ndots/openspec/changes/archive/2026-07-13-theme-switch/tasks.md

Tasks: theme-switch

1. Per-theme metadata

• 1.1 Create ~/.config/colorschemes/<theme>/meta for each of the 11 existing themes with name=<Display Name> and mode=dark (or mode=light for e-ink and noir).

2. Theme module scaffold

• 2.1 Create modules/home-manager/theme/default.nix declaring options.custom.theme.current (string, default "gruvbox-dark") and options.custom.theme.enable (bool).
• 2.2 Embed the theme-switch shell script in the module via pkgs.writeShellScriptBin so it's installed to ~/.local/bin/theme-switch.
• 2.3 Embed the theme-picker shell script in the module via pkgs.writeShellScriptBin so it's installed to ~/.local/bin/theme-picker.
• 2.4 Add a systemd user oneshot theme-apply.service that runs theme-switch (no args) on graphical-session.target.
• 2.5 Add a home.activation block that creates ~/.config/colorschemes/.active (symlink to custom.theme.current) and .current (text file with the name) if missing.

3. theme-switch script

• 3.1 Implement argument parsing: <theme-name> switches; no args reads .current and re-applies.
• 3.2 Validate <theme-name> exists under ~/.config/colorschemes/; print list and exit non-zero otherwise.
• 3.3 Refuse to proceed if ~/.config/colorschemes/.active is a non-symlink directory (defensive guard).
• 3.4 Atomically swap .active with ln -sfn.
• 3.5 Write <theme-name> to ~/.config/colorschemes/.current.
• 3.6 Parse the new theme's meta for name= and mode=.
• 3.7 Emit gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface color-scheme prefer-{dark,light} based on mode=.
• 3.8 Update hyprland config: rewrite ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf so its source = directive points at ~/.config/colorschemes/.active/hypr/colors.conf. No signal (hyprland watches).
• 3.9 Update waybar: atomic symlink swap for ~/.config/waybar/themes/current.css → <theme>/waybar/colors.css, then pkill -USR2 waybar.
• 3.10 Update swaync: atomic swap for ~/.config/swaync/colors.css → <theme>/swaync/colors.css, then swaync-client --reload-css.
• 3.11 Update wlogout: atomic swap for ~/.config/wlogout/style.css → <theme>/wlogout/style.css. No live signal (next-launch reload).
• 3.12 Update kitty: kitty @ set-colors --all ~/.config/colorschemes/.active/kitty/colors.conf.
• 3.13 Update ghostty: pkill -SIGUSR1 ghostty.
• 3.14 Update alacritty: atomic swap for ~/.config/alacritty/colors.toml → <theme>/alacritty/colors.toml. No live signal (next-launch reload).
• 3.15 Update nvim: if $NVIM is set, nvim --remote-expr 'lua vim.cmd.colorscheme("<name>")'. Else no-op.
• 3.16 If ~/.config/colorschemes/.hook exists and is executable, run ~/.config/colorschemes/.hook <theme-name> at the end. Tolerate non-zero exit.
• 3.17 Notify via notify-send "Theme: <name>" if libnotify is available.

4. theme-picker script

• 4.1 List ~/.config/colorschemes/*/meta files.
• 4.2 Parse each meta for name= and mode=.
• 4.3 Pipe the formatted entries (<name> (<mode>)) into rofi -dmenu -p "Theme".
• 4.4 On selection, invoke theme-switch <selected-theme-name> and exit with its status.

5. Cleanup pass: swaync

• 5.1 Strip the inline gruvbox color strings from modules/home-manager/swaync/default.nix (the let block at the top with background, text, etc.).
• 5.2 Replace the style = ''...'' block with xdg.configFile."swaync/style.css".source = config.lib.file.mkOutOfStoreSymlink "${config.home.homeDirectory}/.config/swaync/style.css" (so the file lives in dotfiles and is theme-driven).
• 5.3 Verify ~/.config/colorschemes/<theme>/swaync/colors.css exists for all 11 themes; if any are missing, copy from gruvbox-dark/swaync/colors.css as a placeholder.

6. Cleanup pass: wlogout

• 6.1 Strip the inline gruvbox color strings from modules/home-manager/wlogout/default.nix.
• 6.2 Replace the style = ''...'' block with xdg.configFile."wlogout/style.css".source = config.lib.file.mkOutOfStoreSymlink ....
• 6.3 Verify ~/.config/colorschemes/<theme>/wlogout/colors.css exists for all 11 themes.

7. Cleanup pass: alacritty

• 7.1 Keep font, opacity, padding, blur in modules/home-manager/alacritty/default.nix.
• 7.2 Add import = [ "~/.config/alacritty/colors.toml" ] to programs.alacritty.settings.
• 7.3 Ensure ~/.config/colorschemes/<theme>/alacritty/colors.toml exists for all 11 themes (or document a one-time port if the existing files are in a different format).
• 7.4 Add xdg.configFile."alacritty/colors.toml".source = out-of-store symlink to ~/.config/colorschemes/.active/alacritty/colors.toml (or document leaving it as a mutable file the script swaps).

8. Cleanup pass: darkman

• 8.1 Remove the gtk-theme key from both services.darkman.darkModeScripts and services.darkman.lightModeScripts.
• 8.2 Leave the hyprsunset key in both modes (still time-of-day driven).
• 8.3 Add a comment in the module noting that gsettings color-scheme is now owned by theme-switch.

9. Hyprland integration

• 9.1 In modules/home-manager/hyprland/default.nix (or the lua config it writes), ensure ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf sources ~/.config/colorschemes/.active/hypr/colors.conf.
• 9.2 Strip inline color hex strings (active/inactive border) from the lua config.
• 9.3 Add the SUPER+T keybind to launch theme-picker (in the hl.bind block).

10. Wire into hosts

• 10.1 Add ../../modules/home-manager/theme to imports in hosts/jpporta-nixos/home.nix.
• 10.2 Set custom.theme.current = "gruvbox-dark"; (or another default) in the same file.
• 10.3 (Bonus, deck) Add ../../modules/home-manager/theme to imports in hosts/writter-deck/home.nix and set custom.theme.current.
• 10.4 (Bonus, deck) Add a footserver-specific step to theme-switch that sends SIGUSR1 to the running footserver, or skips if none.

11. Verification

• 11.1 home-manager switch succeeds with no errors after all module changes.
• 11.2 ~/.config/colorschemes/.active exists and resolves to the configured theme on first boot.
• 11.3 theme-switch catppuccin (or any other valid theme) swaps .active, updates .current, and emits each per-app reload signal.
• 11.4 Each themed app reflects the new palette within ~2 seconds (manual eyeball test).
• 11.5 theme-switch does-not-exist prints the list of valid themes and exits non-zero without modifying .active.
• 11.6 theme-picker opens rofi, lists all 11 themes with their mode suffix, and switches on selection.
• 11.7 SUPER+T in Hyprland opens the rofi picker.
• 11.8 After a logout/login, the desktop matches .current (the systemd oneshot ran).
• 11.9 Drop a placeholder ~/.config/colorschemes/.hook that logs the theme name; verify it runs after a switch.
• 11.10 (Deck, if wired) theme-switch works on the deck and footserver reloads colors (or relaunches).