Rofi Menus and Scripts

Rofi provides all the interactive menus in Config-Sway, from application launching to theme switching. All menus are styled consistently and integrated with the theme system.

Directory Structure

~/.config/rofi/
├── scripts/              # Executable menu scripts
│   ├── selector-app.sh
│   ├── power-menu.sh
│   ├── theme-switcher.sh
│   ├── wallpaper-switcher.sh
│   └── menu-iconos.sh
├── styles/               # Theme-specific styling
│   ├── _core/           # Core theme files
│   │   ├── palette.rasi # Color definitions
│   │   ├── selector-app.rasi
│   │   ├── power-menu.rasi
│   │   ├── theme-switcher.rasi
│   │   └── wallpaper-switcher.rasi
│   ├── selector-app.rasi
│   ├── power-menu.rasi
│   ├── theme-switcher.rasi
│   └── wallpaper-switcher.rasi
└── images/              # Icons and backgrounds
    ├── arch-linux.png
    └── arch-linux-2.webp

Rofi Scripts

Application Selector (Super + D)

Script: `selector-app.sh`

~/.config/rofi/scripts/selector-app.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

CORE_THEME="$HOME/.config/rofi/styles/_core/selector-app.rasi"
IMG="$HOME/.config/rofi/images/arch-linux.png"

if [ -f "$IMG" ]; then
  rofi -show drun -show-icons -theme "$CORE_THEME" \
    -theme-str "imagebox { background-image: url(\"$IMG\", height); }"
else
  rofi -show drun -show-icons -theme "$CORE_THEME"
fi

Features:

Shows all desktop applications (.desktop files)
Displays application icons
Background image overlay (if available)
Fuzzy search enabled

Keybinding: Super + D

Type partial application names to quickly filter. For example, “fire” will show Firefox.

Power Menu (Super + Q)

~/.config/rofi/scripts/power-menu.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

theme="$HOME/.config/rofi/styles/_core/power-menu.rasi"
bg="$HOME/.config/rofi/images/arch-linux-2.webp"

# System information
lastlogin="$(
  (last "$USER" 2>/dev/null || true) \
    | head -n1 \
    | tr -s ' ' \
    | cut -d' ' -f5,6,7
)"
uptime="$(
  (uptime -p 2>/dev/null || true) \
    | sed -e 's/^up //g'
)"
host="$(hostname)"

# Menu options
apagar=' '
reiniciar='󰦛 '
bloquear='󱅞'
suspender='󰽥'
cerrar_seccion='󰍂 '
cancelar=' '

rofi_cmd() {
  rofi -dmenu \
    -p "$USER@$host" \
    -mesg " Desde: $lastlogin, Tiempo encendido: $uptime" \
    -theme "${theme}" \
    -theme-str "inputbar { background-image: url(\"$bg\", width); }"
}

run_rofi() {
  echo -e "$cancelar\n$apagar\n$reiniciar\n$suspender\n$cerrar_seccion\n$bloquear" | rofi_cmd
}

lock_now() {
  if command -v swaylock >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    swaylock -f
  elif command -v loginctl >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    loginctl lock-session
  fi
}

logout_now() {
  if command -v swaymsg >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    swaymsg exit >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
  fi
}

chosen="$(run_rofi)"
case "${chosen}" in
  "$apagar") systemctl poweroff ;;
  "$reiniciar") systemctl reboot ;;
  "$bloquear") lock_now ;;
  "$suspender")
    command -v mpc >/dev/null 2>&1 && mpc -q pause || true
    systemctl suspend
    ;;
  "$cerrar_seccion") logout_now ;;
  *) exit 0 ;;
esac

Menu Options:

Icon	Action	Command
	Shutdown	`systemctl poweroff`
󰦛	Reboot	`systemctl reboot`
󱅞	Lock screen	`swaylock -f`
󰽥	Suspend	`systemctl suspend`
󰍂	Logout	`swaymsg exit`
	Cancel	Exit menu

Features:

Shows last login time
Displays system uptime
Background image in header
Safe suspend (pauses music first)

Keybinding: Super + Q

Shutdown and reboot actions execute immediately without confirmation. Use the cancel option if you change your mind.

Theme Switcher (Super + A)

Script: `theme-switcher.sh`

The theme switcher is the most complex script, handling theme application across all components.

~/.config/rofi/scripts/theme-switcher.sh

TEMAS_DIR="$HOME/.config/themes"
ROFI_THEME="$HOME/.config/rofi/styles/_core/theme-switcher.rasi"

What it does:

Lists available themes from ~/.config/themes/
Shows theme previews using wallpaper images as icons
Applies selected theme to:
- Kitty terminal colors
- Waybar colors and styles
- Sway window decorations
- Rofi color palette
- System wallpaper
Reloads all components automatically

Theme Detection:

for theme_dir in "$TEMAS_DIR"/*; do
  [ -d "$theme_dir" ] || continue
  theme_name="$(basename "$theme_dir")"

  preview=""
  for ext in jpg png webp; do
    if [ -f "$theme_dir/wallpaper.$ext" ]; then
      preview="$theme_dir/wallpaper.$ext"
      break
    fi
  done

  printf '%s\0icon\x1f%s\n' "$theme_name" "$preview" >> "$OPCIONES"
done

Component Updates:

# Kitty
if [ -d "$ELEGIDO/kitty" ]; then
  backup_dir "$HOME/.config/kitty"
  copy_dir_contents "$ELEGIDO/kitty" "$HOME/.config/kitty"
fi

# Waybar (adapted for Sway)
if [ -f "$ELEGIDO/waybar/config.jsonc" ]; then
  sed \
    -e 's#hyprland/workspaces#sway/workspaces#g' \
    -e 's#hyprland/window#sway/window#g' \
    "$ELEGIDO/waybar/config.jsonc" > "$HOME/.config/waybar/config-sway.jsonc"
fi

# Sway theme
if [ -f "$ELEGIDO/sway/theme.conf" ]; then
  cp -a "$ELEGIDO/sway/theme.conf" "$HOME/.config/sway/theme.conf"
fi

# Wallpaper
for ext in jpg png webp; do
  if [ -f "$ELEGIDO/wallpaper.$ext" ]; then
    WALL="$ELEGIDO/wallpaper.$ext"
    break
  fi
done

if [ -n "$WALL" ]; then
  printf '%s\n' "$WALL" > "$SWAY_WALL_FILE"
  killall swaybg 2>/dev/null || true
  swaybg -i "$WALL" -m fill &
fi

# Reload components
killall waybar 2>/dev/null || true
waybar -c "$HOME/.config/waybar/config-sway.jsonc" & disown
swaymsg reload

Auto-generating Rofi Colors:If a theme doesn’t include a rofi palette, colors are extracted from Sway theme:

bg="$(awk '$1=="set" && $2=="$bg"{print $3; exit}' "$ELEGIDO/sway/theme.conf")"
fg="$(awk '$1=="set" && $2=="$fg"{print $3; exit}' "$ELEGIDO/sway/theme.conf")"
active="$(awk '$1=="set" && $2=="$active"{print $3; exit}' "$ELEGIDO/sway/theme.conf")"

cat >"$rofi_palette" <<EOF
* {
    font:                  "JetBrains Mono Nerd Font 14";
    background:            $bg;
    background-alt:        $inactive;
    foreground:            $fg;
    selected:              $active;
    active:                $active;
    urgent:                $active;
}
EOF

Keybinding: Super + A

The script creates .bak-<timestamp> backups before modifying configurations. Backups are stored alongside the original files.

Wallpaper Switcher (Super + W)

Similar to theme switcher, but only changes the wallpaper without modifying other theme components.Keybinding: Super + W

Icon Menu (Super + E)

Rofi Styling

Color Palette

~/.config/rofi/styles/_core/palette.rasi

/* Paleta de colores (se actualiza al cambiar de tema) */

* {
    background:            #1e1e2e;
    background-alt:        #242438;
    foreground:            #89b3fa;
    selected:              #89b3fa;
    active:                #40392e;
    urgent:                #312b26;
}

This file is automatically updated by the theme switcher. All menu styles import this palette. Each menu has two style files:

styles/_core/<menu>.rasi - Core layout and structure
styles/<menu>.rasi - Imports core + customizations

The _core/ directory contains the actual styling logic. Top-level .rasi files simply import from _core/ and can add overrides.

Available Themes

Config-Sway includes 6 pre-configured themes:

Theme Name	Style	Wallpaper
Anime	Catppuccin-inspired dark theme	Anime artwork
Batman	Dark gray and black	Batman logo
Hacker	Matrix-style green on black	Hacker aesthetic
Mode-Dark	Pure dark mode	Minimal dark
Superman	Red and blue accents	Superman emblem
Windows10	Windows-inspired	Windows 10 default

Theme Structure

Each theme directory contains:

~/.config/themes/<ThemeName>/
├── kitty/
│   └── kitty.conf       # Terminal colors
├── waybar/
│   ├── colors.css       # Waybar color variables
│   ├── style.css        # Waybar styling
│   └── config.jsonc     # Waybar layout (optional)
├── sway/
│   └── theme.conf       # Window borders, gaps, colors
├── rofi-style/
│   └── _core/
│       └── palette.rasi # Rofi colors (optional)
└── wallpaper.{jpg,png,webp}

Create your own theme by copying an existing theme directory and modifying the files. Make sure to include a wallpaper.jpg/png/webp file!

Creating Custom Menus

Basic Rofi Script Template

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Define theme
THEME="$HOME/.config/rofi/styles/_core/your-menu.rasi"

# Create menu options
option1="Option 1"
option2="Option 2"
option3="Option 3"

# Display menu
chosen="$(echo -e "$option1\n$option2\n$option3" | rofi -dmenu -theme "$THEME")"

# Handle selection
case "$chosen" in
  "$option1")
    # Action for option 1
    ;;
  "$option2")
    # Action for option 2
    ;;
  "$option3")
    # Action for option 3
    ;;
  *)
    exit 0
    ;;
esac

option1=" Option 1"  # Nerd Font icon
option2=" Option 2"
option3=" Option 3"

Using Images as Icons

printf '%s\0icon\x1f%s\n' "Item Name" "/path/to/icon.png"

Rofi Configuration Tips

Custom keybindings in Rofi

Edit ~/.config/rofi/config.rasi to add custom keybindings:

configuration {
  kb-mode-next: "Shift+Right,Control+Tab,Alt+l";
  kb-mode-previous: "Shift+Left,Control+ISO_Left_Tab,Alt+h";
  kb-row-up: "Up,Control+k";
  kb-row-down: "Down,Control+j";
}

Adjusting window size

In your menu’s .rasi file:

window {
    width: 600px;
    height: 400px;
}

Or use percentages:

window {
    width: 50%;
    height: 60%;
}

Changing fonts

In palette.rasi or individual menu styles:

* {
    font: "JetBrains Mono Nerd Font 16";
}

Troubleshooting

Rofi not showing icons

Possible causes:

Missing Nerd Fonts
-show-icons flag not set
GTK icon theme not installed

Solution:

sudo pacman -S nerd-fonts ttf-font-awesome

Ensure script uses: rofi -show drun -show-icons

Theme colors not applying

Verify palette.rasi exists:

cat ~/.config/rofi/styles/_core/palette.rasi

Check for syntax errors:

rofi -dump-config > /tmp/rofi-test.rasi

Manually update palette by running theme switcher again

Script not executing

Ensure script is executable:

chmod +x ~/.config/rofi/scripts/your-script.sh

Check for errors:

bash -x ~/.config/rofi/scripts/your-script.sh

Verify shebang is correct: #!/usr/bin/env bash

Sway Keybindings

See all Rofi menu keybindings in Sway config

Theme System

Understand how themes affect Rofi styling

Scripts

Other utility scripts used by the system

Get Started

Configuration

Guides

Components

Rofi Configuration

Rofi Menus and Scripts

Directory Structure

Rofi Scripts

Script: `selector-app.sh`

Script: `power-menu.sh`

Script: `theme-switcher.sh`

Script: `menu-iconos.sh`

Rofi Styling

Color Palette

Menu-Specific Styles

Available Themes

Theme Structure

Creating Custom Menus

Basic Rofi Script Template

Adding Icons to Menu Items

Using Images as Icons

Rofi Configuration Tips

Troubleshooting

Sway Keybindings

Theme System

Scripts

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get Started

Configuration

Guides

Components

​Rofi Menus and Scripts

​Directory Structure

​Rofi Scripts

​Script: selector-app.sh

​Script: power-menu.sh

​Script: theme-switcher.sh

​Script: menu-iconos.sh

​Rofi Styling

​Color Palette

​Menu-Specific Styles

​Available Themes

​Theme Structure

​Creating Custom Menus

​Basic Rofi Script Template

​Adding Icons to Menu Items

​Using Images as Icons

​Rofi Configuration Tips

​Troubleshooting

​Related Configuration

Sway Keybindings

Theme System

Scripts

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Rofi Menus and Scripts

Directory Structure

Rofi Scripts

Script: `selector-app.sh`

Script: `power-menu.sh`

Script: `theme-switcher.sh`

Script: `menu-iconos.sh`

Rofi Styling

Color Palette

Menu-Specific Styles

Available Themes

Theme Structure

Creating Custom Menus

Basic Rofi Script Template

Adding Icons to Menu Items

Using Images as Icons

Rofi Configuration Tips

Troubleshooting

Related Configuration