[GH-ISSUE #1387] [Feature Request]: Add Windows-esque Tray Overflow Dropdown/Popup #4632

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opened 2026-05-23 00:54:47 +01:00 by JakeStanger · 3 comments

JakeStanger commented

2026-05-23 00:54:47 +01:00

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Originally created by @Jackaed on GitHub (Feb 18, 2026).
Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/JakeStanger/ironbar/issues/1387

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Most people have two categories of tray icons: the first is things like nm-applet and blueman-applet, which they want visible all the time, as they basically behave like UI features of the bar itself. Obviously, in an ideal world, ironbar progresses to the extent that it can support the features of these projects natively, but that's (hopefully) further down the line.

The other category are the tray icons for stuff that they just have running in the background - steam, discord, whatsapp, etc. These are things I don't particularly want to see in my bar all the time.

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The more info here about what you are trying to achieve, the better - there's likely more than one way to go about implementing a solution.

There are two things I think would make cool features:

1: The ability to "hide" a tray icon, behind another widget on the bar. For example - I would quite like to use the icon from Ironbar's native network manager module, but when I right click it, it behaves like I've right clicked nm-applet's tray icon. This allows a user to keep visual consistency between icons, with the added functionality of a full blown applet.
2: A tray overflow menu, where users can use filters to whitelist/blacklist certain icons to and from this overflow menu.

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Additional context

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Originally created by @Jackaed on GitHub (Feb 18, 2026). Original GitHub issue: https://github.com/JakeStanger/ironbar/issues/1387 **Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.** > A clear and concise description of what the problem is. Ex. I'm always frustrated when [...] Most people have two categories of tray icons: the first is things like `nm-applet` and `blueman-applet`, which they want visible all the time, as they basically behave like UI features of the bar itself. Obviously, in an ideal world, `ironbar` progresses to the extent that it can support the features of these projects natively, but that's (hopefully) further down the line. The other category are the tray icons for stuff that they just have running in the background - steam, discord, whatsapp, etc. These are things I don't particularly want to see in my bar all the time. **Describe the solution you'd like** > A clear and concise description of what you want to happen. > The more info here about what you are trying to achieve, the better - there's likely more than one way to go about implementing a solution. There are two things I think would make cool features: - 1: The ability to "hide" a tray icon, behind another widget on the bar. For example - I would quite like to use the icon from Ironbar's native network manager module, but when I right click it, it behaves like I've right clicked `nm-applet`'s tray icon. This allows a user to keep visual consistency between icons, with the added functionality of a full blown applet. - 2: A tray overflow menu, where users can use filters to whitelist/blacklist certain icons to and from this overflow menu. **Describe alternatives you've considered** > A clear and concise description of any alternative solutions or features you've considered. **Additional context** > Add any other context or screenshots about the feature request here.

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2026-05-23 00:54:47 +01:00

JakeStanger commented

2026-05-23 00:54:48 +01:00

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@Jackaed commented on GitHub (Feb 18, 2026):

Apologies if a similar feature request already exists - I had a look and couldn't see any. I'm particularly hopeful about the possibility of the first feature I described (hiding an applet behind a separate feature) - I think it'd be very useful to a lot of users.

@Jackaed commented on GitHub (Feb 18, 2026): Apologies if a similar feature request already exists - I had a look and couldn't see any. I'm particularly hopeful about the possibility of the first feature I described (hiding an applet behind a separate feature) - I think it'd be very useful to a lot of users.

JakeStanger commented

2026-05-23 00:54:48 +01:00

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@dae-vinity commented on GitHub (Feb 24, 2026):

you can have a quick tray popup with

    {
      "type": "custom",
      "bar": [
        {
          "type": "button",
          "label": "󰅃",
          "on_click": "popup:toggle"
        }
      ],
      "popup": [
        {
          "type": "tray"
        }
      ]
    },

however you can't really decide which icons you do want to be outside the menu
though i believe this could be nicely implemented through adding whitelist and/or blacklist properties to the tray module of sorts?

@dae-vinity commented on GitHub (Feb 24, 2026): you can have a quick tray popup with ```json { "type": "custom", "bar": [ { "type": "button", "label": "󰅃", "on_click": "popup:toggle" } ], "popup": [ { "type": "tray" } ] }, ``` however you can't really decide which icons you do want to be outside the menu though i believe this could be nicely implemented through adding whitelist and/or blacklist properties to the tray module of sorts?

JakeStanger commented

2026-05-23 00:54:48 +01:00

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@JakeStanger commented on GitHub (Feb 24, 2026):

Either way this would need a whitelist/blacklist to designate what would go in the tray/overflow. I'd prefer the native route, but if anybody wants to tackle adding whitelist/blacklist options as a starter to improve the custom route I'll happily accept that.

@JakeStanger commented on GitHub (Feb 24, 2026): Either way this would need a whitelist/blacklist to designate what would go in the tray/overflow. I'd prefer the native route, but if anybody wants to tackle adding whitelist/blacklist options as a starter to improve the custom route I'll happily accept that.