quartz/content/10-19 LIFE/13 TECH SETUP/13.11 APPS/impala.md

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publish	permalink	title	created	modified	tags	cssclasses
true	/apps/impala	impala	2026-02-05T09:36:55.334-07:00	2026-02-05T12:16:17.110-07:00	wifi network terminal

impala is a TUI for managing WiFi on Linux using iwd as the backend. Much nicer than iwctl for day-to-day WiFi management.

Installation

Arch Linux:

sudo pacman -S impala

Cargo:

cargo install impala

Prerequisites

• iwd must be running (not wpa_supplicant)
• NetworkManager should use iwd backend (see 10-19 LIFE/13 TECH SETUP/13.13 OS SETUP/Network)
• Nerd Fonts (optional) for icons

Usage

impala

Key Bindings

Key	Action
j/k	Navigate up/down
Enter	Connect to network
d	Disconnect
r	Refresh networks
s	Scan for networks
a	Toggle Access Point mode
q	Quit

Connecting to Networks

1. Launch impala
2. Navigate to network with j/k
3. Press Enter to connect
4. Enter password if prompted

Hidden Networks

Press / to search/enter a hidden network SSID.

WPA Enterprise (802.1X)

impala supports enterprise authentication. Select the network and follow prompts for username/password or certificate.

QR Code Sharing

Press Q on a connected network to display a QR code for sharing credentials.

Configuration

Config file: ~/.config/impala/config.toml

[keybindings]
quit = "q"
scan = "s"
connect = "Enter"
disconnect = "d"

[appearance]
# Uses terminal colors by default

Integration

Ashell

In ashell config, use impala for WiFi management:

[settings]
wifi_more_cmd = 'kitty -e bash -c "impala"'

Hyprland keybind

bind = $mainMod, W, exec, kitty -e impala

Troubleshooting

"iwd not running"

sudo systemctl enable --now iwd

Conflicts with NetworkManager

NetworkManager must use iwd as backend, not wpa_supplicant. See 10-19 LIFE/13 TECH SETUP/13.13 OS SETUP/Network#NetworkManager + iwd.

Resources

• GitHub: https://github.com/pythops/impala