Roue

Getting started

Five minutes from zero to your first conversion. You'll use all three ways in: the wheel (with the hotkey), the Files right-click menu, and the terminal.

1. Install#

On Ubuntu 22.04+ or Debian 12+, one command installs Roue and keeps it up to date through Software Updater:

wget -qO- https://guilyx.github.io/roue/install.sh | sh

It also runs roue setup, which adds the Super+Shift+D hotkey (it opens the wheel; Super is the Windows key). The app launcher and the Files menu come with the package. The first time you open Roue, Set Up Roue shows anything left to do.

On another distribution, see Install. Then check everything is in place:

roue doctor

roue doctor lists each conversion tool with a ✓ or ✗, how many presets are ready, and the exact command to install what's missing.

2. Your first conversion#

  1. In Files, hold Ctrl+Shift and right-click a file, a photo say. The wheel opens right at the pointer, with the formats that file can become, best first: a photo gets JPG, PNG, WebP…
  2. Click a slice, say JPG. The wheel closes and the conversion runs.
  3. The result appears next to the original: IMG_2041.HEIC gives IMG_2041.jpg. A notification says when it's done, with Open and Show in Folder buttons.

Several files work the same way: select them, then Ctrl+Shift+right-click one of them. Click outside the wheel or press Esc to put it away.

The hotkey: Super+Shift+D#

Super is the Windows key (on some keyboards, the one with the Ubuntu logo).

  • With files selected in Files, it opens the wheel for them at the pointer, like Ctrl+Shift+right-click.
  • Anywhere else, it opens an empty ring. Drag files onto it, or click it to choose them. The slices appear once Roue knows the files, and only ever show formats those files can become.

Files you copied with Ctrl+C show up in the empty ring too. They're used once; press Ctrl+V in the wheel to use them again.

Roue stays ready in the background, so the next press is instant.

The wheel works from the keyboard too: the arrow keys or Tab move between slices, Enter picks one, 1–8 pick a slice directly, Esc closes.

Every preset: More…#

The wheel shows up to seven presets, the ones that fit your files best. The last slice, More…, opens the full panel with every preset, grouped into Images, Video, Audio and Documents, with your files ready to go. In the panel you can type to search presets, then press Enter to run the first match.

On X11: Shift-drag#

On an X11 session, hold Shift while dragging any file. The wheel springs open around the pointer and fills in with the presets for that file. Release Shift, then drop on a slice, or let go anywhere else to put it away.

3. Right-click in Files#

Select one or more files in Files, right-click, and choose Convert with Roue…. The wheel opens right at the pointer, with the presets that fit all selected files, the most relevant first. Click a slice; click outside the wheel (or press Esc) to cancel. Ctrl+Shift+right-click skips the menu.

Select 40 photos, pick WebP, and you get one notification at the end: "WebP: 40 files converted · 212.0 MB saved".

If the menu item (or Ctrl+Shift+right-click) doesn't work yet, restart Files once:

nautilus -q

4. The command line#

The same presets, from a terminal or a script:

roue list                       # every preset, grouped
roue list --for clip.mov        # only the ones that fit this file
roue convert gif clip.mov       # convert
roue gif clip.mov               # same thing, shorter
roue share-10mb *.mp4 -o ~/out  # many files, results in another folder

Each finished file prints one line:

✓ clip.mov → clip.gif (192.3 KB)
✗ silent.mp4: This video has no audio track to extract.

Made a mistake? Move the results of the last conversion to the trash:

roue undo

Where to next#

  • Browse the presets.
  • Make your own preset in five lines of YAML.
  • Tune Roue in Preferences (the panel's main menu, or roue panel --preferences).

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