Niri Workspaces

Browse, jump to, rename or reset Niri workspaces from the Noctalia launcher — modelled after the built-in >win window switcher.

Usage

Open the launcher and type the >ws prefix.

• >ws — lists every workspace (current workspace highlighted). Arrow up/down to pick a row, Enter jumps to it.
• >ws foo — filters workspaces whose name, index, or output contains foo.

The focused workspace is highlighted by default when the list opens unfiltered, so keyboard rename/reset shortcuts target it right away without any extra navigation.

Keyboard rename / reset

With >ws (unfiltered) open and a workspace highlighted, type:

• !new name → >ws !new name — renames the highlighted workspace.
• !! → >ws !! — clears the highlighted workspace's custom name.

After applying, the launcher returns to the workspace list so you can keep editing or jump somewhere else on your own — Enter on a row switches to that workspace.

Entering rename mode with ! pre-fills the current name (if any), so you can edit it rather than retype. Because rename mode only engages when ! is the first character after the prefix, clear any filter text before typing !.

Pencil / eraser buttons

Each workspace row shows action buttons on the right when selected:

• Pencil — opens rename mode pre-filled with the workspace's current name. Enter applies.
• Eraser — clears the name immediately (shown only when the workspace is named).

Keyboard shortcuts (without opening the launcher)

Bind these to Niri keybindings for direct access:

# Open/close the launcher in workspace mode (mirrors the shell's `launcher emoji` toggle).
qs ipc call plugin:niri-workspaces toggle

# Rename / reset the focused workspace without opening the launcher.
qs ipc call plugin:niri-workspaces renameCurrent "my name"
qs ipc call plugin:niri-workspaces unsetCurrent

renameCurrent / unsetCurrent always target the focused workspace. toggle respects your configured launcher prefix.

Requirements

• Niri with the niri msg CLI (event-stream support).
• On other compositors the plugin loads but stays dormant.

Why Niri-only?

Niri has first-class set-workspace-name / unset-workspace-name actions, and the concept of "reset the name to fall back to the index" maps cleanly to unset-workspace-name. Hyprland's renameworkspace has different semantics, so a Hyprland variant would need to be a separate plugin.