how to make rxvt start as fullscreen?

Question

I can't find it within man page.
I am using rxvt-unicode-256color from debian squeeze mirror.
Gnome 3 environment, composite enabled in xorg.conf.

Answer 1

1. Install wmctrl

   $ sudo apt-get install wmctrl
   

2. Create the extension directory

   $ mkdir -p ~/.urxvt/ext/
   

3. Create a plugin for Rxvt

   $ vi ~/.urxvt/ext/fullscreen
   #!perl
   sub on_user_command {
       my ($self, $cmd) = @_;
       if ($cmd eq "fullscreen:switch") {
           my $dummy = `wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b toggle,fullscreen` ;
       }
   }
   

4. Enable the plugin

   $ vi ~/.Xdefaults
   ...
   " Fullscreen switch
   URxvt.perl-ext-common:  fullscreen
   URxvt.keysym.F11:       perl:fullscreen:switch
   

Now, you can toggle fullscreen with the F11 key.

---

Reference:

• [SOLVED] rxvt-unicode not switching to fullscreen / Arch Linux Forums
• my .Xdefaults

Answer 2

Here is a simple perl plugin that will start urxvt in fullscreen mode (without requiring you to press an additional key):

#!/usr/bin/perl

sub on_start {
  my ($self) = @_;
  # This is hacky, but there doesn't seem to be an event after 
  # window creation
  $self->{timer} = urxvt::timer->new->after(0.1)->cb(sub {
      fullscreen $self
    });
  return;
}

sub fullscreen {
  my ($self) = @_;
  my $wid = $self->parent;
  my $err = `wmctrl -i -r $wid -b add,fullscreen`;
  warn "Error maximizing: $err\n" unless $? == 0;
  $self->{timer}->stop;
  delete $self->{timer};
  return;
}

Unfortunately, it seems that the window isn't visible to wmctrl when on_start is called, so I had to use a timer to delay the call to wmctrl until the window exists.