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 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 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 manpage. To configure all options in a different file and including this file in .Xresources my be advisable. For example:

Some common configuration options are listed below.

Font
'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 is running by assigning actions to keys:

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

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

Printing
By default, will print out a screen dump, via, 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 Perl extensions can be used for copy and paste actions as well for URL handling capabilities. In order to use Perl extensions in, the package must have been compiled with the  USE flag. The package provides the keyboard-select extension 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. If doesn't have a  file, create one.

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

Color theme
The main 's color palette is defined by,   and   resources. It is also possible to set color of other elements (e.g. cursor or text underline). For more information consult the manpage.

Using urxvt with Powerline fonts
Unfortunately current default 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 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.

To get Powerline symbols to work correctly, you need the following USE flags to :
 * - disables the equally problematic
 * - enables the required support of displaying 256 colors
 * - enables the required support of displaying 256 colors

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

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 the file, set a desired Powerline font for. This example assumes the  USE flag for, but the main point is to enable the font featuring   name part.

See also rxvt-unicode and the Powerline symbols thread on the mailing list.

Changing font size on the fly
To be able to use font size changing within running terminal session, first verify 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 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

 * urxvt(1) manpage
 * Terminal Color Scheme Designer