---
name: noctalia-bar-layout-edit
description: "Edit/verify Noctalia v5 bar widget layout (start/center/end, taskbar workspace grouping) on Frank's symlinked dotfiles workstations"
---

# Noctalia v5 bar layout edit

Bar widget layout on Frank's noctalia v5 workstations is GUI-override state, not config.toml.

## Where
- Layout file: `~/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml` → `[bar.<name>]` keys `start` / `center` / `end` (arrays of widget ids; `[widget.<id>]` subtables hold per-widget settings).
- On Frank's boxes this file is a **symlink into the command-center repo** (e.g. `~/.omp/dotfiles/noctalia/.local/state/noctalia/settings.toml`) — edit the repo file, not the link path (atomic-rename writes through the link path would replace the symlink).
- Layer order: built-in defaults < `~/.config/noctalia/config.toml` (+`[include]`) < `settings.toml` (wins). Noctalia writes through symlinks and keeps them.
- Defaults when a key is absent: `start = ["launcher","wallpaper","workspaces"]`, `center = ["clock"]`.

## Apply/verify loop (no restart, no reload IPC)
1. Edit the repo `settings.toml`.
2. `noctalia config validate` (checks merged layers; also `noctalia config export [full] | yq -p toml` to inspect effective values).
3. Both layers are file-watched → hot-reload. Prove visually: `noctalia msg screenshot-fullscreen` saves a PNG to `~/Pictures`; read the image and inspect the bar.

## Taskbar recipes
- Move window indicator beside workspaces: put `"taskbar"` in `start` after `"workspaces"`.
- Combine workspaces+windows into ONE widget: `[widget.taskbar] group_by_workspace = true` — per-workspace capsules with disc labels (focused/occupied/empty/urgent colors); `workspace_group_content = "icons"|"count"|"dots"` (count/dots: left-click activates the workspace); `hide_empty_workspaces`, `show_workspace_label`, `minimal`, `workspace_label_placement = corner|centered|inside`. Requires compositor per-window workspace assignment (niri: yes; LabWC: no → stays flat).
- The `workspaces` widget itself has no window display; styles are regular/minimal/focus_hint only.

## Law
Full widget/setting tables: https://docs.noctalia.dev/noctalia/bar/ and .../bar/widgets/<name>/ . Commit bar changes atomically to the command-center repo (checkout is the deployment).