Qst, pronounced "quest", is a TUI Linux application launcher built with Rust + Ratatui.

Highlights

• Fast .desktop app scanning and fuzzy search.
• Usage/favorites-based ordering.
• Launch arguments support.
• File explorer mode enabled by default.
• Keyboard-first navigation and customization.
• Extensible plugin system with script-based plugins.

Plugin model

qst is the host runtime. Plugins are script-based and live in ~/.config/qst/scripts/. Plugins can define custom triggers, query handling, and output formatting via a simple line-oriented protocol.

Scripts can be executable files (any language) or extension-based scripts run through supported interpreters (.sh, .bash, .zsh, .fish, .py, .pl, .rb, .js, .lua).

The plugin ecosystem is cataloged in awesome-qst:

• https://github.com/gitanelyon/awesome-qst

Install

git clone https://github.com/GitanElyon/qst.git
cd qst
cargo install --locked --path .

Nix users can install via:

nix profile install "github:GitanElyon/qst"

Usage

Either run qst from the terminal:

qst

Or bind to a global hotkey (e.g. Super+Space) using your desktop environment's keyboard settings.

Example for hyperland users to mimic rofi:

bind = $mod, space, exec, [float; size 350 400] $terminal -e qst

Keybindings

• Up/Down: move selection
• Left/Right: move cursor in input
• Tab: autocomplete path
• Enter: launch/open selected item
• Esc: quit
• Alt+f: toggle favorite

Config files

• ~/.config/qst/config.toml
• ~/.config/qst/alias.toml (optional script and app aliases)

See DOCS.md for full configuration details.