bemenu

TLDR

Display a menu and output selected item

$ echo -e "option1\noption2\noption3" | bemenu

Display a menu with a prompt

$ echo -e "firefox\nchromium\nvivaldi" | bemenu -p "Browser:"

Run selected command

$ echo -e "firefox\nchromium" | bemenu | xargs -r swaymsg exec --

Use as a program launcher (with dmenu_path)

$ dmenu_path | bemenu | sh

Customize appearance

$ bemenu --fn "monospace 12" --tb "#285577" --tf "#ffffff"

List installed applications

$ compgen -c | sort -u | bemenu

Password prompt (hidden input)

$ bemenu -x -p "Password:"

SYNOPSIS

bemenu [options]
bemenu-run [options]

bemenu is a dynamic menu library and client program inspired by dmenu. It reads items from stdin, presents them in a menu, and outputs the selected item to stdout. It supports multiple backends including Wayland, X11, and curses.
Unlike dmenu which only works on X11, bemenu provides native Wayland support, making it ideal for Sway and other Wayland compositors. The rendering is handled through backend libraries, allowing the same interface across different display servers.
bemenu-run is a wrapper that lists executables from PATH and runs the selected one, functioning as a simple application launcher.

PARAMETERS

-p, --prompt text

Set the prompt text.

-i

Case-insensitive matching.

-l, --list lines

Show items in a vertical list.

-b, --bottom

Display at bottom of screen.

-m, --monitor index

Show on specific monitor.

-H, --line-height height

Set item height in pixels.

-x, --password

Hide input (password mode).

--fn font

Set font (Pango format).

--tb color

Title bar background color.

--tf color

Title bar foreground color.

--fb color

Filter background color.

--ff color

Filter foreground color.

--nb color

Normal item background.

--nf color

Normal item foreground.

--hb color

Highlighted item background.

--hf color

Highlighted item foreground.

--binding vim|emacs

Set key binding style.

CAVEATS

Requires appropriate backend library for the display server (wayland, x11, or curses). Colors are specified in #RRGGBB format. Font specification follows Pango format. On Wayland, bemenu needs the layer-shell protocol support from the compositor.

HISTORY

bemenu was created as a cross-platform replacement for dmenu that could work on Wayland compositors. It was developed as part of the effort to bring traditional X11 utilities to the Wayland ecosystem. The project provides library bindings allowing integration into other applications, following a more modular design than the original dmenu.