rofi

Application launcher and window switcher

TLDR

Show application launcher

$ rofi -show drun

Show command launcher

$ rofi -show run

Switch windows

$ rofi -show window

Use as dmenu replacement

$ printf "Choice1\nChoice2\nChoice3" | rofi -dmenu

SYNOPSIS

rofi [-show mode] [-dmenu] [-theme theme]

rofi is a versatile application launcher and window switcher. It provides a searchable interface for launching programs, switching windows, running commands, and more.
The tool is highly customizable with themes and supports scripting via the dmenu mode. It's popular in tiling window manager setups as a replacement for dmenu.

PARAMETERS

-show _mode_

Show specified mode

-dmenu

Run as dmenu replacement

-theme _theme_

Use specified theme

-modi _modes_

Enable specified modes

-matching _method_

Match method (fuzzy, regex, glob, normal)

-i

Case insensitive matching

CONFIGURATION

~/.config/rofi/config.rasi

Main configuration file in rasi format, controlling modes, keybindings, matching behavior, and default settings.

~/.config/rofi/themes/

Directory for custom theme files that control appearance, colors, fonts, and layout.

~/.local/share/rofi/themes/

Additional theme search path for user-installed themes.

MODES

drun

Desktop application launcher

run

Command launcher

window

Window switcher

ssh

SSH connection manager

keys

Keybinding viewer

combi

Combined modes

CAVEATS

Requires X11 (Wayland support via rofi-wayland). Configuration in ~/.config/rofi/. Themes control appearance extensively. Scripts can extend functionality.

HISTORY

rofi was created by Dave Davenport as a more feature-rich alternative to dmenu. It has become a standard component in many Linux desktop configurations.