Kupfer is an interface for quick and convenient access to applications and their documents.

The most typical use is to find a specific application and launch it. We have tried to make Kupfer easy to extend with plugins so that this quick-access paradigm can be extended to many more objects than just applications.

This project is configured for the Waf build system, which is included. Run it using either ./waf or python3 waf (using your python.)

Installation follows the steps:

./waf configure
./waf

If configure does not find the right Python 3 executable, set PYTHON explicitly first.

then:

./waf install

or

sudo ./waf install

You can use --prefix=$PREFIX when configuring to assign an installation spot. By default, Kupfer is installed for all users. Installing only for your user is possible, but the binary directory must be in your $PATH.

Waf is included in both the distributable tarball and the repository (so that full source code is incuded. See the file waf for author and licensing information).

Waf was acquired through https://waf.io/, version 2.0.25. The following files extracted:

./waf-light -> ./waf
./waflib    -> ./waflib
./ChangeLog -> ./Waf.ChangeLog

./waflib/Tools/*  some files excluded
./waflib/extras/* some files excluded

• Python 3.9
• intltool
• optionally: rst2man (python-docutils) to install the manpage
• optionally: itstool to install mallard help pages

Kupfer requires Python 3.9 or later, and the following important libraries:

Because the port to Python 3 and Gtk 3 is new, I don't know what the lower boundaries of dependencies are. I've given the versions where it is known to work.

• Gtk-3.0 version 3.22
• libkeybinder-3.0 version 0.3.1
• python gir1.2
• dbus python bindings
• python-xdg

Opportunistic dependencies

• If available, 'setproctitle' is used to set the process name
• If available, you can use AppIndicator3. On debian the package name needed for the dependency is gir1.2-appindicator3-0.1 (g-i bindings).

Recommended dependencies

• Wnck-3.0 version 3.20 (Without this you can't focus already running applications)
• Yelp, the help browser

Some plugins will require additional python modules!

The program is installed as kupfer into $PREFIX/bin. Only one instance can be active for one user at a given time. Normal use of kupfer requires an active dbus session bus.

Keybinder is a library for global keyboard shortcuts.

You can use kupfer without the keybinder module, for example by assigning a window manager keybinding to the kupfer binary.

If Keybinder gi bindings are installed, the library is used. If you must disable it without uninstalling them then see the man page.

The user’s guide is installed as Mallard help pages, available under the “Kupfer Help” object in the program itself; it is also on the web page. Kupfer will use the help browser if there is a handler for the help: URI scheme. The user’s guide’s source is under help/, and it is translatable.

Please read Documentation/ and Documentation/Manpage.rst for technical and contributor documentation.