Run / Open Path

A "run or open" prompt built on Noctalia's own launcher. Type a path and it completes as you type; Enter opens it in your file manager. Type anything that isn't a path and Enter runs it as a shell command.

Plugin

Field	Value
ID	zyrex/run-path
Entry	Launcher provider: run-path
Launcher Prefix	/r

Requirements

Needs only a file opener; xdg-open (part of xdg-utils) is the default and follows your desktop's file associations, so most people won't need to change it.

Usage

Open the launcher and type /r followed by a path or a command:

/r ~/Doc          →  Documents/            (completion)
/r ~/Documents    →  Open Documents        (Enter → file manager)
/r /etc/fstab     →  Open fstab            (Enter → default handler)
/r btop           →  Run: btop             (Enter → sh -c btop)

• Path mode is chosen when the input starts with /, ~ or .. Everything else is command mode.

• The first row is always "Open ⟨name⟩" for whatever the input currently resolves to, and the launcher preselects it — so typing a path and pressing Enter opens it.

  

• Activating a directory row below it descends into that directory instead of opening it (via launcher.setQuery), so the list doubles as navigation without a second keybind.

• ~ expands to your home directory. . and .. resolve against your home directory, not a process working directory — the launcher has none.

• An empty input lists your home directory, so the keybind on its own is useful:

  

• Anything that isn't path-like runs as a shell command via sh -c when activated:

  

Bind it in your compositor. For Hyprland:

bind = SUPER, R, exec, noctalia msg panel-toggle launcher "/r "

Settings

Setting	Type	Default	Description
file_manager	string	xdg-open	Command used to open directories. Set to nautilus, thunar, dolphin, etc. to skip the xdg-open indirection.
file_opener	string	xdg-open	Command used to open files.
show_hidden	bool	false	Include dotfiles in path completion.
max_results	int	20	Maximum number of completion entries listed at once.

Notes

• Completion is prefix-based (case-insensitive), not fuzzy: typing ~/Doc matches Documents/ but not, say, a folder named MyDocs.
• Commands run detached with no terminal (sh -c <command>, no output shown). There is no "run in terminal" mode.
• A path containing a literal ~ other than at the very start is not un-expanded — only a leading ~ is treated specially.