Runtime API

Most noctalia.* functions are synchronous. Methods that start subprocesses, HTTP requests, or downloads return a boolean immediately to say whether the work was accepted, then deliver results to a callback.

Runtime and settings

Section titled “Runtime and settings”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.setUpdateInterval(ms)`	nothing	Sets how often this entry’s `update()` function runs. Values below 16 ms are clamped.
`noctalia.log(msg)`	nothing	Writes a message to Noctalia’s log with this plugin’s script context.
`noctalia.isDarkMode()`	bool	Returns whether the active theme mode is dark.
`noctalia.focusedOutputName()`	string or `nil`	Returns the focused output’s connector name, falling back to the preferred interactive output when needed.
`noctalia.getConfig(key)`	setting value or `nil`	Reads a declared plugin or entry setting. Undeclared keys log a warning and return `nil`.

Outputs, wallpaper, and panels

Section titled “Outputs, wallpaper, and panels”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.outputs()`	array	Returns connected outputs as `{ name, description, width, height, x, y, scale, focused }` tables.
`noctalia.setWallpaperEnabled(connector, enabled)`	nothing	Enables or disables Noctalia’s own wallpaper surface on one output. This is runtime-only and clears on restart.
`noctalia.setWallpaper(path)`	nothing	Applies and persists a wallpaper image on every output.
`noctalia.setWallpaper(connector, path)`	nothing	Applies and persists a wallpaper image on one output.
`noctalia.wallpaperDirectory()`	string or `nil`	Returns the resolved wallpaper folder for the current theme mode, or `nil` when unset.
`noctalia.togglePanel("author/plugin:panel")`	nothing	Opens or closes a plugin panel by full entry id.

outputs() uses the DRM connector name in name; that is the same connector string expected by compositor tools such as mpvpaper. A [[service]] may also define onOutputsChanged(), which Noctalia calls whenever the output set or geometry changes.

setWallpaper(path) behaves like the built-in wallpaper panel. Prefer it and togglePanel(id) over shelling out to the noctalia CLI from a plugin; the API path runs in-process and avoids an IPC round trip.

Time, notifications, and clipboard

Section titled “Time, notifications, and clipboard”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.formatTime(pattern)`	string	Formats the current local time with the same tokens as Noctalia clock and filename settings.
`noctalia.formatTime(pattern, unixSeconds)`	string	Formats a specific Unix timestamp in local time.
`noctalia.notify(title, body)`	nothing	Shows an informational notification. `body` is optional.
`noctalia.notifyError(title, body)`	nothing	Shows an error notification. `body` is optional.
`noctalia.copyToClipboard(text, mime)`	bool	Copies text to the clipboard with an explicit MIME type, for example `"text/plain"` or `"text/uri-list"`.
`noctalia.clipboardText()`	string or `nil`	Latest text clipboard content (`nil` when empty or non-text).

%s in formatTime() expands to Unix epoch seconds.

Subprocesses and environment

Section titled “Subprocesses and environment”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.runAsync(cmd)`	bool	Starts a detached shell command and returns whether it launched. No output is captured.
`noctalia.runAsync(cmd, cb)`	bool	Runs a shell command with output capture, then calls `cb(result)`.
`noctalia.runStream(cmd, onLine)`	bool	Runs a long-lived shell command and calls `onLine(line)` for each stdout line.
`noctalia.runInTerminal(cmd)`	bool	Starts a shell command in the configured terminal.
`noctalia.commandExists(name)`	bool	Checks whether an executable is available on `PATH`.
`noctalia.processMatches(cb, ...needles)`	bool	Asynchronously checks running processes; `cb(matched)` receives a boolean.
`noctalia.flatpakAppInstalled(id)`	bool	Checks whether a Flatpak app id is installed.
`noctalia.portalAvailable()`	bool	Checks whether the desktop portal is available.
`noctalia.getenv(name)`	string or `nil`	Reads an environment variable.
`noctalia.expandPath(path)`	string	Expands a path such as `~/Pictures` to an absolute user path.

runAsync(cmd, cb) calls cb(result) once with:

{ exitCode = 0, stdout = "...", stderr = "...", timedOut = false, stdoutTruncated = false, stderrTruncated = false,}

runStream() is meant for long-running processes. The runtime terminates active streams when the script reloads, the entry is removed, or Noctalia stops the plugin.

Filesystem

Section titled “Filesystem”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.readFile(path)`	string, or `nil, err`	Reads a file as bytes.
`noctalia.writeFile(path, content)`	bool, optional error	Writes a file, replacing existing contents.
`noctalia.mkdirAll(path)`	bool, optional error	Creates a directory and any missing parents (an existing directory is success).
`noctalia.removeFile(path)`	bool, optional error	Deletes a file. Refuses directories.
`noctalia.renameFile(from, to)`	bool, optional error	Renames or moves a file.
`noctalia.fileExists(path)`	bool	Checks whether a path exists.
`noctalia.fileInfo(path)`	table, or `nil, err`	`{ size, mtime, isDir }`, size in bytes, mtime in unix seconds.
`noctalia.listDir(path)`	array, or `nil, err`	Lists filenames in a directory.
`noctalia.pluginDir()`	string or `nil`	Returns this plugin’s runtime directory.
`noctalia.loadFont(path)`	string, or `nil, err`	Registers a font file and returns its family name.

Filesystem paths resolve as follows: ~ expands to $HOME, absolute paths are used as-is, and relative paths resolve against the plugin’s own directory. Plugins are trusted code, so these helpers are not sandboxed.

HTTP and downloads

Section titled “HTTP and downloads”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.http(request, cb)`	bool	Starts an async HTTP request and calls `cb(response)`.
`noctalia.download(url, dest, cb)`	bool	Downloads a URL to a file and calls `cb(ok)` with a boolean.

request is a table:

{ url = "https://example.com", method = "GET", body = "", headers = { "Accept: application/json" }, basic_username = "user", basic_password = "pass", follow_redirects = false,}

Only url is required. http() calls cb(response) once with:

{ ok = true, status = 200, body = "...",}

download() resolves dest like other filesystem paths, so a relative destination writes inside the plugin directory.

Translations and data helpers

Section titled “Translations and data helpers”

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.tr(key)`	string	Looks up a translated string from `translations/<lang>.json`, falling back to the key.
`noctalia.tr(key, subst)`	string	Looks up a string and replaces `{name}` placeholders from a table.
`noctalia.trp(key, count)`	string	Plural translation helper; prefers `<key>.one` or `<key>.other`, then the bare key.
`noctalia.trp(key, count, subst)`	string	Plural translation helper with substitutions. `count` is also available as `{count}`.
`noctalia.json.decode(str)`	value, or `nil, err`	Parses JSON into Luau values.
`noctalia.json.encode(value)`	string, or `nil, err`	Encodes a Luau value as compact JSON.
`noctalia.json.encode(value, true)`	string, or `nil, err`	Encodes a Luau value as pretty JSON.
`noctalia.string.trim(str)`	string	Trims leading and trailing whitespace.
`noctalia.string.urlEncode(str)`	string	Percent-encodes a string for use in URLs.
`noctalia.string.urlDecode(str)`	string	Decodes percent-encoded URL text.
`noctalia.fuzzyScore(pattern, text)`	number or `nil`	Scores a fuzzy match with Noctalia’s native matcher. `nil` means no match.

json.* and string.* are synchronous pure transforms. Prefer string.urlEncode() when building query strings for http() or download().

Section titled “Sharing state across entries”

Entries are isolated VMs - they don’t share Lua memory. Instead they exchange plain values through a per-plugin state channel:

Method	Returns	Description
`noctalia.state.set(key, value)`	nothing	Publishes a plain value for other entries in the same plugin.
`noctalia.state.get(key)`	value or `nil`	Reads the latest value for a key.
`noctalia.state.watch(key, fn)`	nothing	Calls `fn(value)` whenever the key changes.

Values are copied across entries, so they must be plain data - strings, numbers, booleans, and tables of those (not functions). A typical pattern is a [[service]] publishing data that the widget and shortcut watch.

-- ticker.luau (service)local n = 0noctalia.setUpdateInterval(1000)function update() n = n + 1 noctalia.state.set("count", n)end
-- widget.luaunoctalia.state.watch("count", function(value) barWidget.setText(tostring(value))end)