Simple Launcher for Sway

I wanted to share something that has been in my i3/sway config for quite a while. I don’t know where I got it from exactly, but I’ve found it quite useful over the years. It uses binding modes to create a simple program launcher.

Binding modes deactivate all normal bindings when switching to them. Only the bindings defined in the binding mode are active.

set $mode_launcher "Start: [f]irefox [c]hat [k]eepassxc [q]uit"

mode $mode_launcher {
    bindsym f exec firefox
    bindsym c exec ~/.config/sway/scripts/social.sh
    bindsym k exec keepassxc

    bindsym Return mode "default"
    bindsym Escape mode "default"
    bindsym $mod+o mode "default"
    bindsym q mode "default"
}

bindsym $mod+o mode $mode_launcher

After going into the mode with $mod+0, we can start the applications with the relevant keys. The mode can be exited using Return, Esc, $mod+o or q.