alttab

Alt-tab style window carousel for Hyprland. Shows live previews of windows; cycle with Tab/arrows and pick with Enter/Release.

output.mp4

Requirements

• Hyprland (plugin API)
• CMake 3.27+
• C++23 compiler

Build

git clone https://github.com/ItsOhen/alttab.git
cd alttab
make release

The plugin .so will be in build/. Load it in hyprland.conf:

plugin = /path/to/build/alttab.so

or with:

hyprctl plugin load /path/to/build/alttab.so

Keybinds

The plugin hooks Alt+Tab.

• Tab / Right / Down / d / s — next window (Shift for previous)
• Shift+Tab / Left / Up / a / w — previous window
• Enter / Space — confirm and focus selected window
• Escape — close carousel without changing focus
• Release Alt — confirm and focus selected window

Configuration

In hyprland.conf, under plugin { alttab { ... } }:

Option	Type	Default	Description
style	string	carousel	Style to use: carousel, grid, slide
font_size	int	24	Font size for window titles
border_size	int	1	Border width
border_rounding	int	0	Corner rounding
border_rounding_power	float	2.0	Rounding curve power
border_active	gradient	0xff00ccdd	Active window border gradient
border_inactive	gradient	0xaabbccdd	Inactive window border gradient
blur	bool	true	Blur background
dim	bool	true	Dim inactive windows
dim_amount	float	0.3	Dim amount (0.0 - 1.0)
powersave	bool	true	Only draw static backgrounds
live_preview	bool	true	Show live window previews
preview_cutoff	float	0.25	How much of the window have to be visible to show live preview
animation_speed	float	1.0	Animation speed (in seconds)
unfocused_alpha	float	0.6	Alpha for non-focused previews
window_size	float	0.3	Base-size of windows, in % of monitor size
window_size_active	float	1.2	Active window size multiplier
window_size_inactive	float	0.7	Inactive window size multiplier
warp	float	0.2	How much windows bunch up along the edges. Values above 1 expand outside monitor sides [0.0 - 2.0]
tilt	float	10.0	How much the view tilts up and down, in degrees (90 makes a circle)
split_monitor	bool	true	Show each monitor as a new carousel
monitor_spacing	float	0.3	Vertical space between monitor rows, in % of monitor height
monitor_animation_speed	float	0.4	Monitor up/down animation speed, in seconds
monitor_fade	float	0.4	Monitor fade animation duration, in seconds
include_special	bool	true	Show special workspace windows
bring_to_active	bool	false	Bring workspace with selected window to current monitor
grace	int	100	Grace period before carousel shows (in ms)

Style-specific options

Carousel (carousel {...})

Option	Type	Default	Description
size	float	0.5	Carousel radius, in % of monitor
window_size	float	0.3	Window size, in % of monitor
active	float	1.2	Active window size multiplier
inactive	float	0.6	Inactive window size multiplier

Grid (grid {...})

Option	Type	Default	Description
size	float	0.8	Grid width, in % of monitor
columns	int	4	Number of columns
window_size	float	0.3	Window height, in % of monitor
active	float	1.0	Active window size multiplier
inactive	float	1.0	Inactive window size multiplier
spacing	float	0	Spacing between cells (in pixels)

Slide (slide {...})

Option	Type	Default	Description
window_size	float	0.3	Window height, in % of monitor
active	float	1.0	Active window height multiplier
inactive	float	1.0	Inactive window height multiplier
spacing	float	50	Spacing between windows (in pixels)

Note: Hyprland.conf reloads on save by default.

Example

plugin {
  alttab {
    powersave = true
    dim = true
    dim_amount = 0.3
    blur = on
    font_size = 32

    border_size = 2
    border_rounding = 2
    border_rounding_power = 2
    border_active = rgba(33ccffee) rgba(00ff99ee)
    border_inactive = rgba(595959aa) rgba(00ff99ee) rgba(33ccffee) rgba(00ff99ee) 45deg

    animation_speed = 0.7
    unfocused_alpha = 0.5
    include_special = false

    window_size = 0.35
    window_size_active = 1.1
    window_size_inactive = 0.8

    carousel {
      size = 0.5
      window_size = 0.3
      active = 1.2
      inactive = 0.5
    }

    grid {
      size = 0.8
      columns = 4
      active = 1.05
      inactive = 1
      spacing = 30
    }

    slide {
      window_size = 0.3
      active = 1.1
      inactive = 1.0
      spacing = 100
    }

    monitor_spacing = 0.4
    monitor_animation_speed = 0.4

    warp = 0.1
    tilt = 12
    split_monitor = true
    bring_to_active = false
    grace = 150
    style = grid
  }
}