---
name: "uwsm-app"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "uwsm"
version: "0.27.1-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/uwsm-app"
---

# uwsm-app(1)

Application-to-unit launcher using UWSM's app daemon.

## NAME

**uwsm-app** - Application-to-unit launcher using UWSM's app daemon.

## SYNOPSIS

**uwsm-app** \[-h\] \[-s {**a**,**b**,**s**,*custom*.slice}\] \[-t {scope,service}\] \[-a *app\_name*\] \[-u *unit\_name*\] \[-d *unit\_description*\] \[-S \] \[-T\] -- *application* \[*args* ...\]

## DESCRIPTION

Application-to-unit launcher with Desktop Entry support. Analogous to **uwsm app** command and uses the same arguments, since argument parsing is done on the app daemon's side with the same parser.

## OPTIONS

| | |
| --- | --- |
| **-s** {**a**,**b**,**s**,*custom*.slice} | Slice selector (default: **a**): |
|  | **a** - **app-graphical.slice** |
|  | **b** - **background-graphical.slice** |
|  | **s** - **session-graphical.slice** |
|  | any slice by full name |
| **-t** {**scope**,**service**} | Type of unit to launch (default: **scope**, can be preset by **UWSM\_APP\_UNIT\_TYPE** env var). |
| **-a** *app\_name* | Override app name (a substring in unit name). |
| **-u** *unit\_name* | Override the whole autogenerated unit name. |
| **-d** *unit\_description* | Unit Description. |
| **-S** {**out**,**err**,**both**} | Silence stdout, stderr, or both. |
| **-T** | Launch app in a terminal. Allows command to be empty to just launch a terminal. |

Application can be provided as a command with optional arguments, or a Desktop Entry ID, optionally suffixed with "**:**"-delimited Action ID. If Desktop Entry is being launched, arguments should be compatible with it.

Always use "**--**" to disambiguate dashed arguments intended for application itself.

Special arguments that are passed through to app daemon:

- •

  **ping**	check app daemon, it should return "**pong**"n

- •

  **stop**	stop app daemonn

## OPERATION

**uwsm-app** client sends arguments to uwsm's app daemon via a pipe. Upon receiving arguments, app daemon returns shell code to **uwsm-app** which it natively executes. Single commands are prepended with **exec**, iterated commands are assembled with trailing **&** each, followed by **wait**.

The purpose of all this is to skip all the expensive Python startup and import routines that slow things down every time "**uwsm app**" is called. Instead the daemon does it once and then listens for requests, while a simple shell script may dump arguments to one pipe and run the code received from another via eval, which is much faster.

## SEE ALSO

[**uwsm**(1)](/uwsm/1.md), [**systemd-run**(1)](/systemd-run/1.md)