Albert plugin feature requests

[ManuelSchneid3r]

This is the place to post plugin feature requests. I.e. features that are not part of the core app. They are valid but optional and their realisation depends on their need and volunteers of the community.

These kind of issues cluttered the issue tracker of the core project. This list separates these kind of issues while keeping the core project clean, keeps track of issues of this particular type and provides a way to express the need in the community unsing votes.

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Plotinus extension #1109

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Baloo search extension #1112

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Qutebrowser bookmarks extension #1110

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Remmina connections extension #1108

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Tracker search extension

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Spotlight search extension

[ManuelSchneid3r]

X11 Window switcher extension #1299

[jgg1971]

Firefox plugin. #1382

I've seen that the Firefox plugin has been removed, but I have seen no explanation for this. And I miss it very much. Is there a chance it'll be back sometime in the future?

[ManuelSchneid3r]

The Firefox plugin has been a user contribution. It has no maintainer atm and is not compatible with the current API. Personally I use chromium only and maintain the according plugin. Unfortunately I have no time to maintain plugins I don't use. So we depend on contributions.

[thob]

access to Kagi's FastGPT similar to this Alfred workflow https://github.com/david-ros/fastgpt-alfred-workflow

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Generic networking plugin that provides stuff like interface up/down, wifi, Bluetooth, VPN and such.

[martinengelke]

I made a new suggestions which just aims for wifi and is maybe faster to implement (step by step)

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Rich text support #1225

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Multiline Display #1074

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Add customizable shortcut for applications #1404

[ManuelSchneid3r]

'Switch User' option #1381

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Show favicon.ico icons in bookmarks icons #1330

[Glint-Eye]

It would be great if there was a shortcut in addition to tab autocompletion. One that reduces the autocompletion to the closest parent folder. Something like this:

I'm looking for the file "A.pdf" with the folder path "/sentence/word/letter/A.pdf".
On tab autocompletion i get the full folder path for "A.pdf". Now i would like to navigate to the parent folder "letter". I'd suggest by using Shift + Tab autocompletion could complete to the closest parent folder path. So from "/sentence/word/letter/A.pdf" to "/sentence/word/letter/" and then "/sentence/word/" and so on
This way you could quickly browse through folders in both directions: down and up.

[ManuelSchneid3r]

Well this would have to be implemented in the core. All plugins would be able to define a semantic for this key combination. Besided the one for the files plugin i cant think of usecases/semantics that make sense for any other plugins. Then again you could simply use alt/ctrl+backspace to remove the part of the path you dont want.
generally I keep a close eye on changes to the core api. dont want to overengineer things that introduce a lot of changes. especially since i strive for a stable core api in near future such that we can finally move to 1.0. I dont think theres such a strong need for this feature that justifies this rather huge change. ill keep this post such that people can vote on it.

[martinengelke]

WiFi plugin

• same functionality like Bluetooth.

Since I am relying on a 4G Hotspot instead of a stationary WiFi network and it is often disconnecting, would be nice to have a wifi command which suggests nearby networks, just like the bt one, which is very nice for disconnecting/connecting my headphones!

[martinengelke]

clipboard plugin enhancement:

instead of copying a filename like

example.txt

into a clipboard if selected a file NOT a name of the file during editing the filename itself in e.g. finder do this:

file:///path/to/example.txt

Be aware of empty spaces

file:///path/to/example\ with\ spaces.txt

which may does the trick to directly paste it somewhere else.

You can do it optional via alt-key?

Edit: You wonder why? copying like 10 or more files out of different locations could be quite handy with that.

[martinengelke]

Since you implemented my idea of a menubar command palette (which I highly appreciate, since I can now free up some hammerspoon resources), I wanted to ask you if you could optionally enable keyboard shortcuts for the entries as well.
Here is my Python and lua code. Maybe you can use some of it:

HS init.lua:

-- Lade die notwendigen Module
local json = require("hs.json")
local app = hs.application.frontmostApplication()
local glyphs = hs.application.menuGlyphs

function selectMenuItemByPath(menuPath)
    local app = hs.application.frontmostApplication()
    if app then
        local success = app:selectMenuItem(menuPath)
        if not success then
            hs.alert.show("Menu item not found")
        end
    else
        hs.alert.show("No frontmost application found")
    end
end

-- Funktion zum Verarbeiten der Tastenkombinationen
local function buildShortcut(menuItem)
    local shortcut = ""

    -- Prüfe, ob der Menüeintrag Modifikatoren enthält
    if menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdModifiers then
        -- Füge die Modifikatoren hinzu
        for _, mod in ipairs(menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdModifiers) do
            if mod == "cmd" then
                shortcut = shortcut .. "⌘"
            elseif mod == "shift" then
                shortcut = shortcut .. "⇧"
            elseif mod == "ctrl" then
                shortcut = shortcut .. "⌃"
            elseif mod == "alt" then
                shortcut = shortcut .. "⌥"
            end
        end
    end

    -- Prüfe, ob das Zeichen (AXMenuItemCmdChar) vorhanden ist
    if menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdChar and #menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdChar > 0 then
        shortcut = shortcut .. menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdChar
    else
        -- Wenn nur Modifikatoren vorhanden sind und kein Zeichen, keinen Shortcut anzeigen
        shortcut = nil
    end

    -- Rückgabe des vollständigen Shortcuts oder `nil`, wenn er leer ist
    return shortcut
end

-- Funktion zum Filtern der Menüeinträge, einschließlich AXChildren und Pfad
local function filterMenuItems(menuItems, currentPath)
    local filteredItems = {}

    -- Schleife durch jedes Menüelement
    for _, menuItem in pairs(menuItems) do
        -- Prüfe, ob das Menüelement aktiviert ist (AXEnabled == true)
        if menuItem.AXEnabled == true then
            -- Erstelle den neuen Pfad, indem der aktuelle AXTitle angehängt wird
            local newPath = {table.unpack(currentPath)} -- Kopiere den aktuellen Pfad
            table.insert(newPath, menuItem.AXTitle) -- Füge den aktuellen AXTitle hinzu

            -- Menü-Glyphen ermitteln (falls vorhanden)
            local menuGlyph = ""
            if menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdGlyph then
                -- Verwende die Glyphen-Tabelle von Hammerspoon
                menuGlyph = glyphs[menuItem.AXMenuItemCmdGlyph] or ""
            end

            -- Falls keine Glyphe vorhanden ist, baue den Shortcut
            local shortcut = menuGlyph ~= "" and menuGlyph or buildShortcut(menuItem)

            -- Füge das Menüelement hinzu (title, path, glyph/shortcut und ausführbar)
            local menuEntry = {
                title = menuItem.AXTitle,
                path = newPath,
                isExecutable = not (menuItem.AXChildren and #menuItem.AXChildren > 0) -- Prüfe, ob der Menüeintrag ausführbar ist (keine AXChildren)
            }

            if shortcut then
                menuEntry.shortcut = shortcut -- Füge die Glyphe oder den vollständigen Shortcut hinzu, falls vorhanden
            end

            table.insert(filteredItems, menuEntry)

            -- Verarbeite AXChildren, wenn das Elternmenü aktiviert ist
            if menuItem.AXChildren and #menuItem.AXChildren > 0 then
                -- AXChildren enthält verschachtelte Arrays, also zwei Schleifen
                for _, childrenArray in ipairs(menuItem.AXChildren) do
                    -- Verarbeite jedes Kinderelement rekursiv
                    local filteredSubItems = filterMenuItems(childrenArray, newPath)

                    -- Füge die gefilterten Kinder zur Liste hinzu
                    for _, childItem in pairs(filteredSubItems) do
                        table.insert(filteredItems, childItem)
                    end
                end
            end
        end
    end

    return filteredItems
end

function getFrontmostAppMenuItemsAsJSON()
    local frontApp = hs.application.frontmostApplication()
    if frontApp then
        local menuItems = frontApp:getMenuItems()
        local filteredItems = filterMenuItems(menuItems, {})
        return json.encode(filteredItems, true)
    else
        return json.encode({ error = "No frontmost application found" })
    end
end

init.py:

# -*- coding: utf-8 -*-
import subprocess
import json
from albert import *

class Plugin(PluginInstance, TriggerQueryHandler):

    # Define the Hammerspoon CLI path at the class level to avoid duplication
    hs_cli_path = '/opt/homebrew/bin/hs'  # Path to Hammerspoon CLI

    def __init__(self):
        PluginInstance.__init__(self)
        TriggerQueryHandler.__init__(self, self.id, self.name, self.description, defaultTrigger='menu ')

    def get_menu_items(self):
        """Retrieve menu items from Hammerspoon via the CLI."""

        # Call the Hammerspoon function getFrontmostAppMenuItemsAsJSON to get the menu items as JSON
        lua_command = 'getFrontmostAppMenuItemsAsJSON()'

        try:
            # Run the command using subprocess and capture the output
            result = subprocess.run([self.hs_cli_path, "-c", lua_command], capture_output=True, text=True, check=True)
            
            # Parse the output as JSON
            menu_items = json.loads(result.stdout)
            return menu_items

        except subprocess.CalledProcessError as e:
            return None

    def select_menu_item(self, path):
        """Send the selected menu item path to Hammerspoon via the CLI."""
        
        # Convert the path into a Lua-compatible table (list of strings)
        lua_path = f"{{ {', '.join([repr(item) for item in path])} }}"

        # Prepare the Lua command to execute via Hammerspoon
        lua_command = f'selectMenuItemByPath({lua_path})'

        # Execute the Lua command using the Hammerspoon CLI
        try:
            subprocess.run([self.hs_cli_path, "-c", lua_command], check=True)
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
            pass

    def handleTriggerQuery(self, query):
        """Handle the input query, search for matching menu items, and display actions."""
    
        search_term = query.string.strip()
        menu_items = self.get_menu_items()
    
        # If no menu items are available, return an error item
        if menu_items is None:
            query.add(
                StandardItem(
                    id=md_name,
                    text="Error",
                    subtext="Failed to retrieve menu items."
                )
            )
            return
    
        # Set the total length of the text line (fixed width for title + shortcut)
        fixed_width = 60  # You can adjust this number for optimal width
    
        # If a search term is provided, filter the menu items based on the title
        if search_term:
            for item in menu_items:
                title = item.get("title", "")
                path = item.get("path", [])
                shortcut = item.get("shortcut", "")  # Retrieve the shortcut, if available
    
                # If the search term matches the title, create an action for selection
                if search_term.lower() in title.lower():
                    path_display = " > ".join(path)
    
                    # Calculate how many spaces are needed to align the shortcut at a fixed position
                    if shortcut:
                        total_length = len(title)
                        # Adjust the number of spaces based on the total length
                        spaces = " " * max(0, fixed_width - total_length)
                        display_text = f"{title}{spaces}{shortcut}"
                    else:
                        display_text = title
    
                    # Set the inputActionText to help the user repeat or refine the query
                    input_action_text = f"{query.trigger}{title} "
#                    input_action_text = f"menu {title} "  # Prefill the input with the title of the menu item
    
                    query.add(
                        StandardItem(
                            id=title,
                            text=display_text,  # Show title and shortcut in the main text
                            subtext=path_display,  # Display the path as a breadcrumb in the subtext
                            inputActionText=input_action_text,  # Prefill input field with menu item title
                            actions=[
                                Action(
                                    "select",
                                    "Select this menu item",
                                    lambda p=path: self.select_menu_item(p)  # Pass the current path to the action
                                ),
                                Action(
                                    "copy",
                                    "Copy path to clipboard",
                                    lambda p=path: setClipboardText(" > ".join(p))  # Copy the path to the clipboard
                                )
                            ],
                        )
                    )

I did not finished it yet. And since I saw your native one, I would be glad if you could do it ^^
(man)

Glyphs:

application.menuGlyphs = setmetatable({
  [2] = "⇥",     -- kMenuTabRightGlyph, 0x02, Tab to the right key (for left-to-right script systems)
  [3] = "⇤",     -- kMenuTabLeftGlyph, 0x03, Tab to the left key (for right-to-left script systems)
  [4] = "⌤",     -- kMenuEnterGlyph, 0x04, Enter key
  [5] = "⇧",     -- kMenuShiftGlyph, 0x05, Shift key
  [6] = "⌃",     -- kMenuControlGlyph, 0x06, Control key
  [7] = "⌥",     -- kMenuOptionGlyph, 0x07, Option key
  [9] = "␣",      -- kMenuSpaceGlyph, 0x09, Space (always glyph 3) key
  [10] = "⌦",    -- kMenuDeleteRightGlyph, 0x0A, Delete to the right key (for right-to-left script systems)
  [11] = "↩",    -- kMenuReturnGlyph, 0x0B, Return key (for left-to-right script systems)
  [12] = "↪",    -- kMenuReturnR2LGlyph, 0x0C, Return key (for right-to-left script systems)
  [15] = "",    -- kMenuPencilGlyph, 0x0F, Pencil key
  [16] = "↓",     -- kMenuDownwardArrowDashedGlyph, 0x10, Downward dashed arrow key
  [17] = "⌘",    -- kMenuCommandGlyph, 0x11, Command key
  [18] = "✓",     -- kMenuCheckmarkGlyph, 0x12, Checkmark key
  [19] = "◇",     -- kMenuDiamondGlyph, 0x13, Diamond key
  [20] = "",     -- kMenuAppleLogoFilledGlyph, 0x14, Apple logo key (filled)
  [23] = "⌫",    -- kMenuDeleteLeftGlyph, 0x17, Delete to the left key (for left-to-right script systems)
  [24] = "←",    -- kMenuLeftArrowDashedGlyph, 0x18, Leftward dashed arrow key
  [25] = "↑",     -- kMenuUpArrowDashedGlyph, 0x19, Upward dashed arrow key
  [26] = "→",     -- kMenuRightArrowDashedGlyph, 0x1A, Rightward dashed arrow key
  [27] = "⎋",    -- kMenuEscapeGlyph, 0x1B, Escape key
  [28] = "⌧",    -- kMenuClearGlyph, 0x1C, Clear key
  [29] = "『",    -- kMenuLeftDoubleQuotesJapaneseGlyph, 0x1D, Unassigned (left double quotes in Japanese)
  [30] = "』",    -- kMenuRightDoubleQuotesJapaneseGlyph, 0x1E, Unassigned (right double quotes in Japanese)
  [97] = "␢",     -- kMenuBlankGlyph, 0x61, Blank key
  [98] = "⇞",     -- kMenuPageUpGlyph, 0x62, Page up key
  [99] = "⇪",    -- kMenuCapsLockGlyph, 0x63, Caps lock key
  [100] = "←",   -- kMenuLeftArrowGlyph, 0x64, Left arrow key
  [101] = "→",    -- kMenuRightArrowGlyph, 0x65, Right arrow key
  [102] = "↖",   -- kMenuNorthwestArrowGlyph, 0x66, Northwest arrow key
  [103] = "﹖",   -- kMenuHelpGlyph, 0x67, Help key
  [104] = "↑",    -- kMenuUpArrowGlyph, 0x68, Up arrow key
  [105] = "↘",   -- kMenuSoutheastArrowGlyph, 0x69, Southeast arrow key
  [106] = "↓",    -- kMenuDownArrowGlyph, 0x6A, Down arrow key
  [107] = "⇟",    -- kMenuPageDownGlyph, 0x6B, Page down key
  [109] = "",   -- kMenuContextualMenuGlyph, 0x6D, Contextual menu key
  [110] = "⌽",   -- kMenuPowerGlyph, 0x6E, Power key
  [111] = "F1",   -- kMenuF1Glyph, 0x6F, F1 key
  [112] = "F2",   -- kMenuF2Glyph, 0x70, F2 key
  [113] = "F3",   -- kMenuF3Glyph, 0x71, F3 key
  [114] = "F4",   -- kMenuF4Glyph, 0x72, F4 key
  [115] = "F5",   -- kMenuF5Glyph, 0x73, F5 key
  [116] = "F6",   -- kMenuF6Glyph, 0x74, F6 key
  [117] = "F7",   -- kMenuF7Glyph, 0x75, F7 key
  [118] = "F8",   -- kMenuF8Glyph, 0x76, F8 key
  [119] = "F9",   -- kMenuF9Glyph, 0x77, F9 key
  [120] = "F10",  -- kMenuF10Glyph, 0x78, F10 key
  [121] = "F11",  -- kMenuF11Glyph, 0x79, F11 key
  [122] = "F12",  -- kMenuF12Glyph, 0x7A, F12 key
  [135] = "F13",  -- kMenuF13Glyph, 0x87, F13 key
  [136] = "F14",  -- kMenuF14Glyph, 0x88, F14 key
  [137] = "F15",  -- kMenuF15Glyph, 0x89, F15 key
  [138] = "⎈",   -- kMenuControlISOGlyph, 0x8A, Control key (ISO standard)
  [140] = "⏏",   -- kMenuEjectGlyph, 0x8C, Eject key (available on Mac OS X 10.2 and later)
  [141] = "英数", -- kMenuEisuGlyph, 0x8D, Japanese eisu key (available in Mac OS X 10.4 and later)
  [142] = "かな", -- kMenuKanaGlyph, 0x8E, Japanese kana key (available in Mac OS X 10.4 and later)
  [143] = "F16",  -- kMenuF16Glyph, 0x8F, F16 key (available in SnowLeopard and later)
  [144] = "F17",  -- kMenuF16Glyph, 0x90, F17 key (available in SnowLeopard and later)
  [145] = "F18",  -- kMenuF16Glyph, 0x91, F18 key (available in SnowLeopard and later)
  [146] = "F19",  -- kMenuF16Glyph, 0x92, F19 key (available in SnowLeopard and later)

(source)