application grid) |
| Super + O | d77run |
| Super + B | web browser |
| Super + P | file manager (PCManFM) |
| Super + S | drop-down terminal |
| Super + T | lock screen |
| Super + X | power menu |
| Super + Q | close window |
| Super + Shift + O | overview of all windows |
| Super + 1 … 9 | go to workspace |
| Super + Ctrl + 1 … 9 | move column to workspace |
| Super + R | next preset column width |
| Super + F | maximize the column |
| Super + Shift + F | full screen |
| Super + C | center the column |
| Super + , / Super + . | take the next window into the column / put it out |
| Super + H/J/K/L or arrows | focus column left / window down / up / column right |
| Super + Ctrl + H/J/K/L or arrows | move column or window |
| Super + Shift + H/J/K/L or arrows | focus another monitor |
| Super + U / Super + I | workspace below / above |
| Super + Ctrl + U / Super + Ctrl + I | move column to the workspace below / above |
| Super + mouse wheel | change workspace |
| Super + Shift + 7 | list of shortcuts |
Volume and microphone keys work, also on the lock screen.
Idle
After 5 minutes without input the screen locks (swaylock), after 10 it turns
off and comes back on with any input, and it always locks before the computer
suspends. This is /usr/bin/screenlock, started with the session.
On installations made from ISOs built before 16 October 2026 the screen
locks but never turns off. To fix it, install wlopm:
sudo xbps-install -S wlopm
and, in /usr/bin/screenlock, replace both swaymsg "output * power off"
and swaymsg "output * power on" with wlopm --off '*' and wlopm --on '*'.
Keyboard layout
In config.kdl:
input {
keyboard {
xkb {
layout "pt"
}
}
}
Wallpaper
The wallpaper is set at start-up by sww, which shows
~/Wallpaper/background2.png with swww. To use another image now:
swww img ~/Wallpaper/<image>