How do I change key bindings based on which window is focused?

Question

I have these lines in my i3 config right now:

# Play/pause, prev, next
bindcode 172 exec "/opt/playerctl/bin/playerctl play-pause"
bindcode 173 exec "/opt/playerctl/bin/playerctl previous"
bindcode 171 exec "/opt/playerctl/bin/playerctl next"

This makes the media buttons on my keyboard play/pause audio players supported by playerctl, like Spotify.

The issue is that the play/pause media button now no longer works in my video player (SMPlayer).

Is it possible to make the key bindings only take effect when the focused window is not SMPlayer?

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To summarize what I'm trying to do: I want the key bindings above to always be in effect, except for when the SMPlayer window (class: "Smplayer") is focused.

Is this possible?

Answer 1

You could try this. Remember to replace username with your real Linux username in the following. For some reason, using ~ instead of home/username did not work for me.

Use these lines in i3 config:

# Play/pause, prev, next
bindcode 172 exec /home/username/.i3/play.sh play-pause
bindcode 173 exec /home/username/.i3/play.sh previous
bindcode 171 exec /home/username/.i3/play.sh next

Paste the following into a file called /home/username/.i3/play.sh

cmd="$1"
id=$(xprop -root | awk '/_NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW\(WINDOW\)/{print $NF}')
curr_title=$(xprop -id $id | awk '/_NET_WM_NAME/{$1=$2="";print}' | cut -d'"' -f2)
if [[ "$curr_title" != "SMPlayer"* ]]; then
    /opt/playerctl/bin/playerctl "$cmd"
fi

You may have to adjust the "SMPlayer"* part depending on the exact title that the window has - I have no experience with that program. You can add an else clause to run another program when SMPlayer is running, if you wish to.