Configuration
dwm-titus keeps user configuration under
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/dwm-titus/. Hotkeys and themes
live-reload on save — no recompile needed for most changes.
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
config/hotkeys.toml | All keybindings |
config/themes.toml | Colors, themes, border size |
power.conf | Control Center screen DPMS and auto-lock choices |
For deeper changes (window rules, fonts, refresh rate), edit config.h and
run the complete developer synchronization command:
./scripts/dev-sync-install.sh
It rebuilds dwm, updates all installed commands and managed Quickshell/data
files when needed, verifies parity, and reports whether the dwm session must be
restarted. When a session restart is already required, it activates Quickshell
there so the tray host starts before tray clients. Use
./scripts/dev-sync-install.sh --check for a non-mutating audit.
config.h Essentials
config.h is your personal copy of config.def.h. It is created automatically by make if it doesn’t exist.
$EDITOR config.h
./scripts/dev-sync-install.sh
Key Options
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
refresh_rate | Match your monitor (default 60; set 120 for high-refresh) |
fonts[] | Font family and size used in the bar |
colors[] | Managed by themes.toml — rarely edit directly |
autostart[] | Programs launched on dwm start |
rules[] | Per-app window rules (floating, tag assignment, terminal flag) |
keys[] | Fallback static keybinds (prefer hotkeys.toml) |
MODKEY | Mod4Mask = Super, Mod1Mask = Alt |
Window Rules
Rules in config.h let you assign windows to specific tags or force float:
/* class instance title tags mask isfloating isterminal noswallow monitor */
{ "Gimp", NULL, NULL, 0, 1, 0, 0, -1 },
{ "Firefox", NULL, NULL, 1 << 1, 0, 0, -1, -1 },
hotkeys.toml — Live Keybinds
Add or change bindings without recompiling. Save the file and they apply instantly.
[vars]
terminal = "dwm-terminal"
webapp = "webapp-launch"
keys = [
{ mod="SUPER", key="x", desc="Terminal", func="spawn", exec=["$terminal"] },
{ mod="SUPER SHIFT", key="f", desc="Firefox", func="spawn", exec=["firefox"] },
]
dwm-terminal prefers Alacritty and opens Herdr inside it for a plain
interactive launch. If Herdr is unavailable, it opens the selected emulator
directly. Explicit arguments such as dwm-terminal -e command always bypass
Herdr so application launchers and maintenance actions keep working.
Thunar’s seeded Open Terminal Here action launches Alacritty directly in
the selected directory. It intentionally bypasses Herdr while leaving the
normal Super + X terminal workspace unchanged. Existing Thunar custom
actions are preserved during installation and upgrades.
Set DWM_TERMINAL to choose another outer emulator, set DWM_HERDR=0 to
disable the Herdr layer, or set DWM_HERDR_COMMAND to another Herdr binary
path.
Default applications use freedesktop settings. Run dwm-default-apps browsers
to list browser desktop files, dwm-default-apps set-browser firefox.desktop
to set the default browser, or dwm-default-apps set-mime <mime> <desktop-id>
for other file types.
Display profiles are optional files under
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/dwm-titus/display-profiles. Use
dwm-display-profile template to print the format, dwm-display-profile list
to show profiles, and dwm-display-profile apply <name> to run the profile
through xrandr.
For persistent Xorg configuration, run dwm-display-setup. The interactive
wizard detects connected outputs and their exact advertised timings, then asks
for resolution, refresh rate, rotation, absolute position, and the primary
display. It checks whether the active Xorg driver exposes compatible TearFree
support or the NVIDIA Full Composition Pipeline and enables only the compatible
default. The proposed layout is applied as a live preview and automatically
restored unless it is confirmed. Advanced calls may pass
--force-full-composition-pipeline off to disable the NVIDIA default; forcing
it on with an incompatible kernel or Xorg driver is rejected.
Accepted layouts are installed as the isolated managed fragment
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/90-dwm-titus-display.conf; existing Xorg files are not
replaced. Each change creates a versioned backup. Use
dwm-display-setup rollback to restore the newest backup, or
dwm-display-setup status to inspect the managed file and current layout.
Advanced users can pass an existing display-profile file to
dwm-display-setup generate, preview, or install.
For noninteractive session changes, dwm-display-setup capture prints the
current complete RandR profile, dwm-display-setup validate <profile> checks a
profile with xrandr --dryrun, and dwm-display-setup apply <profile> changes
the current X11 layout after validation.
The Settings Displays page uses the same profile grammar and validation through
dwm-settings-display. Named profiles remain user-owned under the XDG path.
Installing one persistently requires explicit confirmation and authorization;
only the root-owned helper under ${PREFIX}/libexec/dwm-titus/ may update the
managed Xorg fragment. Legacy profiles that omit complete position or rotation
state remain usable with dwm-display-profile, but Settings will not preview or
install them until they are resaved as a complete layout.
Per-device input values kept in Settings are stored in
${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/dwm-titus/input-settings.conf. The
event-driven input provider uses a hardware serial or path when available,
re-resolves that identity before every change, and skips a disconnected device
rather than applying its settings to another XInput ID. Session startup runs
dwm-settings-input apply-saved and starts an event-driven, debounced hotplug
replay so returning devices regain saved values. Repeating the apply is safe.
The replay watcher is scoped to the owning dwm process and exits at logout,
including when dwm was launched through startx.
Power settings are managed from Control Center -> Power. The generated
power.conf is authoritative once created and persists screen DPMS state,
display-off timing, and automatic idle and suspend locking. Startup reapplies
this file before background session services are launched. Manual locking
remains available when automatic locking is disabled. The screen locker runs
only while automatic locking is enabled or for the duration of an explicit
manual lock, so DPMS display-off events remain independent from locking.
External loginctl lock-session requests are forwarded to dwm-lock by an
event-driven session listener. Until power.conf exists, dwm-titus leaves any
user or distribution-managed locker untouched.
Modifier Syntax
Use space-separated modifiers: "SUPER", "SUPER SHIFT", "SUPER CTRL", "SUPER CTRL SHIFT".
Available Functions
func | Parameters | Description |
|---|---|---|
spawn | exec=[...] or cmd="..." | Run a program |
killclient | — | Close focused window |
zoom | — | Promote/demote master |
focusstack | i=1 or i=-1 | Focus next/prev window |
movestack | i=1 or i=-1 | Reorder in stack |
incnmaster | i=1 or i=-1 | Change master count |
setmfact | f=0.05 or f=-0.05 | Resize master area |
setcfact | f=0.25 / f=-0.25 / f=0.00 | Resize window slot |
setlayout | layout_idx=0/1/2 | 0=tile, 1=float, 2=monocle |
togglefloating | — | Float/tile window |
fullscreen | — | True fullscreen |
togglefakefullscreen | — | Fullscreen with bar |
togglebar | — | Show/hide bar |
focusmon | i=1 or i=-1 | Focus monitor |
tagmon | i=1 or i=-1 | Send window to monitor |
view | ui=-1 = all tags | Switch tag |
quit | — | Exit dwm |
Tag Bindings
Tag bindings auto-generate all four variants (switch, toggle-view, move, toggle-tag):
tag_keys = [
{ key="1", tag=0 },
{ key="2", tag=1 },
]
Notes on XDG Autostart
Recommend using Flatpak to install programs on startup:
flatpak install flathub io.github.flattool.Ignition
or you can create your own .desktop file in ~/.config/autostart/
set-refresh.desktop Example:
[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Exec=xrandr --output HDMI-0 --primary --mode 1920x1080 --pos 0x0 --rotate normal --rate 120 --output DP-0 --off --output DP-1 --off --output DP-2 --off --output DP-3 --off --output DP-4 --off --output DP-5 --off
Hidden=false
X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
Name=Set Refresh