Rxvt-unicode

rxvt-unicode, also known simply as, is Article description::a fast and lightweight [[terminal emulator with xft and unicode support.]]

Many Gentoo users enjoy using inside the i3 and Sway window managers.

Emerge
Install :

Daemon
It is possible to operate urxvt as a daemon, which will lead to lower resource usage and quicker startup for new terminals. It is a good idea to start the daemon at the beginning of the X session.

The following command will start the daemon and fork it into the background.

After this, new clients can be opened on the single daemon process, rather than spawning new processes for each terminal. To do this, simply run in place of the usual  command. Keep in mind that if for any reason the daemon is terminated, any subsequent calls as well all client instances will be closed.

Environment variable can be used to specify different location for the daemon listening socket.

Configuration
Configuration for urxvt is done mainly through the X resources system, though command line equivalents are also available in most cases. A full list of these options can be found in the urxvt manpage. Some common configuration options are listed below.

Font
Rxvt-unicode's font can be configured using either XLFD notation or, provided the package was compiled with the  USE flag, Xft fonts.

Fonts can be modified while rxvt-unicode is running by assigning actions to keys:

Rendering settings can be tweaked for Xft fonts as well. Note that this is not specific to urxvt.

Scrollbar
The look of the scrollbar can be changed, or it can be removed entirely.

Printing
By default, rxvt-unicode will print out a screen dump, via lpr, when is pressed. Using + or - will include the terminal's scroll back in the printout as well. This behavior can be changed, or disabled entirely, based on personal preference and need.

Copy/Paste and URL handling
The default urxvt perl extensions can be used for copy and paste actions as well for URL handling capabilities. In order to use Perl extensions in urxvt, the package must have been compiled with the  USE flag. The package provides several extensions not included by default. The package sources code can be found in muennich's GitHub repository or an ebuild for example. It is possible to get other Perl extensions.

Here is an example of a. The following lines could also be added to, though is preferred.

The default selection-to-clipboard extension will put the selected text into the clipboard automatically. To add pasting functionality we have to create a simple extension:

Menu icon
This adds menu entry and menu icon for urxvt. If urxvt doesn't have a file, create one.

Application icon
For setting application icon has to be compiled with   USE flag.

Using rxvt-unicode with Powerline fonts
Unfortunately current default rxvt-unicode configuration in Gentoo breaks support for Powerline characters. Overview of the problem: some fonts provide incorrect values for character width, which breaks their appearance in urxvt in various ways. The Powerline symbols are extra unicode characters, which can be added to a font by "patching" it, or they can be added to the system without patching, using fontconfig settings. These fonts often contain wrong width set for the Powerline characters. Some other terminals workaround that, but not urxvt.

To get Powerline symbols to work correctly, you need the following USE flags to :
 * (which automatically disables the equally problematic )

For app-misc/powerline (from the raiagent overlay), enable USE flag:
 * , which will pull in media-fonts/powerline-fonts

For media-fonts/powerline-fonts (also from the raiagent overlay), enable one or more USE flags for the fonts you care about, e.g..

Finally, in your file, set a Powerline font for urxvt (This example assumes the   USE flag, but the main point is to enable the for Powerline font.

See also this thread on the urxvt mailing list.

Changing font size on the fly
To be able to use font size changing within running terminal session, first verify urxvt has been build using the  USE flag.

Install the package:

Open the file for editing and replace the entry:

With following entry, or just add the  to the end of the listed extensions:

Configure a keyboard key combination to increase or decrease the font size, add following entries:

To increase the font size press +, to decrease the font size press +. To reset to the default font size press +.

Changes in ~/.Xresources are not applied
1. Check for syntax errors in based on X_resources article.

2. If you're using ~/.xinitrc add  to ~/.xinitrc and reboot.

3. Invoking `xrdb -merge -I$HOME ~/.Xresources`might also resolve the issue.

Reporting bugs
This section describes the instructions for reporting and fixing rxvt-unicode bugs.


 * 1) Install Arch GNU/Linux.
 * 2) Test on Arch to see if the bug persists.
 * 3) If the bug does not persist, then contact the ebuild maintainer . The ebuild maintainer may be able to make a fix.
 * 4) Contact upstream developer. Be sure to note testing was performed on Gentoo Linux as Gentoo GNU/Linux or you will be ignored and possibly yelled at.
 * 5) When all else fails, contact the maintainer  and fix it this way.

These instructions are based on official upstream instructions from the developer.

External resources

 * Terminal Color Scheme Designer