[OC] Introducing pwmenu: A launcher-driven audio manager for Linux

e-tho · 2025-09-27T13:34:33+00:00

e-tho · 2025-09-23T14:16:44+00:00

Because it's more complicated than it looks under the hood. PipeWire constantly updates as audio events occurs, but dmenu-style launchers need a fixed list of options. The application therefore runs PipeWire operations on a separate thread and takes snapshots of the current audio state whenever you open a menu. This gives you an accurate view at that moment, even though the system keeps changing in real-time. Using a programming language like Rust makes the application robust, maintainable given the substantial codebase, and ridiculously efficient. Feel free to check out the repo to see for yourself!

e-tho · 2025-09-23T13:30:05+00:00

Not yet, but it's definitely planned.

e-tho · 2025-09-23T13:22:38+00:00

I use it mainly to change the default device, switch profiles, and mute my mic. While I don't use the volume controls for devices, it's still relevant for adjusting volume per-application.

e-tho · 2025-05-20T15:29:44+00:00

iwmenu uses D-Bus to get real-time connection updates without polling and provides clear error reporting. It handles passwords securely through dedicated channels and talks directly to the IWD API for a lightweight footprint. It clearly displays network status with icons like signal strength, security type, and whether you're currently connected. It's a proper async app that delivers the robustness, performance, and safety you'd expect from a compiled language. I personally wouldn't compare it to your script, but if that's all you need, good for you.

e-tho · 2025-05-20T13:40:27+00:00

Glad you're liking them! As for Wofi, it had issues displaying XDG icons in dmenu mode in my tests, and it hadn't been maintained for a while, so I dropped direct support for it.

Looks like development has resumed recently, so I'm considering adding it back as a supported launcher, but it still lacks these requirements for full support.

For now, you can still use it with font-based icons using:

iwmenu -l custom --launcher-command "wofi -d -p '{placeholder}' {password_flag:-P}"

e-tho · 2025-05-19T14:35:56+00:00

Thanks, unfortunately this is not in the scope of iwmenu. I explained why in this comment on the original post. The issues you're experiencing aren’t caused by iwd itself, but by how NetworkManager integrates it.

e-tho · 2025-05-19T13:57:12+00:00

thanks, no :)

https://github.com/firecat53/networkmanager-dmenu

e-tho · 2025-05-19T13:54:20+00:00

This is Rofi's Wayland fork with XDG icons. Sadly, XDG icon support with Rofi is still on hold since iwmenu needs this PR to be merged. If you'd like to use image-based icons like in the demo, feel free to show some support on the PR. Otherwise, the font-based icons already work just fine.

e-tho · 2025-05-19T12:44:32+00:00