add niri-outputs plugin to manage displays in niri by adrlau · Pull Request #217 · noctalia-dev/noctalia-plugins

adrlau · 2026-02-05T21:34:51Z

Adds a gui to rearrange displays in niri, using the niri msg command interface.

Ai tools where used to develop this, but it is tested and seemed to work nice.

ItsLemmy · 2026-02-05T23:44:10Z

niri-outputs/BarWidget.qml

+    readonly property real barHeight: Style.getBarHeightForScreen(screenName)
+    readonly property real capsuleHeight: Style.getCapsuleHeightForScreen(screenName)
+
+    implicitWidth: capsuleHeight


NIconButton would be better here, it would respect all the capsule and hover state automatically.

adrlau · 2026-02-06T09:50:25Z

Used the NICONButton like you said.
Cleaned up the code a bit as well and added more localisations. (Also used the i18n in the code)

ItsLemmy · 2026-02-06T13:50:48Z

niri-outputs/BarWidget.qml

+    applyUiScale: false
+    icon: "device-desktop"
+    tooltipText: "Display Configuration"
+    tooltipDirection: BarService.getTooltipDirection()


you need BarService.getTooltipDirection(screenName) (for different bars per screen)

ItsLemmy · 2026-02-06T13:51:44Z

niri-outputs/BarWidget.qml

+
+    colorBg: Style.capsuleColor
+    colorFg: Color.mOnSurface
+    colorBorder: "transparent"


You alsso need, So it follows styling
border.color: Style.capsuleBorderColor
border.width: Style.capsuleBorderWidth

fix: correctly access main instance in panel and add debug logging feat: Add niri outputs plugin # new file: niri-outputs/i18n/ru.json

Copilot

Pull request overview

Adds a new Noctalia Shell plugin (niri-outputs) that provides a GUI (bar widget + control center widget + panel) for managing Niri compositor outputs via niri msg.

Changes:

Introduces plugin metadata, widgets, and a full panel UI for output arrangement and configuration.
Adds a command-based backend (niri msg --json outputs + command runner) to read/apply output settings.
Adds README + preview image + multi-language i18n strings for the panel.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 23 out of 24 changed files in this pull request and generated 9 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
niri-outputs/preview.png	Adds plugin preview image for the registry/site.
niri-outputs/manifest.json	Declares plugin metadata and entry points.
niri-outputs/README.md	Documents features and usage.
niri-outputs/Main.qml	Implements Niri `msg` integration (read/apply settings).
niri-outputs/CommandRunner.qml	Lightweight Process wrapper for running commands.
niri-outputs/BarWidget.qml	Bar entry point button to open the panel.
niri-outputs/ControlCenterWidget.qml	Control-center entry point button to open the panel.
niri-outputs/Panel.qml	Main UI: layout preview + snapping + per-output settings + apply/discard workflow.
niri-outputs/i18n/*.json	Adds translations for panel strings.

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Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:15Z

niri-outputs/manifest.json

+  "author": "adrlau",
+  "official": false,
+  "license": "MIT",
+  "description": "Manage niri outputs: scale, mode, and more.",
+  "tags": ["Utility", "Bar", "Panel"],


manifest.json is missing the repository field. All other plugin manifests in this repo include it, and the repo-level README lists it as a required manifest property; omission may break registry tooling/metadata expectations.

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:16Z

niri-outputs/BarWidget.qml

+import QtQuick
+import Quickshell
+import qs.Commons
+import qs.Widgets


BarWidget.qml uses BarService.getTooltipDirection(...) but does not import the module that provides BarService (other bar widgets import qs.Services.UI). This will cause a runtime ReferenceError when the widget loads.

Suggested change

import qs.Widgets

import qs.Widgets

import qs.Services.UI

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:16Z

niri-outputs/BarWidget.qml

+    colorBorder: "transparent"
+    colorBorderHover: "transparent"
+
+    onClicked: pluginApi.openPanel(root.screen, this)


onClicked: pluginApi.openPanel(...) will throw if pluginApi is not set (unlike ControlCenterWidget.qml, which guards it). Please add a null-safe check (or use optional chaining) before calling into pluginApi.

Suggested change

onClicked: pluginApi.openPanel(root.screen, this)

onClicked: if (pluginApi) pluginApi.openPanel(root.screen, this)

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:16Z

niri-outputs/Main.qml

+    Component.onCompleted: refresh()
+
+    function refresh() {
+        niriMsg.running = true;
+    }


refresh() unconditionally sets niriMsg.running = true. If the process is already running, Quickshell may ignore the assignment and the refresh request will be dropped. Other plugins guard with if (!process.running) process.running = true; (or restart explicitly).

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:16Z

niri-outputs/Panel.qml

+        });
+
+        discardChanges();
+    }


applyChanges() calls discardChanges() immediately after issuing the niri msg commands. Since each command runner also triggers refresh() on exit, this extra immediate discard/refresh can temporarily reload old state and cause redundant refreshes. Consider delaying discard/refresh until after commands complete (or skipping refresh in this path).

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:17Z

niri-outputs/Panel.qml

+    function discardChanges() {
+        pendingChanges = { positions: {}, scales: {}, modes: {}, transforms: {} };
+        if (pluginCore) pluginCore.refresh();
+    }


discardChanges() refreshes outputs unconditionally. When invoked from applyChanges(), this can cause redundant refreshes because each command runner already refreshes on process exit. Consider making refresh optional or only refreshing when explicitly discarding (not after apply).

niri-outputs/Panel.qml

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:17Z

niri-outputs/Panel.qml

+            var updated = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(dragPositions));
+            updated[outputName] = { x: x, y: y };
+            dragPositions = updated;
+            dragPositionsVersion++;
+        }
+
+        function clearDragPosition(outputName) {
+            var updated = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(dragPositions));


updateDragPosition() deep-copies dragPositions via JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(...)) on every drag movement. This runs at pointer-move frequency and can cause UI jank/GC churn. A shallow copy (or in-place mutation plus an explicit version counter) is sufficient here because values are primitives.

Suggested change

var updated = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(dragPositions));

updated[outputName] = { x: x, y: y };

dragPositions = updated;

dragPositionsVersion++;

}

function clearDragPosition(outputName) {

var updated = JSON.parse(JSON.stringify(dragPositions));

var updated = {};

for (var key in dragPositions) {

if (dragPositions.hasOwnProperty(key)) {

updated[key] = dragPositions[key];

}

}

updated[outputName] = { x: x, y: y };

dragPositions = updated;

dragPositionsVersion++;

}

function clearDragPosition(outputName) {

var updated = {};

for (var key in dragPositions) {

if (dragPositions.hasOwnProperty(key)) {

updated[key] = dragPositions[key];

}

}

Copilot · 2026-02-09T22:10:17Z

niri-outputs/Main.qml

+                if (text.trim() === "") return;
+                try {
+                    root.outputs = JSON.parse(text);


If niri msg --json outputs produces no stdout (common when the command fails and only writes to stderr), this handler returns early and can leave available/outputs stale from a previous successful run. Consider setting available = false (and clearing outputs) when text.trim() === "", and/or capturing stderr/exit code for better diagnostics.

Suggested change

if (text.trim() === "") return;

try {

root.outputs = JSON.parse(text);

const trimmed = text.trim();

if (trimmed === "") {

// Command produced no JSON output; clear any stale state.

root.available = false;

root.outputs = ({});

console.warn("niri msg --json outputs produced no stdout; marking outputs unavailable.");

return;

}

try {

root.outputs = JSON.parse(trimmed);

ItsLemmy · 2026-02-17T13:08:01Z

Do you plan to finish this? Even if I dislike copilot review, some of those need to be addressed

adrlau · 2026-02-17T18:22:27Z

Yes, just hadn't had much time right now.
Convetærted to draft until I get things patched up. (accidentally triggered the copilot review, and sorry)

adrlau force-pushed the niri-outputs branch from 3ab9336 to fa66d52 Compare February 5, 2026 21:36

ItsLemmy reviewed Feb 5, 2026

View reviewed changes

adrlau force-pushed the niri-outputs branch 2 times, most recently from e6ee1de to e7c0a57 Compare February 6, 2026 09:49

ItsLemmy reviewed Feb 6, 2026

View reviewed changes

add niri-outputs plugin to manage displays in niri

99d3c1b

fix: correctly access main instance in panel and add debug logging feat: Add niri outputs plugin # new file: niri-outputs/i18n/ru.json

Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings February 9, 2026 22:03

adrlau force-pushed the niri-outputs branch from e7c0a57 to 99d3c1b Compare February 9, 2026 22:03

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of adrlau February 9, 2026 22:04 View session

Copilot AI reviewed Feb 9, 2026

View reviewed changes

adrlau marked this pull request as draft February 17, 2026 18:18

	onClicked: pluginApi.openPanel(root.screen, this)
	onClicked: if (pluginApi) pluginApi.openPanel(root.screen, this)

-                if (text.trim() === "") return;
-                try {
-                    root.outputs = JSON.parse(text);
+                const trimmed = text.trim();
+                if (trimmed === "") {
+                    // Command produced no JSON output; clear any stale state.
+                    root.available = false;
+                    root.outputs = ({});
+                    console.warn("niri msg --json outputs produced no stdout; marking outputs unavailable.");
+                    return;
+                }
+                try {
+                    root.outputs = JSON.parse(trimmed);

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Pull request overview

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ItsLemmy commented Feb 17, 2026

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adrlau commented Feb 5, 2026 •

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