[FEAT]: Making the app user friendly: application configuration wizard. #257

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opened 2026-01-05 14:49:18 +01:00 by adam · 5 comments
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Originally created by @nascentt on GitHub (Nov 11, 2023).

Ever since I discovered komorebi a couple of years ago In my hunt for a Windows window manager with automatic window movement I knew that komorebi is exactly what I wanted.

But aside from downloading the community generated applications.yawl it's a nightmare for non developers to create and add configs to applications.yaml themselves.

A tool to drag onto windows and output yaml to go I to applications.yaml would make the entire process far more user friendly.

Originally created by @nascentt on GitHub (Nov 11, 2023). Ever since I discovered komorebi a couple of years ago In my hunt for a Windows window manager with automatic window movement I knew that komorebi is exactly what I wanted. But aside from downloading the community generated applications.yawl it's a nightmare for non developers to create and add configs to applications.yaml themselves. A tool to drag onto windows and output yaml to go I to applications.yaml would make the entire process far more user friendly.
adam added the enhancement label 2026-01-05 14:49:18 +01:00
adam closed this issue 2026-01-05 14:49:18 +01:00
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@LGUG2Z commented on GitHub (Nov 13, 2023):

I always default to using the portable versions of any app, but after struggling to try to get it working the way I expect, I read that the installer greated default configurations so switched to the installer instead which supposedly generates defaults and makes it easier. However, I saw no change.

However you get the binaries on the system (scoop, winget, msi installer, zip file), the binaries you download are always the same, all portable, and unless a person has specific requirements, they are best off following the quickstart which has served thousands of users well to date without issue, and is regularly tested on clean Windows 11 VMs.

The program behaves bizarely. It lets me move windows that should be floating, but then suddenly it decides they shouldnt be floating and then snaps them into a position on the screen.

If you could open bug reports with videos and steps to reproduce for these sorts of issues, it might be possible to address them.

What would be nice is just a configuration wizard, where you can click a window with a inbuilt window spy and then state how you want that type of window to be treated from now on.

komorebi has had full IPC support for a long time, meaning that anyone can develop against komorebi using Named Pipes, TCP or even by shelling out komorebic commands, in the programming language of their choice.

Your idea sounds like a good one, and I hope that someone picks it up and runs with it. I suggest that if this feature has a high level of importance to anyone reading this, that they crack open the Win32 API reference docs and start working on it (after all, that is how I wound up starting this project).

I'm happy to provide guidance, but essentially it could be as simple as setting a float rule that disables all windows by default using the Regex matching_strategy, and then adding manage rules on a case by case basic through the theoretical UI which are pre-populated with details taken via the Win32 API for the desired window.

No manually editing configuration files. No complexity.

However, I will say that I don't think that this is a realistic expectation to have of an inherently complex piece of software. Complexity always has to live somewhere.

@LGUG2Z commented on GitHub (Nov 13, 2023): > I always default to using the portable versions of any app, but after struggling to try to get it working the way I expect, I read that the installer greated default configurations so switched to the installer instead which supposedly generates defaults and makes it easier. However, I saw no change. However you get the binaries on the system (scoop, winget, msi installer, zip file), the binaries you download are always the same, all portable, and unless a person has specific requirements, they are best off following the [quickstart](https://github.com/LGUG2Z/komorebi#quickstart) which has served thousands of users well to date without issue, and is regularly tested on clean Windows 11 VMs. > The program behaves bizarely. It lets me move windows that should be floating, but then suddenly it decides they shouldnt be floating and then snaps them into a position on the screen. If you could open bug reports with videos and steps to reproduce for these sorts of issues, it might be possible to address them. > What would be nice is just a configuration wizard, where you can click a window with a inbuilt window spy and then state how you want that type of window to be treated from now on. `komorebi` has had full [IPC support](https://github.com/LGUG2Z/komorebi#window-manager-event-subscriptions) for a long time, meaning that anyone can develop against `komorebi` using Named Pipes, TCP or even by shelling out `komorebic` commands, in the programming language of their choice. Your idea sounds like a good one, and I hope that someone picks it up and runs with it. I suggest that if this feature has a high level of importance to anyone reading this, that they crack open the Win32 API reference docs and start working on it (after all, that is how I wound up starting this project). I'm happy to provide guidance, but essentially it could be as simple as setting a float rule that disables all windows by default using the `Regex` `matching_strategy`, and then adding manage rules on a case by case basic through the theoretical UI which are pre-populated with details taken via the Win32 API for the desired window. > No manually editing configuration files. No complexity. However, I will say that I don't think that this is a realistic expectation to have of an inherently complex piece of software. Complexity always has to live somewhere.
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@nascentt commented on GitHub (Nov 18, 2023):

I've created a separate feature request for a more user friendly installer https://github.com/LGUG2Z/komorebi/issues/585

But an applications.yaml config generator based on a Windows spy tool (drag onto a program and output a yaml config to be added to applications.yaml is still a great idea I'm keeping open here.

I'll remove my other troubleshooting comments as they're irrelevant to this request.

@nascentt commented on GitHub (Nov 18, 2023): I've created a separate feature request for a more user friendly installer https://github.com/LGUG2Z/komorebi/issues/585 But an applications.yaml config generator based on a Windows spy tool (drag onto a program and output a yaml config to be added to applications.yaml is still a great idea I'm keeping open here. I'll remove my other troubleshooting comments as they're irrelevant to this request.
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@LGUG2Z commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025):

This is being handled by the community and there are various GUI config apps to pick from now.

@LGUG2Z commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025): This is being handled by the community and there are various GUI config apps to pick from now.
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@nascentt commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025):

This is being handled by the community and there are various GUI config apps to pick from now.

could you reference some?

@nascentt commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025): > This is being handled by the community and there are various GUI config apps to pick from now. could you reference some?
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@LGUG2Z commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025):

https://winstall.app/apps/AmN.KomoGUI

This is the main one people are using now ^

More generally I have no desire to work on anything GUI, and there are enough points of integration now that anyone who wants any specific GUI tooling can create it themselves

@LGUG2Z commented on GitHub (Jan 23, 2025): https://winstall.app/apps/AmN.KomoGUI This is the main one people are using now ^ More generally I have no desire to work on anything GUI, and there are enough points of integration now that anyone who wants any specific GUI tooling can create it themselves
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Reference: starred/komorebi#257