Custom Applets

Custom applets let you add your own buttons, menus, and live status items to the panel.

Use them when the built-in applets are not enough, or when you want your desktop to show exactly the things you care about.

New here? Walk through Getting Started to build your first applet in Rust, Python, TypeScript, or Go. Use Applet Tooling when you want the glimpse-shell applets command reference.

Two Types

Type	Use it for
command	A button or menu that runs commands.
exec	A script that continuously controls what the applet shows.

Applet Projects

The recommended workflow is to keep each custom applet in its own project directory:

glimpse-shell applets new counter --lang python
cd counter
glimpse-shell applets dev

Each project has an applet.toml file. glimpse-shell applets dev creates a temporary .dev.toml entry while you work, and glimpse-shell applets link installs the applet for normal use by symlinking applet.toml into ~/.config/glimpse/applets.

Add __dev__ to a panel section to show applets started with glimpse-shell applets dev:

[[panels]]
right = ["network", "__dev__", "battery"]

Quick Launcher

# ~/.config/glimpse/applets/terminal.toml
id = "terminal"
type = "command"

[command]
icon = "utilities-terminal-symbolic"
tooltip = "Open terminal"
command = ["ghostty"]

# ~/.config/glimpse/config.toml
[[panels]]
right = ["terminal", "network", "battery"]

Shell Syntax

Commands are always explicit. If you want shell features such as pipes, redirects, ~, variables, or &&, run a shell yourself:

[applets.note-time]
extends = "command"
icon = "document-edit-symbolic"
command = ["sh", "-c", "date >> ~/.cache/glimpse-notes.log"]

This keeps simple commands simple and makes complex commands clear.

Which One Should I Use?

You want	Choose
Open an app	command
Run one command on click	command
Show a small menu	command
Show changing text or icons	exec
React to clicks inside a custom status widget	exec
Build a mini applet with your own script	exec

Reference

Page	Covers
Getting Started	Build and run a generated SDK applet.
Applet Tooling	glimpse-shell applets new, dev, link, ls, doctor, and related subcommands.
Exec Applet	Applet config and options.
Exec SDK	SDK installation and language examples.
Line Protocol	Raw protocol commands, message shapes, and events.
Components	Popover component fields and component types.