Search and launch installed desktop applications.
Good to know
Needs elephant running with the desktopapplications provider installed.
Walker
A GTK4 application launcher and menu for Wayland
Unclaimed
Built by @abenz1267 on GitHub. This page was written by @iluxav from public sources, last updated for v2.17.1 (2026-09-24), and may lag behind new releases.
Maintain Walker? Claim itLaunch apps, search files, calculate, pick clipboard entries and symbols, manage Bluetooth and audio, and build your own menus from one keyboard-driven launcher.
What you can do with it
Do quick calculations by typing = and an expression.
Find and open files by typing / and part of the name.
Run shell commands from the launcher.
Search the web with search engines you define.
Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typing :.
Find and insert special symbols and emoji by typing . and a name.
Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu-style menus fed by scripts.
Show all 25
Search official and AUR packages, install or remove them, and list what you installed.
Keep a simple todo list with time tracking, scheduling and notifications.
Connect and disconnect Bluetooth devices from the launcher.
Good to know
Basic management only.
Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout of each provider's items with GTK XML files.
Good to know
The default theme cannot be changed; create your own theme instead.
Keep Walker running as a service so it opens instantly.
Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in config.toml.
List open windows and focus one by name.
Good to know
Walker's own docs note windows may not always get focus.
Start stored sets of workspaces and apps on Niri.
Good to know
Niri only.
Save bookmarks, sort them into categories, open them in a chosen browser and import them from browsers.
Look up passwords from 1Password and Bitwarden and copy them from the launcher.
Good to know
Needs the matching elephant provider and the password manager's CLI set up.
Search and manage DNF packages on Fedora.
List and run Niri compositor actions.
Good to know
Niri only.
Ask for a password in a script with a masked input field.
Pick the sound input and output device.
Play, pause and skip media in running players.
Search and manage apt packages on Debian-based systems.
Open the launcher automatically when an empty Niri workspace gets focus.
Good to know
Needs Walker running as a service; deferred while Niri's overview is open.
Before you upgrade
Newest firstv2.13.02026-01-08
Rename custom menu theme files from item_menus:<name>.xml to item_menus-<name>.xml.
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v2.13.02026-01-08
Provider prefixes in your config are merged with the defaults instead of replacing them.
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v2.11.32025-11-27
Commands no longer appear in default results; use the runner's prefix or add it back to the default providers.
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Show 10 older
v2.11.22025-11-21
A single click now activates an item; set single_click_activation = false for double click.
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v2.11.22025-11-21
Action hints are hidden in dmenu mode by default (hide_action_hints_dmenu = true).
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v2.9.32025-11-05
Add a GtkBox with id GlobalKeybinds to your layout to keep global keybind hints, as shown in the v2.9.0 release notes.
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v2.9.32025-11-05
Replace the after-action AsyncReloadKeepSelection with Nothing.
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v2.8.22025-11-01
Replace providers.previews with providers.ignore_preview, which lists the providers that should not show previews.
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v2.8.22025-11-01
Upgrade elephant together with Walker; v2.8.1 speaks elephant's new protocol.
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v2.7.12025-10-26
Clipboard items show three lines of text by default instead of one.
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v2.2.02025-10-07
Rewrite custom keybind and action settings in the new format; compare with the default config.toml.
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v2.2.02025-10-07
Add a GtkLabel with id Error (class error) to your theme's layout.xml, as shown in the v2.2.0 release notes.
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v2.2.02025-10-07
Upgrade elephant to v2 together with Walker 2.
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Release history 19
v2.17.12026-09-24
Have Walker open by itself when you focus an empty Niri workspace.
Details
A [niri] config section with launch_on_empty_workspace, launch_on_startup and cmd_on_esc; a SimpleDelete after-action; an edit action for desktop apps; blur_corner_radius.
v2.17.1; the Niri launch needs Walker running as a service.
Added: Open the launcher automatically when an empty Niri…Improved: Search and launch installed desktop applications.
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.17.02026-07-16
Search and manage apt packages on Debian and Ubuntu.
Details
An aptpackages provider, Proton Pass actions, and a show_pinned_only clipboard action.
v2.17.0.
Added: Search and manage apt packages on Debian-based syst…Improved: Look up passwords from 1Password and Bitwarden and…Improved: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.16.22026-05-03
Blur what is behind the launcher on compositors that support it.
Details
Support for the Wayland ext_background effect, keybind hints as symbols, and a fix for crashes and ghost windows. Groups v2.16.1 and v2.16.2.
v2.16.2; blur needs a compositor with the ext-background-effect protocol.
Improved: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.16.02026-04-09
Control media playback from the launcher.
Details
A playerctl provider.
v2.16.0; needs playerctl and elephant's playerctl provider.
Added: Play, pause and skip media in running players.
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
Read the evidence
v2.15.22026-03-11
Switch audio inputs and outputs from the launcher.
Details
A wireplumber provider, dmenu -X/--selectsingle to pick a single item automatically, and an exclusive_zone shell setting. Groups v2.15.0 to v2.15.2.
v2.15.2; needs elephant's wireplumber provider.
Added: Pick the sound input and output device.Improved: Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.14.22026-02-14
Use Walker as a password prompt in scripts.
Details
New --password flag, as_window to run as a normal window, a layer option (overlay or top), ListView and GridView layouts, and autoplay_videos (default false).
v2.14.2.
Added: Ask for a password in a script with a masked input…Improved: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.14.12026-01-22
Run Niri actions from the launcher.
Details
A niriactions provider; placeholders prefixed with cmd: are filled from a command's output; dmenu batches input for speed. Groups v2.14.0 and v2.14.1.
v2.14.1.
Added: List and run Niri compositor actions.Improved: Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.13.02026-01-08
Pin clipboard entries so they stay at hand.
Details
Clipboard pinning and relative timestamps, Bitwarden actions, Bluetooth power on/off, a DNF packages provider and SCSS theme support. Custom menu theme files are renamed from item_menus:themes.xml to item_menus-themes.xml, and provider prefixes are merged with the defaults.
v2.13.0.
Improved: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…Improved: Look up passwords from 1Password and Bitwarden and…Improved: Connect and disconnect Bluetooth devices from the l…Added: Search and manage DNF packages on Fedora.Improved: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Action required: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Behavior changed: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.12.22025-12-09
Type a URL and open it directly from the web search.
Details
Websearch opens the query as a URL when it is one; actions_as_menu moves an item's actions into a submenu; hide_return_action; files can be refreshed by hand. Groups v2.12.0 to v2.12.2.
v2.12.2.
Improved: Search the web with search engines you define.Improved: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.11.32025-11-27
Keep command-runner entries out of default search results.
Details
The runner is no longer one of the default providers; dmenu is forced to one column.
v2.11.3.
Behavior changed: Run shell commands from the launcher.
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
Read the evidence
v2.11.22025-11-21
Show results as a grid with a column count per provider and move through it with the arrow keys.
Details
A columns setting per provider or menu, arrow-key grid navigation, clickable keybind hints, single_click_activation (default true), hide_action_hints and hide_action_hints_dmenu (default true), and LocalSend actions for clipboard items and files. Groups v2.11.0 to v2.11.2.
v2.11.2.
Improved: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Behavior changed / inferred: Search and launch installed desktop applications.Behavior changed: Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu…Improved: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.10.02025-11-10
Reopen the launcher with your last search still typed in.
Details
New resume_last_query option, an unset keyword to remove default binds, 1Password provider actions, and a visit-URL action for Arch packages.
v2.10.0; 1Password needs elephant's 1password provider.
Improved: Search and launch installed desktop applications.Improved: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…Added / inferred: Look up passwords from 1Password and Bitwarden and…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.9.32025-11-05
Save, categorise and open bookmarks, and import them from your browsers.
Details
Bookmarks provider support, pausing the clipboard history, an emergency mode when elephant is unavailable, and separate global and per-item keybind hints. The AsyncReloadKeepSelection after-action was removed. Groups v2.9.0 to v2.9.3.
v2.9.3; bookmarks need elephant's bookmarks provider.
Added: Save bookmarks, sort them into categories, open the…Improved: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…Action required: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Action required: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.8.22025-11-01
Jump through long result lists ten items at a time with Page Up and Page Down.
Details
Page Up/Down navigation (v2.7.2), hide_quick_activation, a per-provider argument delimiter, support for elephant's new protocol (v2.8.1), and file items outside $HOME (v2.8.2). providers.previews became the ignore list providers.ignore_preview (v2.7.4). Groups v2.7.2 to v2.8.2.
v2.8.2; needs an elephant release with the new protocol.
Action requiredAction required / inferredImproved: Find and open files by typing / and part of the nam…Improved: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.7.12025-10-26
Preview clipboard entries, including images, before pasting them.
Details
Clipboard items get a real preview (v2.7.0), and providers.previews chooses which providers show previews. Niri sessions are supported (v2.6.2), the provider list shows configured prefixes, and close_on_open considers what is open. Groups v2.6.0 to v2.7.1.
v2.7.1.
Improved: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…Behavior changed: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…Added: Start stored sets of workspaces and apps on Niri.
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.5.62025-10-20
Switch to an open window by typing its name after a prefix.
Details
A default prefix for the windows provider; file previews load asynchronously with caching and downscaling. Groups v2.5.1 to v2.5.6.
v2.5.6; needs elephant's windows provider.
Added / inferred: List open windows and focus one by name.Improved: Find and open files by typing / and part of the nam…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.5.02025-10-14
Open the launcher straight into one provider or provider set from a keybinding.
Details
New actions provider:<name> and set:<name> jump to a provider or set. dmenu gets -i/--index to print the chosen index instead of its text. Themes get a dark or light class on the window. Groups v2.2.1 to v2.5.0.
v2.5.0.
Improved: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…Improved: Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu…Improved: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Now works: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v2.2.02025-10-07
Bind your own keys to any provider's actions, overriding only the ones you change.
Details
v2.0.0 rewrote how keybinds and actions are configured. Since v2.0.2 your config is merged with the defaults, so you only list the actions you change; v2.1.0 adds provider sets, a per-provider max results and going back to parent menus; v2.2.0 falls back to defaults on a broken config or theme and shows an error box. Groups v2.0.0 to v2.2.0.
Also: --nohints hides keyboard hints; Nerd Font icons work; a debug config option prints pressed keys.
v2.2.0; needs elephant v2.
Added: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…Action required: Rebind each provider's actions to your own keys in…Action required: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Action required / inferredImproved: Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)
v1.2.12025-10-02
Starting point
Starting point
Launch installed apps and switch between search modes from one keyboard-driven window.
Details
What Walker could do before October 2025: providers served by elephant, selected by prefix (= calculator, / files, : clipboard, . symbols, ; provider list), a dmenu mode, custom menus and themes in ~/.config/walker.
Build with cargo build --release or install from Nix; needs GTK4 4.6+, gtk4-layer-shell, cairo, poppler-glib and a running elephant with its providers.
Added: Search and launch installed desktop applications.Added: Do quick calculations by typing = and an expression.Added: Find and open files by typing / and part of the nam…Added: Run shell commands from the launcher.Added: Search the web with search engines you define.Added: Browse and paste from your clipboard history by typ…Added: Find and insert special symbols and emoji by typing…Added: Show your own menus, defined in elephant, and dmenu…Added: Search official and AUR packages, install or remove…Added: Keep a simple todo list with time tracking, schedul…Added: Connect and disconnect Bluetooth devices from the l…Added: Restyle the launcher with CSS and change the layout…Added: Keep Walker running as a service so it opens instan…
Seeded by @iluxav with Claude Code (canido)