miaupaw

miaupaw / ie-r

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Instant Eyedropper Reborn - resurrection of the original color detection tool

46
0
100% credibility
Found Apr 23, 2026 at 46 stars -- GitGems finds repos before they trend. Get early access to the next one.
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AI Analysis
Rust
AI Summary

A system tray color picker for Linux that captures pixel-perfect colors from the screen via hotkey, displays them magnified, copies to clipboard in multiple formats, and offers history and customization.

How It Works

1
🔍 Discover the color picker

You find a handy tool that grabs any color from your screen instantly, perfect for designers or anyone needing exact colors fast.

2
📥 Get it running

Download or install it easily, and it quietly sits in your system tray ready to help.

3
⌨️ Set your magic key

Pick a simple key combo like Alt+Shift+C so you can summon it anytime without hunting.

4
🔎 Zoom and pick

Hit your key, a clear magnifier pops up following your mouse—move precisely, click the perfect pixel, and the color copies to your clipboard instantly.

5
📋 Paste anywhere

Just paste (Ctrl+V) into your drawing app, code, or notes—the color is ready in your favorite format like hex or RGB.

6
📂 Save favorites

Right-click the tray icon to see recent colors, re-copy old ones, or tweak settings on the fly.

✅ Colors at your fingertips

Now grabbing screen colors feels effortless and precise, speeding up your creative work every time.

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Star Growth

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AI-Generated Review

What is ie-r?

ie-r resurrects the 20-year-old Instant Eyedropper as a native Rust color picker for Linux desktops, supporting Wayland and X11 via system tray daemon. Hit a hotkey or signal like SIGUSR1, and a magnifier overlay appears with pixel-perfect capture, copying colors to clipboard in 10 formats (HEX, RGB, HSL, CMYK, custom templates). It handles multi-monitor HiDPI setups with tiered backends: fast WLR screencopy for Hyprland/Sway, KWin native for Plasma, XDG Portal fallback for GNOME.

Why is it gaining traction?

Unlike Electron-based instant eyedropper alternatives, ie-r delivers zero-latency picks with runtime tweaks—no restarts for zoom, format switches (1-0 keys), or magnifier resize (Shift+scroll). Serial picking stacks colors via Space/middle-click, arrow nudges offer 1px precision or Shift-jumps to boundaries, and tray history lets you re-copy past swatches. Portable bundles and Nix/AUR installs make it a drop-in instant eyedropper download for Wayland users.

Who should use this?

Linux UI designers and frontend devs on Hyprland, KDE Plasma, or Sway needing quick color sampling without leaving the flow. Game devs prototyping palettes or GTK/Qt themers debugging HiDPI gradients will appreciate the precision controls and format history. Skip if you're on macOS/Windows or prefer browser extensions.

Verdict

Grab ie-r via Nix or AUR if you're seeking a lean instant eyedropper color picker on Wayland—its Rust efficiency shines, with excellent READMEs covering hotkey setup. At 46 stars and 1.0% credibility, it's alpha (v0.1.1) so expect rough edges, but the core loop works flawlessly for daily use.

(198 words)

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