j4-dmenu-desktop
j4-dmenu-desktop is a fast desktop menu using dmenu (or compatible programs).
It scans .desktop files in $XDG_DATA_HOME and $XDG_DATA_DIRS, providing a menu
for launching applications.
It is inspired by i3-dmenu-desktop. Like i3-dmenu-desktop, j4-dmenu-desktop offers optional integration with i3wm and Sway (but j4-dmenu-desktop should work just fine on about any desktop environment).
You can also execute shell commands using it.
https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/311779a5-4ebf-41db-b942-cb90747649f9
Features
- speed
- conformance to the Desktop Entry Specification[^1]
- daemon mode with
--wait-onwhich parses desktop files ahead of time - support for history sorted by usage frequency using
--usage-log - automatic desktop file loading/removal in daemon mode using inotify/kqueue
- support for any dmenu-like program (j4-dmenu-desktop is independent of any desktop environment + it works with both Xorg and Wayland)
- (optional) i3/Sway IPC integration
- multiple formatters available (program name, program name with executable path...)
- completions for all major shells + a manpage
- and more!
Build requirements
- Compiler with C++17 support
- CMake or Meson
Building with Meson:
./meson-setup.sh build
cd build
meson compile
sudo meson install
Building with CMake:
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make j4-dmenu-desktop
sudo make install
See BUILDING for more info.
Distribution packages
Archlinux 
The package is provided in the Arch Linux extra repository. You can install it via
sudo pacman -S j4-dmenu-desktop
FreeBSD
j4-dmenu-desktop is now available in the FreeBSD Ports Collection. A prebuilt package can be installed via
pkg install j4-dmenu-desktop
Gentoo
j4-dmenu-desktop is available in Portage for the amd64 and x86 architectures. You can install it via
echo "x11-misc/j4-dmenu-desktop ~amd64 ~x86" >> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
emerge --ask x11-misc/j4-dmenu-desktop
The package is also provided by the gentoo-el overlay. You can install it with the following commands as root. (you need to have layman installed and configured)
layman -a gentoo-el
echo "=x11-misc/j4-dmenu-desktop-9999 **" >> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords
emerge x11-misc/j4-dmenu-desktop
Ubuntu
The package is now in the apt repository. You can install it via
sudo apt-get install j4-dmenu-desktop
Debian
j4-dmenu-desktop is in Debian stable:
sudo apt install j4-dmenu-desktop
Nix / NixOS
j4-dmenu-desktop is in nixpkgs:
nix-env --install j4-dmenu-desktop
# Or use pkgs attribute of the same name in NixOS configuration
Void Linux
j4-dmenu-desktop is packaged in Void Linux:
sudo xbps-install -S j4-dmenu-desktop
This package is maintained my me, meator. As a collaborator of j4-dmenu-desktop and an active Void Linux user, I ensure a higher standard of quality for this package. This package is officially supported, feel free to open issues or ask for support related to the Void Linux package here.
Examples
Run j4-dmenu-desktop:
j4-dmenu-desktop
Specify custom dmenu (useful on Wayland, tofi is used as example):
j4-dmenu-desktop --dmenu=tofi
Display 5 entries vertically at once:
j4-dmenu-desktop --dmenu="dmenu -l5"
display binary name alongside name (for example Chromium will become Chromium (/usr/bin/chromium)):
j4-dmenu-desktop --display-binary
Don't display generic names and use alacritty as terminal emulator:
j4-dmenu-desktop --no-generic --term alacritty
Enable I3/Sway IPC mode:
j4-dmenu-desktop --i3-ipc
FAQ / RAQ / RMR
I want it to display normal binaries, too, yes?
You can put this in a script file and use it instead of calling j4dd directly:
j4-dmenu-desktop --dmenu="(cat ; (stest -flx $(echo $PATH | tr : ' ') | sort -u)) | dmenu"
Exchanging the cat and (stest ... sort -u) parts will swap the two parts (j4dd's output and the list of binaries).
Get the output into a pipe / launching a program by arbitrary user input
How much faster is it?
% time i3-dmenu-desktop --dmenu="cat"
[{"success":true}]
i3-dmenu-desktop --dmenu="cat" 0.37s user 0.02s system 96% cpu 0.404 total
% time ./j4-dmenu-desktop --dmenu=cat
./j4-dmenu-desktop --dmenu=cat 0.01s user 0.01s system 107% cpu 0.015 total
More than 25 times faster :)
[^1]: Some minor features like handling of `TryExec` key are missing. If there are any problems with compliance to the Desktop entry specification, please submit an issue.