Minimal X11 menu launcher - suckless, auditable, fast.

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tmenu reads a newline-delimited list of items from stdin, lets you filter by typing, and executes the selected entry via /bin/sh -c. The entire implementation fits in a single C source file under 300 lines. The only runtime dependency is Xlib.

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Contents

• Why tmenu?
• Quick Start
• Installation
• Usage
• Key Bindings
• Configuration
• Contributing
• Related Projects
• Star History
• License

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Why tmenu?

Feature	tmenu	dmenu	rofi
Source size	under 300 lines	~2500 lines	~15000 lines
Dependencies	Xlib only	Xlib, Xft	Xlib, cairo, pango, ...
Config file	none (compile-time)	none (compile-time)	yes
Executes typed text	yes	yes	no
Launch overhead	minimal	minimal	moderate
Auditable in an hour	yes	hard	no

tmenu follows the suckless philosophy: small, auditable, compile-time configured. No config file parser, no IPC, no scripting layer. Read the source - understand the program.

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Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/tinyopsec/tmenu && cd tmenu && make && sudo make install
tmenu_run

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Installation

From source

git clone https://github.com/tinyopsec/tmenu
cd tmenu
make
sudo make install

Installs to /usr/local/bin/. To change the prefix:

sudo make install PREFIX=/usr

Uninstall:

sudo make uninstall

Requirements

Dependency
Xlib	libx11	libx11-dev
C compiler	gcc	build-essential

Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S tmenu

macOS (XQuartz)

Install XQuartz, then build from source as above.

OpenBSD / FreeBSD / NetBSD

Install libX11 via ports or pkgsrc, then build from source.

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Usage

Basic

# Use the bundled launcher (scans $PATH):
tmenu_run

# Pipe items manually:
printf "st\nfirefox\nhtop\n" | tmenu

Type to filter, navigate with arrow keys, press Enter to execute. If the typed text matches no item, it is executed directly as a shell command.

Flags

Flag	Description
-b	Show menu at the bottom of the screen
-l N	Vertical list with N visible lines
-p text	Prompt displayed left of the input field

Examples

# Vertical launcher with prompt:
printf "st\nfirefox\nthunderbird\n" | tmenu -l 5 -p "run: "

# Power menu at bottom:
printf "suspend\nreboot\npoweroff\n" | tmenu -b -p "power: "

# Session menu:
printf "lock\nlogout\n" | tmenu -b -p "session: "

Window manager integration

dwm / swm:

static const char *dmenucmd[] = { "tmenu_run", NULL };

Recompile your WM after editing the config.

i3:

bindsym $mod+d exec tmenu_run

.xinitrc example:

export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"
picom &
feh --bg-scale ~/wallpaper.png &
exec swm

Debugging

Check binary is available:

which tmenu
which tmenu_run

Run the launcher directly to test:

tmenu_run

If the keybinding does nothing, check:

• $PATH is set before your WM starts (set it in .xinitrc)
• WM config references tmenu_run correctly
• Binary is executable: chmod +x /usr/local/bin/tmenu_run

Test with explicit input:

$ printf "echo hello\n" | tmenu

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⌨ Key Bindings

Key	Action
Enter / KP_Enter	Execute selected item or typed text
Escape	Exit without executing
BackSpace	Delete character left of cursor
Up / Left	Move selection up or left
Down / Right	Move selection down or right
Ctrl+U	Clear entire input field
Ctrl+W	Delete one word left of cursor
Ctrl+K	Move selection up (vertical list)
Ctrl+J	Move selection down (vertical list)

To remap keys, edit the kp() function in tmenu.c and recompile.

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⚙ Configuration

tmenu has no runtime config file. All settings are macros at the top of tmenu.c. Edit and recompile to apply changes:

$EDITOR tmenu.c
make && sudo make install

Compile-time settings

Macro	Default	Description
FONT	"-*-fixed-medium-r-*-*-13-*-*-*-*-*-*-*"	X11 core font string
FGNORM	"#bbbbbb"	Normal item foreground color
BGNORM	"#222222"	Normal item background color
FGSEL	"#eeeeee"	Selected item foreground color
BGSEL	"#005577"	Selected item background color
TOP	1	1 = top of screen, 0 = bottom
LINES	0	Default line count (0 = horizontal)
PROMPT	NULL	Default prompt string

To increase limits, adjust MAXITEMS (default: 65536) and MAXTEXT (default: 256) in tmenu.c.

Example customization

-#define BGSEL   "#005577"
+#define BGSEL   "#8b0000"

-#define FONT    "-*-fixed-medium-r-*-*-13-*-*-*-*-*-*-*"
+#define FONT    "-*-terminus-medium-r-*-*-14-*-*-*-*-*-*-*"

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Contributing

Bug reports and patches are welcome via GitHub Issues and pull requests.

Code style

• No comments in production code
• No external dependencies beyond Xlib
• No unnecessary abstraction
• Compiles clean: gcc -std=c99 -pedantic -Wall -Wextra
• Total source must remain under 300 lines

Features are added by patching the source, not by adding runtime options. Changes that require a config file or a new library dependency will not be accepted.

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Related Projects

Project	Description	Link
dmenu	The original dynamic menu for X	suckless.org
suckless.org	Philosophy behind tmenu	suckless.org
Xlib manual	Reference for X11 programming	x.org

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Star History

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📄 License

MIT. See LICENSE for details.