From 85cf1d92caa0a503b6d9b20a5ee27b4f9ec0b421 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Jelle Spreeuwenberg <mail@jelles.net>
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2026 23:15:08 +0200
Subject: [PATCH] feat: make kitty boot in single instance mode

---
 modules/capabilities/terminal.nix     | 39 ++++++++++++++++++++++++---
 modules/profiles/workstation-base.nix |  4 +--
 2 files changed, 38 insertions(+), 5 deletions(-)

diff --git a/modules/capabilities/terminal.nix b/modules/capabilities/terminal.nix
index 83d97fb..947f6e3 100644
--- a/modules/capabilities/terminal.nix
+++ b/modules/capabilities/terminal.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,24 @@
-{ config, ... }:
+{ lib, config, ... }:
 let
   repo = config.repo;
 
+  kittySingleInstance =
+    pkgs:
+    pkgs.symlinkJoin {
+      name = "kitty-single";
+      paths = [ pkgs.kitty ];
+      meta = pkgs.kitty.meta;
+      buildInputs = [ pkgs.makeWrapper ];
+      postBuild = ''
+        # Wrap the binary to always launch as a single instance
+        wrapProgram $out/bin/kitty --add-flags "-1"
+
+        # Patch the .desktop file for strict app launchers like Vicinae
+        rm $out/share/applications/kitty.desktop
+        sed 's/Exec=kitty/Exec=kitty -1/g' ${pkgs.kitty}/share/applications/kitty.desktop > $out/share/applications/kitty.desktop
+      '';
+    };
+
   mkTerminal =
     {
       desktopEntryName,
@@ -103,7 +120,7 @@ in
     {
       programs.kitty = {
         enable = true;
-        package = pkgs.kitty;
+        package = kittySingleInstance pkgs;
         font = {
           name = "JetBrains Mono";
           size = 11;
@@ -156,6 +173,22 @@ in
           color17 ${palette.terminal.color17}
         '';
       };
+      systemd.user.services.kitty-daemon = {
+        Unit = {
+          Description = "Kitty Terminal Daemon";
+          PartOf = [ "graphical-session.target" ];
+          After = [ "graphical-session.target" ];
+        };
+        Install = {
+          WantedBy = [ "graphical-session.target" ];
+        };
+        Service = {
+          # Use the wrapped package (which already includes -1)
+          # Start it hidden and run an infinite dummy process so the instance stays alive
+          ExecStart = "${lib.getExe (kittySingleInstance pkgs)} --start-as=hidden ${pkgs.coreutils}/bin/tail -f /dev/null";
+          Restart = "on-failure";
+        };
+      };
     };
 
   flake.modules.homeManager.primary-terminal-foot = mkTerminal {
@@ -166,7 +199,7 @@ in
 
   flake.modules.homeManager.primary-terminal-kitty = mkTerminal {
     desktopEntryName = "kitty";
-    packageFor = pkgs: pkgs.kitty;
+    packageFor = pkgs: kittySingleInstance pkgs;
     terminalModule = config.flake.modules.homeManager.terminal-kitty;
   };
 }
diff --git a/modules/profiles/workstation-base.nix b/modules/profiles/workstation-base.nix
index 6808b29..8ba689f 100644
--- a/modules/profiles/workstation-base.nix
+++ b/modules/profiles/workstation-base.nix
@@ -54,8 +54,8 @@ in
       homeModules.sops
       homeModules.git
       homeModules.ssh-client
-      homeModules.primary-terminal-foot
-      homeModules.terminal-kitty
+      homeModules.primary-terminal-kitty
+      homeModules.terminal-foot
       homeModules.theme
       homeModules.vicinae
       homeModules.noctalia