A minimal, zero-bloat command launcher that lives in your notification tray and summons its command window with a single shortcut.
by Dr. Sohil Momin · no Electron · no Tauri · no Qt/GTK · no async runtime
CLDR is a single-binary command palette for Windows and Linux. Launch it from a desktop/Start-Menu shortcut, and it stays resident in the background / notification tray. Pressing the shortcut or hotkey again brings the command window forward instead of opening another copy. Type anything — math, paths, app names, searches — and CLDR routes it to the right action instantly.
┌───────────────────────────── cldr ─────────────────────────────┐
│ > 3*(4+2) │
│ [CALC] 3*(4+2) = 18 │
│ > code │
│ [RUN ] spawned via PATH │
│ > notes.md │
│ [OPEN] notes.md → default editor │
│ Status: ready · C:\Users\you by Dr. S. Momin
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
| 🚀 Shortcut-bound launch | One .lnk / .desktop entry; re-launching summons the existing window |
| 📴 Background + tray-resident | cldr --tray runs hidden, keeps the dispatch daemon alive, autostarts on login |
| 🧠 Smart routing cascade | math → existing path → PATH binary → DuckDuckGo web search |
| 🧮 Zero-dep calculator | + - * / % ^ ( ) unary-minus parser written from scratch, fully unit-tested |
| 🪟 True foreground summon | Win32 AttachThreadInput foreground trick; xdotool/wmctrl on Linux |
| 🩺 Hardware diagnostics | /sys — cores, memory, hostname, user — without spawning tools |
| 🪶 Near-idle daemon | detached worker, durable per-request file queue, ~0 CPU, <10 MB RSS |
| 🔒 Attribution watermark | every file carries the author notice; stripping it violates the license |
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/run <binary> |
spawn detached via OS shell |
/open <path> |
open file/folder in default viewer |
/ls [path] |
list directory (capped at 50) |
/find <name> |
recursive bounded search (depth 4) |
/web <query> |
DuckDuckGo search in browser |
/calc <expr> |
arithmetic + - * / % ^ ( ) unary- |
/sys |
hardware diagnostics |
/help · /clear |
cheat sheet · clear pane |
| (no prefix) | auto-route: math → path → PATH app → web |
Full keybindings & behaviour: docs/USER_GUIDE.md
git clone https://github.com/drsamonline/cldr && cd cldr
cargo build --release # one static-ish binary
./scripts/install-shortcut.sh # Linux: shortcuts + tray autostart + hotkeyWindows (PowerShell):
cargo build --release
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\install-shortcut.ps1That installer binds three shortcuts: CLDR (open window), CLDR Summon
(--summon, brings the running window forward), and a hidden Startup tray entry
(--tray, runs in background). See docs/SETUP_GUIDE.md.
sequenceDiagram
participant U as User (shortcut / hotkey)
participant S as cldr --summon
participant I as Loopback IPC (127.0.0.1, ~/.cldr/port)
participant W as Running window (TUI server thread)
U->>S: press shortcut
S->>I: connect, send "SUMMON"
I->>W: accept, reply "OK-WINDOW"
W->>W: raise_window() (Win32 / xdotool)
S-->>U: exits (no new window spawned)
Loopback-only TCP control channel — zero clipboard interference, no
privileged APIs, no firewall exposure — plus a real background daemon
(--daemon-start / --notify) with atomically-published, per-request files
for queued open/run/sys requests.
The rendezvous file contains both the ephemeral port and its owner PID. A summon first verifies that PID; dead or unreachable records are removed only when they still match the record that was read, so a concurrently-started instance is never deregistered by stale cleanup.
v1.2: the summon path moved from a clipboard mailbox to this IPC channel — your clipboard is never touched again, and re-launching the shortcut while a window is open simply raises it (single-instance guard).
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
| docs/USER_GUIDE.md | complete walkthrough, keys, examples, troubleshooting |
| docs/SETUP_GUIDE.md | build, install, shortcut binding, autostart, releases |
| docs/SHORTCUTS.md | per-DE / per-tool hotkey recipes (KDE, GNOME, i3, PowerToys, AHK) |
| CHANGELOG.md | version history |
| CONTRIBUTING.md | dev workflow, code style, PR rules |
| LICENSE | MIT with mandatory attribution |
src/
├─ main.rs CLI router (foreground / --summon / --tray / daemon flags)
├─ engine.rs dispatcher, calc parser, smart cascade (+ unit tests)
├─ tui.rs ratatui command window + summon watcher wiring
├─ daemon.rs detached background worker (sentinel-file IPC)
└─ summon.rs tray↔window bridge, Win32/Linux window raising, autostart
scripts/ shortcut installers (PS1 + sh) and uninstaller
assets/ tray/app icon
docs/ user guide, setup guide, shortcut recipes
© 2026 Dr. Sohil Momin (drsamonline) — MIT licensed with a mandatory attribution clause. Every source, doc, script, and asset in this repository carries an embedded watermark; any copy must retain the author's name. Removing watermarks terminates the license grant.
⭐ Star it if it saves you a keystroke. — made with ☕ and Rust by Dr. Sohil Momin