130 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
130 lines
5.8 KiB
Markdown
# Symconf
|
|
`symconf` is a CLI tool for managing local application configuration. It implements a
|
|
general model that supports dynamically switching/reloading themes for any application,
|
|
and provides a basic means of templatizing your config files.
|
|
|
|
## Simple example
|
|
Below is a simple example demonstrating two system-wide theme switches:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This GIF shows two `symconf` calls, the first of which applies a `gruvbox` dark theme and
|
|
the second a dark [`monobiome`][1] variant. Each call (of the form `symconf config -m dark -s
|
|
<style>`) indicates a dark mode preference and a particular color palette that should be
|
|
used when populating config file templates. Specifically, in this example, invoking
|
|
`symconf` results in the following app-specific config updates:
|
|
|
|
- **GTK**: reacts to the mode setting and sets `prefer-dark` system-wide, changing general
|
|
GTK-responsive applications like Nautilus and Firefox (and subsequently websites that
|
|
are responsive to `prefers-color-scheme`)
|
|
- **kitty**: theme template is re-generated using the specified palette, and `kitty`
|
|
processes are sent a message to live-reload the new config file
|
|
- **neovim**: a `vim` theme file is generated from the chosen palette, and running
|
|
instances of `neovim` are sent a message to re-source this theme
|
|
- **waybar**: bar styles are updated to match the mode setting
|
|
- **sway**: the background color and window borders are dynamically set to base palette
|
|
colors, and `swaymsg reload` is called
|
|
- **fzf**: a palette-dependent theme is re-generated and re-exported
|
|
- **rofi**: launcher text and highlight colors are set according to the mode and palette,
|
|
applying on next invocation
|
|
|
|
This example highlights the generality of `symconf`, and so long as an app's config can be
|
|
reloaded dynamically, you can use a single `symconf` call to apply themes for an arbitrary
|
|
number of apps at once.
|
|
|
|
# Behavior
|
|
`symconf` uses a simple operational model that symlinks centralized config files to their
|
|
expected locations across the system. This central config directory can then be version
|
|
controlled, and app config files can be updated in one place.
|
|
|
|
App config files can either be concrete (fully-specified) or templates (to be populated by
|
|
values conditional on style, e.g., a palette). When `symconf` is executed with a
|
|
particular mode preference (dark or light) and a style (any other indicator of thematic
|
|
elements, often simply in the form of a palette like `solarized` or `gruvbox`), it
|
|
searches for both concrete and template config files that match and symlinks them to
|
|
registered locations. When necessary, `symconf` will also match and execute scripts to
|
|
reload apps after updating their configuration.
|
|
|
|
You can find more details on how `symconf`'s matching scheme works in
|
|
[Matching](docs/reference/matching).
|
|
|
|
# Configuring
|
|
Before using, you must first set up your config directory to house your config files and
|
|
give `symconf` something to act on. See [Configuring](docs/reference/configuring) for
|
|
details.
|
|
|
|
# Installation
|
|
The recommended way to install `symconf` is via `pipx`, which is particularly well-suited
|
|
for managing Python packages meant to be used as CLI programs. With `pipx` on your system,
|
|
you can install with
|
|
|
|
```sh
|
|
pipx install symconf
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
You can also install via `pip`, or clone and install locally.
|
|
|
|
# Usage
|
|
- `-h --help`: print help message
|
|
- `-c --config-dir`: set the location of the `symconf` config directory
|
|
- `symconf config` is the subcommand used to match and set available config files for
|
|
registered applications
|
|
* `-a --apps`: comma-separate list of registered apps, or `"*"` (default) to consider
|
|
all registered apps.
|
|
* `-m --mode`: preferred lightness mode/scheme, either `light`, `dark`, `any`, or
|
|
`none`.
|
|
* `-s --style`: style indicate, often the name of a color palette, capturing thematic
|
|
details in a config file to be matched. `any` or `none` are reserved keywords (see
|
|
below).
|
|
* `-T --template-vars`: additional groups to use when populating templates, in the form
|
|
`<group>=<value>`, where `<group>` is a template group with a folder
|
|
`$CONFIG_HOME/groups/<group>/` and `<value>` should correspond to a TOML file in this
|
|
folder (i.e., `<value>.toml`).
|
|
|
|
The keywords `any` and `none` can be used when specifying `--mode`, `--style`, or as a
|
|
value in `--template-vars` (and we refer to each of these variables as _factors_ that help
|
|
determine a config match):
|
|
|
|
- `any` will match config files with _any_ value for this factor, preferring config files
|
|
with a value `none`, indicating no dependence on the factor. This is the default value
|
|
when a factor is left unspecified.
|
|
- `none` will match `"none"` directly for a given factor (so no special behavior), but
|
|
used to indicate that a config file is independent of the factor. For instance,
|
|
|
|
```sh
|
|
symconf config -m light -s none
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
will match config files that capture the notion of a light mode, but do not depend on or
|
|
provide further thematic components such as a color palette.
|
|
|
|
## Examples
|
|
- Set a dark mode for all registered apps, matching any available style/palette component:
|
|
|
|
```sh
|
|
symconf config -m dark
|
|
```
|
|
- Set `solarized` theme for `kitty` and match any available mode (light or dark):
|
|
|
|
```sh
|
|
symconf config -s solarized -a kitty
|
|
```
|
|
- Set a dark `gruvbox` theme for multiple apps (but not all):
|
|
|
|
```sh
|
|
symconf config -m dark -s gruvbox -apps="kitty,nvim"
|
|
```
|
|
- Set a dark `gruvbox` theme for all apps, and attempt to match other template elements:
|
|
|
|
```sh
|
|
symconf config -m dark -s gruvbox -T font=mono window=sharp
|
|
```
|
|
|
|
which would attempt to find and load key-value pairs in the files
|
|
`$CONFIG_HOME/groups/font/mono.toml` and `$CONFIG_HOME/groups/window/sharp.toml` to be
|
|
used as values when filling templatized config files.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
[1]: https://github.com/ologio/monobiome
|