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Using rofi wrapper around rncw

Peek 2025-12-20 00-13

This is a script named rncd (Rename Current Desktop) in my ~/.local/bin which is bound to a hotkey in my keyboard. Works fine for me.

#!/usr/bin/bash

# 1. Get current workspace index
idx=$(xdotool get_desktop)

# 2. Extract current names and pick the one at our index
current_name=$(xprop -root _NET_DESKTOP_NAMES | perl -ne 'print "$1\n" while /"(.*?)"/g' | sed -n "$((idx + 1))p")

# 3. Prompt user via Rofi
# Using -mesg to show current name and -filter for initial text
new_name=$(rofi -dmenu -p "Rename Workspace $idx:" -mesg "Current: $current_name" -filter "$current_name" -lines 0 -theme-str 'window {width: 500px;}')

# Alternative if the above doesn't work:
# new_name=$(echo "$current_name" | rofi -dmenu -p "Rename Workspace $idx:" -lines 0 -theme-str 'window {width: 500px;}')

# 4. If user didn't hit Escape or cancel, feed it to your C tool
if [[ -n "$new_name" ]]; then
    rncw "$new_name"
fi

rncw (Rename Current Workspace)

A lightweight, high-performance C utility designed to rename the currently active workspace in X11 environments (Openbox, LXQt, Fluxbox, etc.).

The Problem

Most CLI tools like xprop handle workspace names as standard strings. When dealing with a large number of workspaces (e.g., 40), these tools often fail to correctly insert the Null bytes (\0) required by the EWMH specification to separate names. This results in the "Panel Stretch" bug, where the entire list of names is concatenated into the first workspace's label.

rncw fixes this by communicating directly with the X Server, performing memory-level surgery on the _NET_DESKTOP_NAMES property to ensure names remain individual and correctly indexed.

Building for X11 (Linux/BSD)

1. Dependencies

You need the X11 development libraries installed on your system.

  • Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S libx11 gcc
  • Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install libx11-dev gcc
  • Fedora: sudo dnf install libX11-devel gcc

2. Compilation

Compile the source using gcc:

gcc -O2 -o rncw rncw.c -lX11

3. Installation

Move the binary to your path for global access:

sudo mv rncw /usr/local/bin/

Usage

CLI Mode

To rename the workspace you are currently sitting on:

rncw "Development"

Rofi Integration (The "GG" Setup)

To use rncw with a graphical prompt, use this Zsh wrapper. It extracts the current name, opens a pre-filled Rofi prompt, and feeds the result to rncw.

#!/usr/bin/env zsh
idx=$(xdotool get_desktop)
current_name=$(xprop -root _NET_DESKTOP_NAMES | perl -ne 'print "$1\n" while /"(.*?)"/g' | sed -n "$((idx + 1))p")
new_name=$(echo "" | rofi -dmenu -p "Rename:" -filter "$current_name" -lines 0)

if [[ -n "$new_name" ]]; then
    rncw "$new_name"
fi

Wayland Support

Important: The current C implementation uses Xlib, which is specific to X11.

Wayland does not have a global "Root Window" property system like X11. Workspace management on Wayland is handled by the specific compositor. If you migrate to Wayland, you do not need this C tool; instead, use the native IPC commands:

  • Sway: swaymsg rename workspace to "Name"
  • Hyprland: hyprctl dispatch renameworkspace <id> "Name"
  • River: riverctl set-repeat (depends on tags)

For X11 "Daily Drivers," rncw remains the most robust solution for maintaining clean panels and workspace organization.

Technical Details

rncw performs the following steps:

  1. Queries _NET_NUMBER_OF_DESKTOPS to safely allocate memory.
  2. Queries _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP to find your location.
  3. Retrieves the binary blob from _NET_DESKTOP_NAMES.
  4. Reconstructs a new buffer, replacing only the segment belonging to the current index.
  5. Uses XChangeProperty with PropModeReplace to update the X Server.