qtile migrate

qtile migrate is a tool to help users update their configs to reflect any breaking changes/deprecations introduced in later versions.

The tool can automatically apply updates but it can also be used to highlight impacted lines, allowing users to update their configs manually.

The tool can take a number of options when running:

Argument	Description	Default
`-c`, `--config`	Sets the path to the config file	`~/.config/qtile/config.py`
`--list-migrations`	Lists all the available migrations that can be run by the tool.	n/a
`--info ID`	Show more detail about the migration implement by ID.	n/a
`--after-version VERSION`	Only runs migrations relating to changes implemented after release VERSION.	Not set (i.e. runs all migrations).
`-r ID`, `--run-migrations ID`	Run selected migrations identified by ID. Comma separated list if using multiple values.	Not set (i.e. runs all migrations).
`--yes`	Automatically apply changes without asking user for confirmation.	Not set (i.e. users will need to confirm application of changes).
`--show-diff`	When used with `--yes` will cause diffs to still be shown for information purposes only.	Not set.
`--no-colour`	Disables colour output for diff.	Not set
`--lint`	Outputs linting lines showing location of changes. No changes are made to the config.	Not set.

Available migrations

The following migrations are currently available.

ID	Changes introduced after version	Summary
UpdateBluetoothArgs	0.23.0	Updates `Bluetooth` argument signature.
UpdateStocktickerArgs	0.22.1	Updates `StockTicker` argument signature.
UpdateWlanArgs	0.31.0	Updates `Wlan` argument signature.
MatchListRegex	0.23.0	Updates Match objects using lists
MigrateThreadPoolText	0.33.0	Replaces `ThreadPoolText` with `BackgroundPoll`.
RemoveCmdPrefix	0.22.1	Removes `cmd_` prefix from method calls and definitions.
RenameCurrentLayoutIcon	0.32.0	Removed `CurrentLayoutIcon` widget.
RenameUnspecified	0.25.0	Drops UNSPECIFIED argument

Running migrations

Assuming your config file is in the default location, running qtile migrate is sufficent to start the migration process.

Let's say you had a config file with the following contents:

import libqtile.command_client

keys = [
    KeyChord(
        [mod],
        "x",
        [Key([], "Up", lazy.layout.grow()), Key([], "Down", lazy.layout.shrink())],
        mode="Resize layout",
    )
]

qtile.cmd_spawn("alacritty")

Running qtile migrate will run each available migration and, where the migration would result in changes, a diff will be shown and you will be asked whether you wish to apply the changes.

UpdateKeychordArgs: Updates ``KeyChord`` argument signature.

--- original
+++ modified
@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@

        [mod],
        "x",
        [Key([], "Up", lazy.layout.grow()), Key([], "Down", lazy.layout.shrink())],
-        mode="Resize layout",
+        name="Resize layout",
+    mode=True,
    )
]

Apply changes? (y)es, (n)o, (s)kip file, (q)uit.

You will see from the output above that you are shown the name of the migration being applied and its purpose, along with the changes that will be implemented.

If you select quit the migration will be stopped and any applied changes will be reversed.

Once all migrations have been run on a file, you will then be asked whether you want to save changes to the file:

Save all changes to config.py? (y)es, (n)o.

At the end of the migration, backups of your original config will still be in your config folder. NB these will be overwritten if you re-run qtile migrate.

Linting

If you don't want the script to modify your config directly, you can use the --lint option to show you where changes are required.

Running qtile migrate --lint on the same config as shown above will result in the following output:

config.py:
[Ln 1, Col 7]: The 'libqtile.command_*' modules have been moved to 'libqtile.command.*'. (ModuleRenames)
[Ln 8, Col 8]: The use of mode='mode name' for KeyChord is deprecated. Use mode=True and value='mode name'. (UpdateKeychordArgs)
[Ln 12, Col 6]: Use of 'cmd_' prefix is deprecated. 'cmd_spawn' should be replaced with 'spawn' (RemoveCmdPrefix)

Explanations of migrations

The table below provides more detail of the available migrations.

UpdateBluetoothArgs

Migration introduced after version

0.23.0

The Bluetooth widget previously accepted a hci keyword argument. This has been deprecated following a major overhaul of the widget and should be replaced with a keyword argument named device.

For example:

widget.Bluetooth(hci="/dev_XX_XX_XX_XX_XX_XX")

should be changed to:

widget.Bluetooth(device="/dev_XX_XX_XX_XX_XX_XX")

UpdateStocktickerArgs

Migration introduced after version

0.22.1

The StockTicker widget had a keyword argument called function. This needs to be renamed to func to prevent clashes with the function() method of CommandObject.

For example:

widget.StockTicker(function="TIME_SERIES_INTRADAY")

should be changed to:

widget.StockTicker(func="TIME_SERIES_INTRADAY")

UpdateWlanArgs

Migration introduced after version

0.31.0

The Wlan widget previously accepted a ethernet_message keyword argument. This has been deprecated and should be replaced with a keyword argument named ethernet_message_format.

For example:

widget.Wlan(ethernet_message="eth")

should be changed to:

widget.Wlan(ethernet_message_format="eth")

MatchListRegex

Migration introduced after version

0.23.0

The use of lists in Match objects is deprecated and should be replaced with a regex.

For example:

Match(wm_class=["one", "two"])

should be changed to:

Match(wm_class=re.compile(r"^(one|two)$"))

MigrateThreadPoolText

Migration introduced after version

0.33.0

The ThreadPoolText class is deprecated and should be replaced with BackgroundPoll.

RemoveCmdPrefix

Migration introduced after version

0.22.1

The cmd_ prefix was used to identify methods that should be exposed to qtile's command API. This has been deprecated and so calls no longer require the prefix.

For example:

qtile.cmd_spawn("vlc")

would be replaced with:

qtile.spawn("vlc")

Where users have created their own widgets with methods using this prefix, the syntax has also changed:

For example:

class MyWidget(libqtile.widget.base._Widget):
    def cmd_my_command(self):
        pass

Should be updated as follows:

from libqtile.command.base import expose_command

class MyWidget(libqtile.widget.base._Widget):
    @expose_command
    def my_command(self):
        pass

RenameCurrentLayoutIcon

Migration introduced after version

0.32.0

The CurrentLayoutIcon widget's functionality has been merged with CurrentLayout.

Example:

widgets=[
    widget.CurrentLayoutIcon(),
    ...
],

Should be updated as follows:

widgets=[
    widget.CurrentLayout(mode="icon"),
    ...
],

RenameUnspecified

Migration introduced after version

0.25.0

The UNSPECIFIED object was removed in favor of using the zero values (or None) to leave behavior unspecified. That is:

font=UNSPECIFIED -> font=None fontsize=UNSPECIFIED -> fontsize=0 fontshadow=UNSPECIFIED -> fontshadow=""