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 prints the selected entry (or the typed text, if it matches nothing) to stdout, dmenu-style. tmenu_run pipes that straight into sh, so it works as an app launcher out of the box. The whole thing fits in one C 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, launcher-style:
printf "st\nfirefox\nhtop\n" | tmenu | sh

# Use it like dmenu, in a script, no execution involved:
printf "apple\nbanana\norange\n" | tmenu >> grocerylist.txt

Type to filter, navigate with arrow keys, press Enter to print the selection to stdout. If what you typed matches no item, tmenu prints the typed text instead. Piping that into sh (as tmenu_run does) is what turns it into a launcher; piping it anywhere else just gets you the selected line.

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.