CLI reference

One binary, one running instance: every action below rides DropTerm’s single-instance D-Bus seam - a second launch tells the first instance what to do and exits.

cosmic-ext-dropterm [toggle]              # default: toggle the overlay
cosmic-ext-dropterm show | hide           # dedicated show/hide keys
cosmic-ext-dropterm new-tab [--cwd DIR] [--cmd COMMAND] [--profile NAME]
cosmic-ext-dropterm close-tab [--tab-index N]
cosmic-ext-dropterm rename-tab TITLE [--tab-index N]
cosmic-ext-dropterm duplicate-tab [--tab-index N]
cosmic-ext-dropterm switch-profile-tab --profile NAME [--tab-index N]
cosmic-ext-dropterm select-tab N          # strict: no wrap, no 9 = last
cosmic-ext-dropterm --is-visible          # query only, never shows the overlay

new-tab

Script new tabs with cosmic-ext-dropterm new-tab [--cwd DIR] [--cmd COMMAND] [--profile NAME]:

cosmic-ext-dropterm new-tab                 # a shell in the active tab's cwd
cosmic-ext-dropterm new-tab --cwd ~/src     # a shell in an explicit directory
cosmic-ext-dropterm new-tab --cmd htop      # a tab running htop
cosmic-ext-dropterm new-tab --profile web-prod  # a tab running a configured profile

A new-tab sent while the app runs opens the tab in the running instance and shows the overlay; sent while it is not running, the app starts with that tab. --cmd runs the command instead of the shell (cosmic-term -e semantics): whitespace-split with no quoting support, the tab closes when the command exits, and the tab is deliberately not part of the saved session - the session never resumes a program. --profile NAME runs that configured profile’s command line in its cwd instead of the shell, identically remote and at first launch; it cannot be combined with --cmd, an explicit --cwd wins over the profile’s own cwd, and - unlike --cmd - the tab is part of the saved session. A name the config doesn’t carry logs a warn and opens a plain shell tab: the request is fire-and-forget, so there is no error to report back. --cwd beats inheritance; a nonexistent directory is ignored with a warning and the tab opens in the fallback directory instead. Where the tab lands follows new_tab_after_current (default true: directly after the active tab; false: at the end of the tab list).

Profiles themselves - the RON list, default_profile, and their launch paths - are documented in Configuration.

Tab verbs

The tab verbs script tab management over the same seam. All indices are 1-based (0 is rejected at the CLI edge; out-of-range targets warn and no-op):

cosmic-ext-dropterm close-tab                       # close the active tab
cosmic-ext-dropterm close-tab --tab-index 2         # close the second tab
cosmic-ext-dropterm rename-tab "work"               # pin a title on the active tab
cosmic-ext-dropterm rename-tab ""                   # clear the override; shell titles resume
cosmic-ext-dropterm rename-tab "logs" --tab-index 3
cosmic-ext-dropterm duplicate-tab                   # fresh shell in the active tab's cwd
cosmic-ext-dropterm switch-profile-tab --profile web-prod  # respawn the active tab under the profile
cosmic-ext-dropterm select-tab 2                    # activate the second tab, strictly

close-tab and rename-tab are quiet state edits for scripts - they never show the overlay. duplicate-tab, switch-profile-tab, and select-tab are tab-facing: like new-tab, they show the overlay, and a request arriving mid-slide-out reverses it instead of finishing the hide. A rename pins a title that no shell OSC title change can overwrite; the empty string is the documented reset (shell titles resume), and a pending inline rename on that tab is discarded when the remote title lands. duplicate-tab opens a fresh shell in the target tab’s cwd - the running command is never copied - lands after the active tab (always, whatever new_tab_after_current says), and becomes active; the target’s rename pin carries over (duplicating a tab renamed “work” opens the duplicate already named “work”), while an unrenamed tab’s title resolves naturally from its own shell; with an unresolvable target it degrades to the active tab’s cwd and pin. The Ctrl+Shift+D keybind and the context menu’s “Duplicate Tab” row are the same verb on the active tab; the per-tab context menu’s row (right-click a tab button) is the same verb on the clicked tab. switch-profile-tab --profile NAME respawns the target tab in place under the profile: its terminal is replaced by a fresh one running the profile’s command in its cwd - the running command and scrollback are lost, the same cost as closing and reopening the tab - while the tab keeps its slot in the row, its activation state, and a pinned rename; from then on the tab saves to the session as a profile tab, and a restart restores it as that profile. The spawn cwd composes like a profile launch’s: the profile’s own live cwd, else the tab’s current working directory. An unrenamed tab’s default title renumbers after the switch (Terminal N follows the fresh terminal); a renamed tab keeps its rename. An unknown --profile name or out-of-range --tab-index warns and changes nothing - unlike duplicate-tab there is no sensible fallback, so it never degrades to a spawn. The context menu’s Switch Profile folder (present exactly when ≥1 profile is configured) is the same verb on the active tab, and the per-tab context menu’s Switch Profile section the same verb on the clicked tab. select-tab N is strict: no wrap, no 9 = last. Sent while the app is not running, all five verbs just start the app plain - only new-tab carries startup meaning.

Querying visibility

Scripts can also ask instead of act: cosmic-ext-dropterm --is-visible prints true/false and exits with a matching code (0 visible, 1 hidden or not running), without ever summoning the terminal. It cannot be combined with the action subcommands:

cosmic-ext-dropterm --is-visible && echo "the terminal is up"
if cosmic-ext-dropterm --is-visible; then ...; fi   # exit code branch

The running instance serves the answer over D-Bus (a read-only Visible property on the bus name it already owns), so the query is cheap and works from any process.