kitty: Switch to kitty terminal emulator

Finally made the switch from alacritty to kitty. I have been thinking
about this for a while. Both, fundamentally, serve my purposes just
fine. Both are fast, customizable, gpu accelerated, and so on.
Kitty feels a little faster on the input, but this should not provide
major differences.

One big difference, however, is now very apparent and I can feel it:
Alacritty, on wayland, does not support any picture preview. It does not
support sixel, and things like w3mimg or ueberzug are based on and
require X11 to run.
Kitty brings its own graphics display library and it seems both pretty
stable and fast.
I have not done much more with it than use it in things like vifm image
previews but it should be much more stable than things like ueberzug,
much faster than things like sixel. Time will tell.

Switched other modules to make use of kitty instead of alacritty:
vifm uses kitty previews,
river spawns kitty instances,
systemd units use kitty instances,
waybar presents extra mouse-click interactions through kitty,
and styler contains a processor to style kitty permanently.

I would love to converge this all a bit more on the `$TERMINAL` env var,
but this is unfortunately difficult for things like systemd and waybar.
For waybar I currently see no real way except for a custom
`ideal-terminal` script which just goes down the list of terminal
emulators I want to run, depending on which is installed,
since it does not read env vars,
while for systemd it might be feasible to import user environment
variables,
but also connected to additional complexity and overhead which it does
not seem worth for the currently two simple service units it affects.

Also removed some obsolete sxhkd and sh settings from the move to
wayland.

README.md

@@ -43,19 +43,19 @@ Enjoy!
 
 ![Overview - an older image of the dotfile desktop with gaps, showing git logs, styler logs, duckduckgo in a browser, and a vifm view of the dotfiles themselves](https://gitlab.com/marty-oehme/dotfiles/-/wikis/uploads/aaf0319d575dc192ea0f4bd6eaf83c08/gaps.png)
 
-* [`alacritty`](https://github.com/jwilm/alacritty) - Terminal emulator (GPU accelerated and customizable)
 * [`wayland`](https://github.com/wayland-project/wayland) - Containing basics for fully functional tiling wayland setup:
     * [`river`](https://github.com/riverwm/river) - Tiling window manager for wayland
     * [`waybar`](https://github.com/Alexays/Waybar) - Easily customizable statusbar for wayland
     * [`bemenu`](https://github.com/Cloudef/bemenu) - Extended dmenu replacement for wayland, X11 and ncurses
     * [`fontconfig`] - System-wide font replacements and styling settings
-* [`git`](git/README.md) - distributed version control system.
+* [`kitty`](https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/) - Terminal emulator (GPU accelerated and configurable)
-* [`pass`](pass/README.md) - Password management suite
-* [`nvim`](https://neovim.io/) - Neovim configuration
-* [`bibtex`](bibtex/README.md) - LateX/BibteX/pandoc plaintext writing & reference suite
-* [`qutebrowser`](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser) - vim-key enabled web browser
 * [`tmux`](https://github.com/tmux/tmux/) - terminal multiplexer
+* [`nvim`](https://neovim.io/) - Neovim configuration
 * [`vifm`](https://github.com/vifm/vifm) - vim-like file-manager
+* [`qutebrowser`](https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser) - vim-key enabled web browser
+* [`pass`](pass/README.md) - Password management suite
+* [`bibtex`](bibtex/README.md) - LateX/BibteX/pandoc plaintext writing & reference suite
+* [`git`](git/README.md) - distributed version control system.
 
 ## Notes
 

bootstrap/packages.txt

@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 acpid
 activitywatch-bin
 afew
-alacritty
 alias-tips-git
 alsa-utils
 an2linuxserver-git
@@ -173,7 +172,6 @@ speedtest-cli
 sshfs
 stow
 surfraw
-sxhkd
 sxiv
 systemd-sysvcompat
 task
@@ -224,6 +222,7 @@ devour
 htop
 jrnl
 khard
+kitty
 mopidy-autoplay
 mopidy-iris
 mopidy-local

qutebrowser/.config/qutebrowser/config.py

@@ -11,10 +11,12 @@ from qutebrowser.config.configfiles import ConfigAPI  # noqa: F401
 # load additional settings configured via autoconfig.yml
 config.load_autoconfig()
 
+term = os.getenv("TERMINAL", "xterm")
+
 c.completion.web_history.max_items = 1000
 c.hints.uppercase = True
 c.editor.command = [
-    "alacritty",
+    term,
     "-e",
     "nvim",
     "-f",
@@ -26,7 +28,7 @@ c.editor.command = [
 # change filepicker
 c.fileselect.handler = "external"
 picker = [
-    "alacritty",
+    term,
     "--class",
     "float",
     "-e",

services/.config/systemd/user/dropdown-terminal.service

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 [Unit]
-Description=Alacritty window hidden on i3 scratchpad
+Description=Terminal window hidden to be called at any point
 Requires=x-started-confirm.service
 After=x-started-confirm.service
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
 # workaround to allow relative executable invocation (i.e. current users' home dir)
-ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'alacritty --title "dropdown-terminal" --class Alacritty,scratchpad'
+ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'kitty --title "dropdown-terminal" --class scratchpad'
 Restart=always
 
 [Install]

services/.config/systemd/user/dropdown-todo.service

@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 [Unit]
-Description=Todo.md floating vim instance
+Description=Todo.md hidden vim instance
 Requires=x-started-confirm.service
 After=x-started-confirm.service
 
 [Service]
 Type=simple
 # workaround to allow relative executable invocation (i.e. current users' home dir)
-ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'alacritty --title "dropdown-todo" --class "Alacritty,scratchpad" -e nvim -c ":set nonumber norelativenumber noshowmode noruler laststatus=0 noshowcmd shortmess=F | :Limelight" %h/documents/records/todo.md'
+ExecStart=/bin/bash -c 'kitty --title "dropdown-todo" --class scratchpad nvim -c ":set nonumber norelativenumber noshowmode noruler laststatus=0 noshowcmd shortmess=F | :Limelight" %h/documents/records/todo.md'
 Restart=always
 
 [Install]

services/README.md

@@ -62,12 +62,12 @@ As another example, if you want to check for changes every 30 seconds but still
 
 ## Dropdown services
 
-The `dropdown-terminal.service` is very simple, and always keeps a (`alacritty`) terminal window running.
+The `dropdown-terminal.service` is very simple, and always keeps a terminal window running.
 The program is started with a `scratchpad` class, which is picked up by [`i3`](i3) and automatically hidden.
 You can then show/hide the terminal as a floating overlay as you need, mimicking a floating terminal
 (by default with `super + shift + return`, though this may change).
 When you close the window in any way, systemd automatically restarts it in the background.
 
-The `dropdown-todo.service` is similar but instead of an empty (`alacritty`) terminal window,
+The `dropdown-todo.service` is similar but instead of an empty terminal window,
 it starts up a `nvim` instance which hides most of its interface and shows a to-do list.
 The list, by default, is situated in `~/documents/records/todo.md` and can be displayed with `super + t`.

sh/.config/sh/env

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ export BIBFILE="${BIBFILE:-$LIBRARYROOT/academia/academia.bib}"
 # these are my personal 'important' application settings
 export EDITOR="nvim"
 export BROWSER="qutebrowser"
-export TERMINAL="alacritty"
+export TERMINAL="kitty"
 export PAGER="less"
 
 export FILEREADER="zathura"

vifm/.config/vifm/vifmrc

@@ -348,37 +348,6 @@ set classify+=' ::*.doc,,*.docx::, ::*.xls,,*.xls[mx]::, ::*.pptx,,*.pp
 " You can also add %CLEAR if you want to clear screen before running FUSE
 " program.
 
-
-fileviewer *.pdf
-    \ vifm-sixel pdf %pw %ph %c %pd
-    \ %pc
-    \ vifm-sixel clear
-
-fileviewer *.epub
-    \ vifm-sixel epub %pw %ph %c %pd
-    \ %pc
-    \ vifm-sixel clear
-
-fileviewer <video/*>
-    \ vifm-sixel video %pw %ph %c %pd
-    \ %pc
-    \ vifm-sixel clear
-
-fileviewer <image/*>
-    \ vifm-sixel draw %pw %ph %c %pd
-    \ %pc
-    \ vifm-sixel clear
-
-fileviewer <audio/*>
-    \ vifm-sixel audio %pw %ph %c %pd
-    \ %pc
-    \ vifm-sixel clear
-
-fileviewer <font/*>
-    \ vifm-sixel font %pw %ph %c %pd
-    \ %pc
-    \ vifm-sixel clear
-
 " Pdf
 filextype *.pdf
         \ { view as rich file }
@@ -423,6 +392,9 @@ filextype *.avi,*.mp4,*.wmv,*.dat,*.3gp,*.ogv,*.mkv,*.mpg,*.mpeg,*.vob,
 fileviewer *.avi,*.mp4,*.wmv,*.dat,*.3gp,*.ogv,*.mkv,*.mpg,*.mpeg,*.vob,
           \*.fl[icv],*.m2v,*.mov,*.webm,*.ts,*.mts,*.m4v,*.r[am],*.qt,*.divx,
           \*.as[fx]
+         \ tput cup %py %px > /dev/tty && ffmpeg -y -hide_banner -loglevel panic -i %c -ss 00:00:01.000 -vframes 1 /tmp/tempfile.jpg > /dev/null && kitty +kitten icat --transfer-mode=file --place=%pwx%ph@%pxx%py /tmp/tempfile.jpg %N
+         \ %pc
+         \ kitty +kitten icat --transfer-mode=file --place=%pwx%ph@%pxx%py --clear %N,
          \ ffprobe -pretty %c 2>&1
 
 " Web
@@ -447,9 +419,9 @@ filextype *.gif
         \ {Loop}
         \ mpv --loop=inf %f %i &,
 fileviewer *.gif
-        \ vifmimg draw %px %py %pw %ph %c
+        \ kitty +kitten icat --silent --transfer-mode=stream --place=%pwx%ph@%pxx%py %c %N
         \ %pc
-        \ vifmimg clear
+        \ kitty +kitten icat --clear --silent %pd
 
 " Images
 filextype *.bmp,*.jpg,*.jpeg,*.png,*.gif,*.xpm
@@ -462,9 +434,9 @@ filextype *.bmp,*.jpg,*.jpeg,*.png,*.gif,*.xpm
         \ {View in gpicview}
         \ gpicview %c,
 fileviewer *.bmp,*.jpg,*.jpeg,*.png,*.gif,*.xpm
-        \ vifmimg draw %px %py %pw %ph %c
+        \ kitty +kitten icat --silent --transfer-mode=stream --place=%pwx%ph@%pxx%py %c %N
         \ %pc
-        \ vifmimg clear
+        \ kitty +kitten icat --clear --silent %pd
 
 " OpenRaster
 filextype *.ora

wayland/.config/waybar/config

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
         "return-type": "json",
         "exec": "~/.config/waybar/modules/archupdates 5 json",
         "interval": 3600,
-        "on-click": "alacritty --class float -e topgrade"
+        "on-click": "kitty --class float topgrade"
     },
     "backlight": {
         "device": "intel_backlight",
@@ -45,8 +45,8 @@
             "warning": 50,
             "critical": 80
         },
-        "on-click": "alacritty --class float -e top",
+        "on-click": "kitty --class float top",
-        "on-click-right": "alacritty --class float -e glances"
+        "on-click-right": "kitty --class float glances"
     },
     "custom/events": {
         "format": "{}",
@@ -115,7 +115,7 @@
         "tooltip-format-ethernet": "{ifname} ",
         "tooltip-format-disconnected": "Disconnected",
         "max-length": 50,
-        "on-click": "alacritty --class float -e nmtui",
+        "on-click": "kitty --class float nmtui",
         // "on-click-right": "sudo rfkill toggle wlan"
     },
     "pulseaudio": {
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@
             "default": ["", ""]
         },
         "scroll-step": 1,
-        "on-click": "alacritty --class float -e pulsemixer",
+        "on-click": "kitty --class float pulsemixer",
         "on-scroll-up": "pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ +1%",
         "on-scroll-down": "pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ -1%"
     },
@@ -146,7 +146,7 @@
         "critical-threshold": 80,
         // "format-critical": "{temperatureC}° ",
         "format": "{temperatureC}° ",
-        "on-click": "alacritty --class float -e watch sensors"
+        "on-click": "kitty --class float watch sensors"
     },
     "tray": {
         "icon-size": 21,

wayland/README.md

@@ -11,7 +11,16 @@ This is only a very work-in-progress README file.
 
 Since wayland handles key presses and so on completely differently
 from X, 
-I can't for example use sxhkd which is a shame.
+I can't for example use sxhkd anymore which is a shame.
+
+On the other hand, there is an amazing key *re* binding tool 
+(which also works under X I've now found out)
+`keyd` which takes care of some X functionality (xcape) at a lower level.
+
+I have not found a good replacement for `clutter` 
+(which automatically hides your mouse cursor after inactivity)
+which is independent from the window manager.
+I believe `swaywm` would include similar functionality, but `river` does not.
 
 ## Missing
 
@@ -22,7 +31,7 @@ not set up:
 * [x] extensive run menu (clipboard, open windows) -- rofi on X
     * [x] clipboard manager
 * [x] pass frontend dropdown -- clipboard and xdotool
-    * [ ] investigate [wtype](https://github.com/atx/wtype) over ydotool
+    * [x] investigate [wtype](https://github.com/atx/wtype) over ydotool
 * [x] file uploading (works but without url clipboard)
 * [x] open_download (qutebrowser script)
 * [x] gap regulation
@@ -34,18 +43,19 @@ not set up:
 * [x] styler
     * still works as before, only less programs respect xresources settings
     * works even for foot, if I want to switch to it
-    * [ ] need to set it up for waybar
+    * [x] need to set it up for waybar
 * [ ] dropdown terminal and dropdown todo
 * [ ] rofimoji emoji dropdown -- clipboard
 * [ ] show current mode
 * [-] hide cursor
-* [-] dropdown calculator -- rofi on X -- could use `qalc` directly
+* [x] dropdown calculator -- rofi on X -- could use `qalc` directly
 * [-] modes: media, academia (worth?)
-* [-] picture in terminal, a-la ueberzug
+* [x] picture in terminal, a-la ueberzug
     * ueberzug is X only
     * there is sixel rendering for foot, st, xterm, urxvt
     * alacritty does *not* support sixel rendering [yet](https://github.com/alacritty/alacritty/issues/910), see also [existing sixel implementation](https://github.com/betaboon/alacritty/tree/graphics).
     * We have sixel support enabled in vifm and foot. It is very wonky, however.
+    * Switched to kitty terminal for image support instead
 
 
 ### undecided