KDE configuration to run alacritty in drop-down mode

README.md

This idea is absed on the following snippet for wezterm: https://gitlab.com/-/snippets/4798512

This should work with most terminals, as long as they allow for custom titles or if you don't mind using them only in dropdown mode.

The idea is to create a down rule that forces the window to stay in the position you want, and to create a script using kdotool to execute the terminal if it's not running, and minimize/show it if it's running.

This should also work in x11 with minimal changes. I personally like for the terminal to stay on top always, and for the keybind to hide/show it, regardless of my current focus since I work with two monitors and the first press gaining focus when I want to hide it is annoying. In any case, here is the script excerpt in case the snippet link is deleted and that interaction is preferred, this should also work with xdotool:

toggle() {
  WINDOW_ID=$(kdotool search --name "${NAME_WINDOW_SEARCH}")
  ACTIVE_ID=$(kdotool getactivewindow)

  case "${WINDOW_ID}" in
    "")
      dbus-launch ${TERMINAL_BIN} ${ADDITIONAL_ARGS}
      ;;
    "${ACTIVE_ID}")
      echo "Focused->Hidden"
      kdotool windowminimize "${WINDOW_ID}"
      ;;
    *)
      echo "Hidden/Unfocused->Focused"
      kdotool windowactivate "${WINDOW_ID}"
      ;;
  esac
}

We will create several window rules to enforce the positioning of the terminal, ths can be changed to the preference of the user. The only important part is where we define the window title, it must be the same as the one defined in the script.

Now we only need a keybind that launches the script and it will work. Remember making the script executable too.

alacritty_drop.zsh

#!/usr/bin/env bash

name_window_search="AlacrittyDrop"
active_flag_file="$0.flag" # Sadly we need to use a flag file to track the window status

toggle() {
  window_id=$(kdotool search --name "${name_window_search}")

  case "${window_id}" in
    "")
      # Window not found, running. Using custom config to disable borders. Check alacritty config docs https://alacritty.org/config-alacritty.html
      dbus-launch alacritty --config-file $HOME/.config/alacritty/alacritty_drop.toml -T $name_window_search
      touch $active_flag_file
      ;;
    *)
      # I did try using "windowstate --toggle MINIMIZED $window_id" but it doesn't focus the window on maximize
      if [ -f $active_flag_file ]; then
        # Window active, minimize
        kdotool windowminimize "${window_id}"
        rm $active_flag_file
      else
        # Window minimized, show and focus
        kdotool windowactivate "${window_id}"
        touch $active_flag_file
      fi
      ;;
  esac
}

toggle

Thanks! This was really useful. Though, I ended up writing something different based on your idea.

This supports returning focus if already open and doesn't need the flag file.

#!/usr/bin/env bash

window_class="AlacrittyDrop"

window_is_minimized() {
  local target="$1"
  [[ -z "$target" ]] && return 1
  kdotool windowstate --is MINIMIZED "$target" >/dev/null 2>&1
}

launch_alacritty() {
  # setsid --fork detaches cleanly so the script can exit immediately
  setsid -f alacritty --class "$window_class" >/dev/null 2>&1

  local wid=""
  # Wait briefly for the new window so we can ensure full width (window rule seemed unreliable here)
  for _ in {1..40}; do
    wid=$(kdotool search --class "$window_class" 2>/dev/null | head -n1)
    if [[ -n "$wid" ]]; then
      kdotool windowsize "$wid" 100% y >/dev/null 2>&1
      break
    fi
    sleep 0.05
  done
}

toggle() {
  window_id=$(kdotool search --class "${window_class}" 2>/dev/null | head -n1)
  focused_window=$(kdotool getactivewindow 2>/dev/null | head -n1)

  case "${window_id}" in
    "")
      # Window not found, launch.
      launch_alacritty
      ;;
    *)
      if window_is_minimized "${window_id}"; then
        # Window minimized, show and focus
        kdotool windowactivate "${window_id}"
      else
        if [[ -n "${focused_window}" && "${window_id}" == "${focused_window}" ]]; then
          # Window active and focused, minimize
          kdotool windowminimize "${window_id}"
        else
          # Window active but unfocused, just focus it
          kdotool windowactivate "${window_id}"
        fi
      fi
      ;;
  esac
}

toggle

Thanks for the script!

I had to explicitly invoke the script with bash /path/to/alacritty-dropdown.bash for it to work on Fedora 43

[Custom Commands][net.local.alacritty-dropdown.bash.desktop]
Exec=bash /path/to/alacritty-dropdown.bash
Name=alacritty-dropdown

Here are the rules for Kde / Kwin (without window decoration):

[Settings for AlacrittyDrop]
Description=Settings for AlacrittyDrop
desktops=\\0
desktopsrule=2
maximizehoriz=true
maximizehorizrule=2
maximizevert=true
maximizevertrule=2
noborder=true
noborderrule=3
position=1829,0
positionrule=2
size=1920,1080
sizerule=2
skippager=true
skippagerrule=2
skipswitcher=true
skipswitcherrule=2
wmclass=AlacrittyDrop
wmclassmatch=1