#theexclusionprinciple

terminal emulator preference is mostly about features, your DE/WM, and how you prefer to customise stuff.

i really liked kitty and originally picked it partly for the name and modern features:

GPU acceleration

multiple terminals on a single 'instance' - reducing memory overhead

glyph/emoji/ligature support

it's also highly configurable and the configuration options are well-documented.

however, i ran into a ton of small issues:

kitty w/ TERM=xterm-kitty ironically causes more issues processing certain key combos and escape codes than setting it to xterm-256color (not officially supported in kitty)

the dev is aware of TERM=xterm-kitty issues but won't fix them

alacritty uses TERM=alacritty and works fine

kitty bugs out when running neovim inside a dtach session via my resnvim.py wrapper script; alacritty and xterm have no such issues

kitty also bugs out when sending neovim files/commands via --remote and --remote-send while alacritty and xterm are fine

the dev considers multiplexers like tmux a "horrible hack" and is uninterested in supporting them inside kitty

he's also uninterested in adding tmux-style sessions (despite kitty having the other main feature of tmux: splits and tabs)

he's not as hostile as the hyprland devs, but kitty is feature-rich, why get mad when people ask for features they use daily in other terminals ?

it's not elegant and i'm still tweaking but this is roughly what i got:

$mod = super

mod1 = alt

custom scripts used:

$launchers = path/to/custom/rofi/script.py

$i3w22 = path/to/workspace/swapping/script.sh

calling rofi script in different modes:

$mod + backspace = exec $launchers 'pinned'

$mod + mod1 + minus = exec $launchers 'scratch'

$mod + mod1 + 0 = exec $launchers 'special'

the pinned mode is like a favourite applications selector and will either launch or focus the selected application (if open). the scratch mode is similar except it will first add a unique mark and then move that application to the scratchpad, or call it from the scratchpad via that mark. i use this to keep stuff like my password manager and a literal scratchpad notepad handy (it's just neovim w/ buftype=none set). the special mode is where i keep special preconfigured workspaces using the i3 layouts feature (eg my voip one that has my patchbay and noise gate vst). this mode either creates the workspace if it doesn't exist, or closes it if it does.

main workspace keybinds:

$mod + [shift +] {1..8} = [move container to] workspace {1..8}

$mod + [shift +] tab = [move container to] workspace back_and_forth (last used workspace)

$mod + [shift +] {bracketleft,bracketright} = [move container to] workspace next_on_output (1-4 are on output 0, 5-8 are on output 1)

$mod + [shift + ] numbersign = [move container to output right;] focus output right

$mod + mod1 + numbersign = move workspace to output right

$mod + shift + mod1 + numbersign = exec $i3wss

the semantic here is that $mod + <key> performs a non-destructive action on the level of workspaces and the shift key will move a container following the logic of <key>. the use of alt/mod1 is for 'alternative' actions, such as moving a workspace instead of a container (i try to use this rough 'action, shift option, alt action' semantic across all my keybinds). the $i3wss script will swap the two visible workspaces on my displays.

scratchpad stuff:

$mod + minus = scratchpad show

$mod + shift + minus = mark --add scratchpad; move scratchpad

most of the hard work is taken care of by that $launchers script that lets me have easy access to specific scratchpad containers. normal scratchpad operation is done by these keybinds here (the reason i mark scratchpad containers is from a failed experiment to see if i could avoid seeing the $launchers containers when cycling through the scratchpad. i really want 2 scratchpads - but that's not a thing lmao)

4: Have you ever stolen a street sign before?

No, but my friend group in college had a habit of collecting fallen signs. Iirc I was never part of actually grabbing any, but I was around for them discussing it.

31: Can you change the oil on a car?