Linux App Manager

Manage and control Linux desktop applications. List running apps, control windows, and capture screenshots of specific applications.

Setup

Install required tools:

bash

sudo apt-get install -y wmctrl xdotool scrot xwininfo imagemagick

List Running Applications

List all windows with details

bash

wmctrl -l -p -G

Output: <window_id> <desktop> <pid> <x> <y> <width> <height> <client_machine> <title>

List windows with class names

bash

wmctrl -l -x

List only window titles (clean)

bash

wmctrl -l | awk '{$1=$2=$3=""; print substr($0,4)}'

Get window count

bash

wmctrl -l | wc -l

List running processes (GUI apps)

bash

ps aux | grep -E 'code|firefox|chrome|slack|discord|spotify|vlc|nautilus|terminal' | grep -v grep

Start Applications

Launch common apps

bash

# Browser
firefox &
google-chrome &
brave-browser &

# Code editor
code &
code /path/to/project &

# File manager
nautilus ~ &

# Terminal
gnome-terminal &
xterm &

# Media
vlc /path/to/video &
spotify &

Launch and wait for window to appear

bash

firefox & sleep 2 && wmctrl -a Firefox

Open file with default app

bash

xdg-open ~/Documents/file.pdf
xdg-open https://example.com
xdg-open ~/Pictures/image.png

Stop/Close Applications

Close window gracefully (by title)

bash

wmctrl -c "Firefox"
wmctrl -c "Visual Studio Code"

Close active window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow windowclose

Force kill app (by name)

bash

pkill firefox
pkill -9 code  # Force kill

Kill by window ID

bash

xdotool windowclose <window_id>

Window Control

Focus/activate a window

bash

wmctrl -a "Firefox"              # By title (partial match)
wmctrl -i -a 0x04000007          # By window ID
xdotool search --name "Firefox" windowactivate

Minimize window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow windowminimize
xdotool search --name "Firefox" windowminimize

Maximize window

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b add,maximized_vert,maximized_horz
wmctrl -r "Firefox" -b add,maximized_vert,maximized_horz

Unmaximize (restore)

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b remove,maximized_vert,maximized_horz

Toggle fullscreen

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b toggle,fullscreen

Move window to position

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,100,100,-1,-1   # Move to x=100, y=100
wmctrl -r "Firefox" -e 0,0,0,1920,1080  # Position and resize

Resize window

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -e 0,-1,-1,800,600   # Resize to 800x600
xdotool getactivewindow windowsize 800 600

Move to desktop/workspace

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -t 1   # Move to desktop 1 (0-indexed)

Bring window to front (raise)

bash

wmctrl -a "Firefox"
xdotool search --name "Firefox" windowraise

Capture App Screenshots

Screenshot active window

bash

scrot -u ~/Pictures/window-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).png

Screenshot specific window by name

First get window ID, then capture:

bash

# Get window ID
WIN_ID=$(xdotool search --name "Firefox" | head -1)
# Capture that window
import -window $WIN_ID ~/Pictures/firefox-screenshot.png

Screenshot window by clicking (interactive)

bash

scrot -s ~/Pictures/selected-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).png

Screenshot with ImageMagick (by window ID)

bash

# Get window geometry first
WIN_ID=$(xdotool search --name "Firefox" | head -1)
import -window $WIN_ID ~/Pictures/app-screenshot.png

Screenshot window including decorations

bash

scrot -ub ~/Pictures/window-with-border.png

One-liner: Screenshot specific app

bash

# Firefox
xdotool search --name "Firefox" | head -1 | xargs -I{} import -window {} ~/Pictures/firefox.png

# VS Code
xdotool search --name "Visual Studio Code" | head -1 | xargs -I{} import -window {} ~/Pictures/vscode.png

Screenshot and display path

bash

FILE=~/Pictures/app-$(date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S).png && scrot -u "$FILE" && echo "Saved: $FILE"

Get App/Window Information

Get active window info

bash

xdotool getactivewindow getwindowname
xdotool getactivewindow getwindowpid
xdotool getactivewindow getwindowgeometry

Get window geometry (size and position)

bash

xwininfo -id $(xdotool getactivewindow)

Find window by app name

bash

xdotool search --name "Firefox"
xdotool search --class "code"

Get PID of window

bash

xdotool search --name "Firefox" | head -1 | xargs -I{} xdotool getwindowpid {}

Check if app is running

bash

pgrep -x firefox && echo "Firefox is running" || echo "Firefox is not running"

Get app resource usage

bash

# CPU and memory for specific app
ps aux | grep firefox | grep -v grep

# More details
top -bn1 | grep firefox

Common Workflows

Switch to app (or launch if not running)

bash

wmctrl -a "Firefox" || firefox &

Tile two windows side by side

bash

# Left half
wmctrl -r "Firefox" -e 0,0,0,960,1080
# Right half
wmctrl -r "Code" -e 0,960,0,960,1080

Close all windows of an app

bash

xdotool search --name "Firefox" | xargs -I{} xdotool windowclose {}

Screenshot all open windows

bash

mkdir -p ~/Pictures/windows-$(date +%Y%m%d)
for wid in $(xdotool search --onlyvisible --name ""); do
  name=$(xdotool getwindowname $wid | tr ' /' '_')
  import -window $wid ~/Pictures/windows-$(date +%Y%m%d)/${name}.png 2>/dev/null
done

Desktop Info

List desktops/workspaces

bash

wmctrl -d

Switch desktop

bash

wmctrl -s 1  # Switch to desktop 1

Get screen resolution

bash

xdpyinfo | grep dimensions
xrandr | grep '\*'

Get display info

bash

xrandr --query