Launched apps close on config update/service restart

[sergioahp]

I'm launching long-running apps (like firefox and alacritty) using xremap. But when I change something in my home-manager config related to xremap it restarts the service after a rebuild, which closes all apps that I've launched with it.

If I stop the service and run /nix/store/.../bin/xremap /nix/store/.../config.yml this behavior is fixed and closing xremap does not close the apps it has launched.

As a way to circumvent that behavior in the meantime, I've using
launch = [ "systemd-run" "--user" "--scope" "command" ] instead of just launch = [ "command" ]

[VTimofeenko]

Odd that the service is restarted when switching -- there's nothing in xremap HM module code that should cause this. Are you using sd-switch? (see this HM issue) Is there anything interesting in systemctl --user show xremap that contains the word "Restart"?

Regardless, I would generally recommend using something like systemd-run or a dispatching mechanism of your WM so that running processes don't become children of xremap service.

[sergioahp]

Yes, I had sd-switch enabled as it is enabled by default and I just explicitly enabled it.

And yes, using systemd-run or a dispatching mechanisms of my window manager makes it so that restarting xremap doesn't close the launched apps. On the xremap repo they made this the default, so it might be more intuitive if it is also the default behavior on this flake.

To be specific, I am changing the keybindings, so it seems natural for me it has to restart as it has to run with a new generated configuration file

git diff home.nix

...
-                super-l = {
+                super-y = {
                   launch = [ "systemd-run" "--user" "--scope" "${pkgs.alacritty}/bin/alacritty" ];
               };
...

home-manager switch

...
Activating onFilesChange
Activating reloadSystemd
Stopping units: xremap.service
Starting units: tray.target, xremap.service
...

systemctl --user status xremap

...
     CGroup: /user.slice/user-1000.slice/user@1000.service/app.slice/xremap.service
             └─75000 /nix/store/a-new-long-string-config.yml

journalctl --user

...
systemd[1379]: Stopping xremap service...
systemd[1379]: Stopped xremap service.
systemd[1379]: Reload requested from client PID 74983 ('sd-switch') (unit app-gnome-Alacritty-3317.scope)...
systemd[1379]: Reloading...
systemd[1379]: Reloading finished in 267 ms.
systemd[1379]: Started xremap service.
xremap[75000]: Selecting devices from the following list:
...

Some lines from systemctl --user show xremap:

Restart=always
RestartMode=normal
RestartUSec=100ms
RestartSteps=0
RestartMaxDelayUSec=infinity
RestartUSecNext=100ms
ReloadResult=success
NRestarts=0
ReloadSignal=1
CanReload=no
NeedDaemonReload=no

Perhaps using KillMode=process on the definition of the service would stop apps from being killed when restarting the service.