Configuration: Named Workspaces - niri

Table of Contents

Overview
Layout config overrides

Overview

^{Since: 0.1.6}

You can declare named workspaces at the top level of the config:

workspace "browser"

workspace "chat" {
    open-on-output "Some Company CoolMonitor 1234"
}

Contrary to normal dynamic workspaces, named workspaces always exist, even when they have no windows. Otherwise, they behave like any other workspace: you can move them around, move to a different monitor, and so on.

Actions like focus-workspace or move-column-to-workspace can refer to workspaces by name. Also, you can use an open-on-workspace window rule to make a window open on a specific named workspace:

// Declare a workspace named "chat" that opens on the "DP-2" output.
workspace "chat" {
    open-on-output "DP-2"
}

// Open Fractal on the "chat" workspace, if it runs at niri startup.
window-rule {
    match at-startup=true app-id=r#"^org\.gnome\.Fractal$"#
    open-on-workspace "chat"
}

Named workspaces initially appear in the order they are declared in the config file. When editing the config while niri is running, newly declared named workspaces will appear at the very top of a monitor.

If you delete some named workspace from the config, the workspace will become normal (unnamed), and if there are no windows on it, it will be removed (as any other normal workspace). There's no way to give a name to an already existing workspace, but you can simply move windows that you want to a new, empty named workspace.

^{Since: 0.1.9} open-on-output can now use monitor manufacturer, model, and serial. Before, it could only use the connector name.

^{Since: 25.01} You can use set-workspace-name and unset-workspace-name actions to change workspace names dynamically.

^{Since: 25.02} Named workspaces no longer update/forget their original output when opening a new window on them (unnamed workspaces will keep doing that). This means that named workspaces "stick" to their original output in more cases, reflecting their more permanent nature. Explicitly moving a named workspace to a different monitor will still update its original output.

Layout config overrides

^{Since: next release}

You can customize layout settings for named workspaces with a layout {} block:

workspace "aesthetic" {
    // Layout config overrides just for this named workspace.
    layout {
        gaps 32

        struts {
            left 64
            right 64
            bottom 64
            top 64
        }

        border {
            on
            width 4
        }

        // ...any other setting.
    }
}

It accepts all the same options as the top-level layout {} block, except:

empty-workspace-above-first: this is an output-level setting, doesn't make sense on a workspace.
insert-hint: currently we always draw these at the output level, so it's not customizable per-workspace.

In order to unset a flag, write it with false, e.g.:

layout {
    // Enabled globally.
    always-center-single-column
}

workspace "uncentered" {
    layout {
        // Unset on this workspace.
        always-center-single-column false
    }
}

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Overview

Layout config overrides

Usage

Configuration

Development