niri hot-key helper script to either Raise, Cycle or Spawn an App.

raise-cycle-or-spawn.sh

#!/usr/bin/env bash
#######################################################################################
## Raise, Cycle, or Spawn                                                            ##
##                                                                                   ##
## A helper script for the niri window manager that implements                       ##
## “raise-or-run” behavior with window cycling.                                      ##
##                                                                                   ##
## Based on and improved from presto8’s script:                                      ##
## https://github.com/YaLTeR/niri/discussions/2602#discussioncomment-14721738        ##
#######################################################################################
## Installation                                                                      ##
## ------------                                                                      ##
## 1. Place this script somewhere in your $PATH (e.g. ~/.local/bin),                 ##
##    make it executable, and remove the .sh extension:                              ##
##                                                                                   ##
##      chmod +x raise-cycle-or-spawn                                                ##
##                                                                                   ##
## Usage                                                                             ##
## -----                                                                             ##
## 2. Create a bind in your niri config with spawn-sh to run the script with the     ## 
##    two arguments. (1) niri app_id, (2) app executable name this way it will       ##
##    work for both scenarios.                                                       ##
##                                                                                   ##
##    Exmaple 1, where app_id and executable name are NOT the same:                  ##
##      Mod+E { spawn-sh "raise-cycle-or-spawn org.gnome.Nautilus nautilus"; }       ##
##                                                                                   ##
##    Exmaple 2, where app_id and executable name are the same:                      ## 
##      Mod+B { spawn-sh "raise-cycle-or-spawn brave-browser brave-browser"; }       ##
##                                                                                   ##
## Behavior                                                                          ##
## --------                                                                          ##
##   • If no matching window exists → spawn the application                          ##
##   • If one matching window exists → focus (raise) it                              ##
##   • If multiple matching windows exist → cycle focus between them                 ##
#######################################################################################

set -euo pipefail

raise_or_cycle() {
  local app_id="$1"

  local tmp
  tmp="$(mktemp)"
  trap 'rm -f "$tmp"' EXIT

  niri msg --json windows >"$tmp"

  mapfile -t ids < <(jq -r --arg app "$app_id" \
    '.[] | select(.app_id == $app) | .id' <"$tmp")

  ((${#ids[@]})) || return 1

  local focused
  focused="$(jq -r '.[] | select(.is_focused) | .id' <"$tmp")"

  local next_idx=0
  for ((i = 0; i < ${#ids[@]} - 1; i++)); do
    if [[ "${ids[$i]}" == "$focused" ]]; then
      next_idx=$((i + 1))
      break
    fi
  done

  niri msg action focus-window --id "${ids[$next_idx]}"
  exit 0
}

# Usage: script <app_id> <command> [args...]
app_id="${1:-}"
shift || true

if [[ -z "$app_id" || $# -lt 1 ]]; then
  echo "Usage: $0 <app_id> <command...>" >&2
  exit 2
fi

# If a window exists, focus/cycle and exit.
if raise_or_cycle "$app_id"; then
  exit 0
fi

# Otherwise launch via niri, so it behaves like a compositor spawn.
niri msg action spawn -- "$@"