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Open Sesame

Vimium-style window switcher for COSMIC desktop

Open Sesame brings the efficiency of Vimium browser navigation to the entire COSMIC desktop. Type a letter to instantly switch to any window, or launch an application if it isn’t running. No mouse required.

License: GPL-3.0 Latest Release CI SLSA 3

Open Sesame Screenshot

Features

  • Vimium-style hints - Every window gets a letter (g, gg, ggg for multiple instances)
  • Quick switch - Tap Alt+Space to toggle between last two windows
  • Focus-or-launch - Type a letter to focus an app or launch it if not running
  • Arrow navigation - Use arrows and Enter as an alternative to typing letters
  • Zero configuration - Works out-of-the-box with sensible defaults
  • COSMIC integration - Automatic keybinding setup, native theme support
  • Instant activation - Sub-200ms latency with smart disambiguation
  • Configurable - Per-app key bindings, launch commands, and environment variables

Quick Example

Add APT repository (one-time setup):

curl -fsSL https://scopecreep-zip.github.io/open-sesame/gpg.key \
  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/open-sesame.gpg

echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/open-sesame.gpg] https://scopecreep-zip.github.io/open-sesame noble main" \
  | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/open-sesame.list

Install and configure:

sudo apt update && sudo apt install -y open-sesame

sesame --setup-keybinding

Press Alt+Space, type a letter to switch windows.

See Installation Guide for alternative methods.

How It Works

Open Sesame displays a visual overlay showing all your open windows, each labeled with a letter hint. Type the letter to instantly switch to that window. If you’ve configured an app with a key binding and it’s not running, Open Sesame will launch it for you.

Two Modes

Launcher Mode (Default: Alt+Space)

  • Shows a centered overlay with all windows and letter hints immediately
  • Type a letter to switch, or use arrows to navigate
  • Perfect for quick access to any window

Switcher Mode (Optional: Alt+Tab)

  • Acts like traditional Alt+Tab but with letter hints for instant selection
  • Tap to quickly switch to the previous window
  • Hold to see the full overlay

Next Steps

Requirements

  • COSMIC Desktop Environment (Pop!_OS 24.04+ or other COSMIC-based distributions)
  • Wayland (X11 not supported)
  • fontconfig with at least one font installed

Acknowledgments

Built with Rust and inspired by Vimium - the browser extension that proves keyboard navigation is superior.