Animate application launchers and overlays

[callmehanu]

The Problem

Niri's animations look great for regular windows (Firefox, terminals, file managers), but app launchers and overlay components just pop in and out instantly with no animation at all.

I have smooth animations configured in my config, but when I open Walker, fuzzel, or any other launcher, they just appear immediately. No fade-in, no smooth transition. Same thing when closing them - they just vanish.

What Works vs What Doesn't

Gets smooth animations:

• Regular app windows (Firefox, terminals, file managers, etc.)

No animations at all:

• App launchers (Walker, fuzzel, tofi, rofi-wayland)
• Bars and panels
• Notification popups
• Overlay menus

Here's my current config:

animations {
    window-open {
        duration-ms 150
        curve "ease-out-expo"
    }

    window-close {
        duration-ms 150
        curve "ease-out-expo"
    }
}

What actually happens:

• Open Firefox → smooth fade-in animation ✅
• Open Walker launcher → instantly pops in, no animation ❌
• Open foot terminal → smooth fade-in animation ✅
• Open fuzzel launcher → instantly pops in, no animation ❌

Why This Happens

Launchers and overlays use a different type of window system in Wayland called "layer-shell". It's the right way to build these components because it lets them:

• Position themselves anywhere (center, edges, corners)
• Appear on top of fullscreen windows
• Not interfere with your tiling layout

All modern launchers use this approach:

• Walker - uses gtk4-layer-shell
• Fuzzel - recommended in Niri's own docs, uses layer-shell
• Tofi - uses layer-shell
• Rofi-wayland - uses layer-shell

The issue is that Niri's current animation system only animates regular windows, not these layer-shell components.

You can verify this yourself - if you run niri msg windows while a launcher is open, it won't appear in the list. That's because it's not a regular window, it's a layer-shell surface.

What I'd Like to See

It would be great if launchers and overlays could fade in and out smoothly, just like regular windows do.

Maybe something like this in the config:

animations {
    // For regular windows (already works)
    window-open {
        duration-ms 150
        curve "ease-out-expo"
    }

    // For launchers and overlays (new feature)
    layer-surface-open {
        duration-ms 150
        curve "ease-out-expo"
    }

    layer-surface-close {
        duration-ms 150
        curve "ease-out-expo"
    }
}

Or even simpler, just make window-open/window-close work for launchers too.

Why This Matters

Launchers are used constantly. You open and close them dozens of times per day, so the instant pop-in/pop-out really stands out. It feels jarring compared to the smooth animations everywhere else.

This affects everything that uses layer-shell:

• App launchers (biggest issue)
• Notification popups
• Status bars and panels
• Any overlay menus

For context, GNOME's compositor (Mutter) does animate these components, so users coming from GNOME notice this immediately.

Possible Solutions

A few ways this could work:

Option 1: Separate config for overlays

layer-surface-open { ... }
layer-surface-close { ... }

This lets you set different animations for overlays vs regular windows.

Option 2: Make existing animations work for everything
Just extend window-open/window-close to also animate launchers. Simpler config, everything animates the same way.

Option 3: Add it to layer-rules
Add animation settings to the existing layer-rule blocks, so you can control animations per-app.

Current Workarounds

There aren't any. I tried:

• Changing layer-shell anchor settings → doesn't help, still no animation
• Using layer-rule properties → only has opacity/shadow/corners, no animations
• Switching to different launchers → they all use layer-shell, same problem

My Setup

• Niri version: 25.08
• OS: Manjaro Linux
• Launchers tested: Walker 1.2.1, fuzzel, tofi

More Info

Some helpful links if you want to dig deeper:

• Layer-shell protocol docs
• Niri animations wiki
• Niri layer-rules wiki

---

Just to be clear: this isn't a bug! Niri works great and implements everything correctly. This is just a feature request to bring the same beautiful animations that regular windows have to launchers and overlays.

I love Niri's animation system - it's one of the main reasons I use it. Having launcher animations would make the whole experience feel even more polished and consistent.

Thanks for considering this! 🚀

[MartV0]

Seems like yalter was already thinking of implementing this: #1587