Custom Toolbox

A Qt-based application for creating custom launcher toolboxes for Linux. Custom Toolbox allows users to create personalized collections of applications organized by categories, providing quick access to frequently used tools and utilities.

Features

• Custom Launcher Creation: Create personalized toolboxes with your favorite applications
• Category Organization: Group applications into logical categories for easy navigation
• Flexible Configuration: Text-based configuration files for easy customization
• Root Application Support: Launch applications with elevated privileges when needed
• Terminal Application Support: Run terminal-based applications in a terminal window
• Internationalization: Multi-language support with extensive translations
• Theme Integration: Integrates with system themes and icon sets

Screenshots

Installation

From Package Manager

Custom Toolbox is available in MX Linux repositories:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install custom-toolbox

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Qt6 development libraries (Core, Gui, Widgets, LinguistTools)
• C++20 compatible compiler (GCC 14+ or Clang 15+)
• CMake 3.16+
• Ninja build system (recommended)

Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt install qt6-base-dev qt6-tools-dev cmake ninja-build build-essential

Fedora:

sudo dnf install qt6-qtbase-devel qt6-qttools-devel cmake ninja-build gcc-c++

For Clang (optional):

sudo apt install clang  # Ubuntu/Debian
sudo dnf install clang  # Fedora

Build with CMake + Ninja (Recommended)

git clone https://github.com/MX-Linux/custom-toolbox.git
cd custom-toolbox
./build.sh
sudo cmake --install build

Alternative Build Methods

Using build script with options:

./build.sh              # Release build
./build.sh --debug      # Debug build
./build.sh --clang      # Build with clang
./build.sh --clean      # Clean rebuild

Direct CMake commands:

cmake -G Ninja -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build --parallel

Build Options and Compiler Support

Compiler Selection:

• GCC (default): Optimized builds with LTO support
• Clang: Alternative compiler with different optimizations

  ./build.sh --clang
  # OR
  cmake -B build -DUSE_CLANG=ON

Build Types:

• Release: Optimized build with -O3, LTO, and NDEBUG
• Debug: Debug symbols, no optimization

  ./build.sh --debug
  # OR
  cmake -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug

Features:

• Ninja Build System: Fast parallel builds
• Colored Output: Automatic colored diagnostics
• Compile Commands: compile_commands.json for IDE support
• Automatic Version: Version extracted from CMakeLists.txt

Usage

Basic Usage

1. Launch Custom Toolbox from the applications menu or run custom-toolbox in terminal
2. The application will scan /etc/custom-toolbox/ for .list configuration files
3. Click on any application button to launch it
4. Use the category tabs to navigate between different application groups

Configuration Files

Custom Toolbox reads configuration files from /etc/custom-toolbox/ with the .list extension. These are simple text files that define the launcher's structure.

Basic Configuration File Format

# Comments start with #
Name=My Custom Launcher
Comment=A collection of my favorite tools

Category=Development
code
gedit
git-gui

Category=System Tools
htop
gparted root
gnome-terminal terminal

Category=Graphics
gimp
inkscape
blender

Configuration File Structure

Header Section:

• Name= - The title displayed in the launcher window
• Comment= - Optional description of the launcher

Category Sections:

• Category=CategoryName - Defines a new category tab
• Following lines list application names (one per line)
• Applications are launched using their desktop file names or executable names

Application Flags:

• appname root - Launch application with root privileges
• appname terminal - Launch application in a terminal window
• appname root terminal - Launch with both root privileges and in terminal

Example Configuration Files

Development Tools (/etc/custom-toolbox/development.list):

Name=Development Tools
Comment=Programming and development applications

Category=Editors
code
atom
vim terminal
emacs

Category=Version Control
git-gui
gitk
meld

Category=Databases
mysql-workbench
pgadmin4

System Administration (/etc/custom-toolbox/sysadmin.list):

Name=System Administration
Comment=System maintenance and administration tools

Category=Monitoring
htop terminal
iotop root terminal
nethogs root terminal

Category=Disk Management
gparted root
baobab
gnome-disk-utility

Category=Network
wireshark root
nmap terminal
iptables root terminal

Media Tools (/etc/custom-toolbox/media.list):

Name=Media Tools
Comment=Audio, video, and graphics applications

Category=Graphics
gimp
inkscape
krita
blender

Category=Audio
audacity
ardour
lmms

Category=Video
kdenlive
openshot
vlc

Application Configuration

The application behavior can be customized using /etc/custom-toolbox/custom-toolbox.conf:

# Hide GUI or minimize it when launching an app
hideGUI=false

# Set GUI minimum size (pixels)
min_height=500
min_width=0

# Set icon size (pixels)
icon_size=40

# Set the GUI editor used in the program
# Use an absolute path here
gui_editor=/usr/bin/featherpad

Configuration Options

• hideGUI: Hide or minimize the launcher window when starting an application
• min_height/min_width: Set minimum window dimensions
• icon_size: Size of application icons in pixels
• gui_editor: Default text editor for editing configuration files

Creating Custom Launchers

1. Create a new .list file in /etc/custom-toolbox/:

   sudo nano /etc/custom-toolbox/my-tools.list

2. Define the launcher structure:

   Name=My Personal Tools
   Comment=My frequently used applications
   
   Category=Internet
   firefox
   thunderbird
   
   Category=Office
   libreoffice-writer
   libreoffice-calc

3. Restart Custom Toolbox to load the new configuration

Finding Application Names

To find the correct application names to use in configuration files:

# List all desktop files
ls /usr/share/applications/

# Search for specific applications
find /usr/share/applications/ -name "*firefox*"

# Check if an executable exists
which gimp

Development

Project Structure

custom-toolbox/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── main.cpp           # Application entry point
│   ├── mainwindow.cpp/h   # Main window implementation
│   ├── flatbutton.cpp/h   # Custom button widget
│   ├── about.cpp/h        # About dialog
│   ├── common.h           # Common definitions
│   ├── version.h          # Version information
│   └── mainwindow.ui      # UI layout file
├── translations/          # Translation files
├── icons/                 # Application icons
├── help/                  # Help documentation
├── CMakeLists.txt         # CMake build configuration
├── build.sh               # Build script with options
├── custom-toolbox.conf    # Default configuration
├── example.list           # Example launcher configuration
└── README.md             # This file

Code Standards

• Language: C++20 with strict compiler warnings (-Wpedantic -Werror)
• Framework: Qt6 (Core, Gui, Widgets)
• Build System: CMake with Ninja generator
• Compilers: GCC 14+ (with LTO) or Clang 15+ (default GCC)
• Optimizations: -O3 for Release, LTO for GCC builds
• Warnings: All warnings as errors, pedantic mode enabled
• Style: snake_case variables, PascalCase classes, minimal comments

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes following the code standards
4. Test with both GCC and Clang compilers
5. Run the application to verify functionality
6. Submit a pull request

Testing

# Test with different compilers
./build.sh              # GCC Release
./build.sh --clang      # Clang Release
./build.sh --debug      # GCC Debug
./build.sh --clang --debug  # Clang Debug

# Run the application
./build/custom-toolbox

# Clean builds
./build.sh --clean

Development Tools

# Generate compile_commands.json for IDEs
cmake -G Ninja -B build -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DCMAKE_EXPORT_COMPILE_COMMANDS=ON

# Check version info
./build/custom-toolbox --version
./build/custom-toolbox --help

Debug Mode

Run with debug output:

QT_LOGGING_RULES="*=true" custom-toolbox

License

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

Authors

• Adrian - Main developer
• MX Linux Team - http://mxlinux.org

Support

• Bug Reports: GitHub Issues
• MX Linux Forum: https://forum.mxlinux.org
• Documentation: MX Linux Wiki