wlctl

WiFi TUI for NetworkManager.

Why

impala is a great wifi TUI but it talks to iwd. If your distro already runs NetworkManager (most do — GNOME, KDE, Ubuntu, Fedora, Pop, …), you can't drop impala in without ripping the stack out. wlctl keeps the impala UX and points it at NetworkManager, so it just works alongside what your DE is already doing.

Features

• Station and Access Point modes
• WPA Enterprise (802.1X)
• Multiple adapters — pick which one to drive, switch on the fly
• VPN connections — toggle, manage autoconnect, and delete saved VPN / WireGuard profiles, like nmtui; an active tunnel shows as a badge in the top-right
• wlctl doctor — walks rfkill, driver, association, IP, DHCP, gateway, DNS, internet
• QR code sharing, hidden networks, speed test
• Vim keys, every binding configurable

Install

# crates.io
cargo install wlctl

# Arch (AUR)
yay -S wlctl-bin

# Nix (run without installing)
nix run github:aashish-thapa/wlctl

# from source
git clone https://github.com/aashish-thapa/wlctl && cd wlctl
cargo build --release

On NixOS, add the flake as an input and use wlctl.packages.${system}.default, or drop it into a shell with nix shell github:aashish-thapa/wlctl.

Needs NetworkManager running. Nerd Fonts optional, for icons.

Usage

wlctl to launch the TUI. wlctl doctor when something's broken and you want to know which layer.

Global

Action	Key
Switch panel	Tab / Shift+Tab
Move	j k / arrows
Switch adapter mode (Station ↔ AP)	Ctrl+R
VPN connections	v
Quit	q / Ctrl+C
Dismiss popup	Esc

Known networks

Action	Key
Connect / disconnect	Space or Enter
Toggle auto-connect	t
Forget network	d
Make this the internet path	u
Show all	a
QR share	p
Speed test (needs speedtest-cli)	Shift+S

When both WiFi and Ethernet are up, the link NetworkManager is actually routing internet over is highlighted in green, and the box footer spells it out (󰖟 Internet: WiFi · <ssid>). Press u on the Ethernet row or the connected WiFi to switch the default route to it (the other link stays up).

The Device box footer shows the active adapter's LAN IP (e.g. 󰩟 wlan0 · 192.168.1.20) so you can SSH in without running ip addr.

New networks

Action	Key
Connect / disconnect	Space or Enter
Connect to hidden	h
Filter by name	/
Show all	a

Press / to filter the scan list by SSID as you type; Enter keeps the filter, Esc clears it.

VPN connections (open with v)

Action	Key
Toggle on / off	Space or Enter
Toggle autoconnect	a
Delete profile (confirm y/n)	d
Import a WireGuard config	i
Close	Esc

The selected tunnel's assigned IP and uptime show below the list while it's up.

Importing WireGuard configs: press i, then either paste the whole config (most providers — Proton, Mullvad — just hand you the text) or type a path to a .conf file, and press Enter. wlctl parses it and creates a NetworkManager profile — no nmcli needed. Pasted configs are named after the server endpoint; file imports after the file name. ~ is expanded in paths. The profile is added without auto-connecting; toggle it on with Enter. OpenVPN .ovpn files aren't supported here — import those with nmcli connection import type openvpn file <path> (requires the NetworkManager-openvpn plugin).

Device panel

Action	Key
Adapter info	i
Toggle power	o
Doctor	?

Station mode

Action	Key
Scan	s

Access Point mode

Action	Key
Start AP	n
Stop AP	x

Config

~/.config/wlctl/config.toml. All keys rebindable.

switch = "r"
mode = "station"
esc_quit = false
vpn = "v"

[device]
infos = "i"
toggle_power = "o"
doctor = "?"

[station]
toggle_scanning = "s"

[station.known_network]
toggle_autoconnect = "t"
remove = "d"
show_all = "a"
share = "p"
speed_test = "S"
prefer = "u"

[station.new_network]
show_all = "a"
connect_hidden = "h"
filter = "/"

[access_point]
start = "n"
stop = "x"

vs. impala

	impala	wlctl
Backend	iwd	NetworkManager
Coexists with default desktop network stack	no	yes
Multi-adapter selector	—	yes
VPN connection toggle	—	yes
doctor subcommand	—	yes

Credits

Forked from pythops/impala. UI and architecture are theirs.

License

GPLv3