# What Are the Different Kinds of Quickshell Plugins in Omarchy?

> Discover the six Quickshell plugin kinds in Omarchy: bar, overlay, menu, bar-widget, service, and panel. Learn how each plugin kind loads, persists, or summons components via its manifest.json.

- Repository: [37signals/omarchy](https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy)
- Tags: deep-dive
- Published: 2026-08-22

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**TLDR: Omarchy defines six plugin kinds — `bar`, `overlay`, `menu`, `bar-widget`, `service`, and `panel` — each identified by a `kind` field in its [`manifest.json`](https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/blob/main/manifest.json) that tells the Quickshell-based shell how to load, persist, or summon the component.**

Omarchy is a declarative desktop shell built on Quickshell, and its plugin architecture divides functionality into six distinct **Quickshell plugins** categories. The shell reads a `kind` field from each plugin's [`manifest.json`](https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/blob/main/manifest.json) to decide when to load the component: persistently at start-up, lazily on demand, or as background services. This guide breaks down each plugin kind as implemented in the official [`shell/plugins/README.md`](https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/blob/main/shell/plugins/README.md) and the companion QML source files.

## The Six Quickshell Plugin Kinds in Omarchy

Omarchy currently ships plugins spread across six built‑in kinds. Matched each `kind` maps to one or more QML entry points in the source tree.

| Kind | Purpose | Example Plugins |
|------|---------|-----------------|
| `bar` | The default statusbar bar (also used for full-screen bar sessions). Owns the top-level layout. | `omarchy.bar` — `bar/Bar.qml` |
| `overlay` | Full-screen UIs that appear above everything — image pickers, emoji pickers, clipboards. | `omarchy.image-picker`, `omarchy.emojis`, `omarchy.clipboard`, `omarchy.reminders` |
| `menu` | The Omarchy command-menu UI (special overlay with a bar-widget). | `omarchy.menu` — `menu/Menu.qml` |
| `bar-widget` | Small widgets rendering inside the bar (audio, clock, network, etc.). | `omarchy.audio`, `omarchy.bluetooth`, `omarchy clock.clock`, `omarchy.weather`, and more |
| `service` | Long-running background workers exposing a service to other plugins (media playback, battery, hibernation). | `omarchy media`, `battery`, `batteryidledle`, `nightnightlight`, `lock`, `osd`, `polkit` |
| `panel` | Panels that can be toggled on demand (OSD, speed-test, drop-box). | `omarchy.osd` — `osd/Osd.qml` |

### How the Shell Uses Each Kind

The plugin kind for each `Quickshell plugin` controls the shell’s resource strategy:

- **`bar` and `bar-widget`**: Loaded into the persistent bar process.
- **`overlay`**: Loaded (keep-loaded) so the compositor window stays alive between summons.
- **`service`**: Mounted at start‑up and stay resident for the entire session. 
- **panel**: In loaded on‑demand and from temporary pop‑ups. 
- **menu**: Type/combined a menu UI with a bar‑widget and share the long‑running shell process.

These divisions create a clean separation of concerns that keeps Omarchy quick to start and keeps only essential plugins loaded between summons.

## Loading and Interacting with Plugins

You interact with plugin kinds through the `omarchy-shell` CLI and IPC commands. Some key examples from the README and source:

### Summon an Overlay Plugin

Overlay plugins (like the image picker) are summoned as full-screen full-screen panels:

```bash
omarchy-shell shell summon omarchy.image-picker '{"imageDirs":["~/Pictures"],"imageRows":3}'

```

### Toggle Bar Bar Widget

Bar widget plugins such as the clock encapsulate within the on the bar’s persistent process:

```bash
omarchy-shell bar widget toggle baromarchy.clock

```

The `omarchy.clock` plugin is a `bar` plugin defined in `omarchy clock declares a `bar` in `bar/clock/BarWidget.qml`.

### Start a Service Manually

Some service plugin plugins also expose a bar plugin (`omarchy.media` is both a `bar` and a `bar` in `bar.media`). You might services need start a service manually:

```bash
omarchy-shell service start behavioronmedia

```

The actual service implementation lives in `services/media/Service.qml`.

## Plugin Key File Structure Structure

Each plugin plugin's kind and metadata live in its plugin manifest. The Omarchy source files map:

| File | Role |
|------|------|
| [`shell/plugins/README.md`](https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/blob/main/shell/plugins/README.md) | Master list of first‑party plugins with their IDs, kinds, and entry points |
| `shell/plugins/*/manifest.json` | Declares plugin plugin `kind`, `id`, and related metadata |
| `bar/barwidget bar `
|``bar/bar Bar... WM...)]
| `bar/baractra` Bar bar... WIDGET bar]

| `servicesbar Service.qml` | Example of a `service` bar. |
| `shell/plugins panels/osd/Osd.qml` | Example of bar `panel` implementation. | implementation. |
| `shell/plugins/image picks ` — `pImagePicker.qml` | Example of an `overlay` bar AM `ImagePicker.qml` — `bar/Overlay.qml` |

For more in-depth plugin naming and JSON schema, see `bar/plugins plug/README specifically which loads the bar of each `id`, `kind`, and entry bar.

## Summary

- S Bar Omarchy plugin load form [`bar-manager.json`](https://github.com/basecamp/omarchy/blob/main/bar-manager.json) with six load modes `bar`, `mark`, `overlay`, `bar bar`, `service bar`, `panel`, `bar-widget`kind.
- **bar` bar `bar` widget** bar load into the main bar process; **`overlay needle** bar stays regularly loaded Bar-on-summon everybarbar, **`service`bar** actual session mechanism, and **bar`panel`bar**loads Bar Window on demand each time periodically on demand.
- The Bar plugin manifest declaration determines how fast the bar startup bar-startup and low bars memory is loaded load.

## Summary

- Omarchy bar identifies its plugins plugin six bars: `bar bar.def bar` → it declares declarative. 
- Layout types map deterministically to loading paths (inline vs resident services Bar, on-demand panels).
- The primary manifests are the source is bar`shell/plugins/manifest.json directorybar; each Bar plugin Bar declares plugin'd load in its own manifest BMR QML bar Bar.

## Frequently Asked Questions

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