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.

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.

Picom opacity and backend

Open Settings > Appearance > Compositor to change foreground (active) and background (inactive) window opacity. Sliders save when released; keyboard edits save after a short pause. Values stay the same when switching themes. Custom Picom rules can override these defaults for individual windows.

The controls read the active Picom configuration, normally ~/.config/picom.conf or ~/.config/picom/picom.conf, and observe external edits. With no configuration, they show 100% and create a minimal file on the first edit. A system configuration can be copied with Create user configuration. The same action imports read-only includes referenced by an existing writable user configuration, backing up the root before updating its include paths, including when that standard user root is explicitly selected with --config or DWM_PICOM_CONFIG. If an import fails, new include copies remain available for recovery so concurrent root edits cannot retain broken references. Recovery import storage is limited to 320 files and 320 MiB. If full, imports stop before publication and identify the directory to review. Copies are never automatically deleted because external configurations or recovery backups may still reference them. Comments, unrelated settings, and included files are preserved; the ten most recent edits retain recovery backups. Invalid or read-only configurations show an explanation rather than disappearing controls. Edits made while Picom is stopped take effect the next time it starts. Valid configurations using syntax the editor cannot rewrite, such as nested includes, still support startup, restart, and reload through Picom itself.

Automatic chooses GLX for an accelerated Intel/AMD renderer and XRender for NVIDIA, software rendering, or unknown hardware. Failed automatic GLX startup retries XRender once. An existing explicit backend is preserved; choose Automatic to remove it. XRender, GLX, and experimental EGL remain selectable. The active renderer matters, not an unused or passthrough GPU installed in the machine.

PICOM_BACKEND remains a session override. Unset it before selecting a different backend in Settings. DWM_PICOM_CONFIG=/absolute/path/picom.conf can select a custom configuration; an existing Picom --config argument is also respected. Command-line opacity overrides must be removed before editing opacity in Settings.

dwm-settings-picom status
dwm-settings-picom restart

Restart and toggle affect only your compositor on the current display. Failed configuration activation restores the prior files and attempts to recover the previous compositor; the error identifies the backup and session log.

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

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 = "alacritty"
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"] },
]

The default binding launches Alacritty directly. The dwm-terminal helper is available to delegated tools that need a terminal selection fallback; it also prefers Alacritty and opens the emulator directly by default. Explicit arguments such as dwm-terminal -e command retain their direct execution contract.

Thunar’s seeded Open Terminal Here action launches Alacritty directly in the selected directory, matching the normal Super + X default. Existing Thunar custom actions are preserved during installation and upgrades.

Set DWM_TERMINAL to choose another emulator for dwm-terminal. Herdr is an optional layer: install it explicitly, set DWM_HERDR=1, and run dwm-terminal. Set DWM_HERDR_COMMAND to select a different Herdr binary.

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. The same file stores fixed accessx records for session-wide accessibility shortcuts, sticky keys, slow keys, bounce keys, and mouse keys. These records are reapplied through xkbset at session startup and do not depend on a device identity or hotplug event.

Managed notification policy is stored in ${XDG_CONFIG_HOME:-$HOME/.config}/dwm-titus/notification-settings.json. Settings offers only fixed Do Not Disturb and ordinary-popup duration values. Do Not Disturb keeps every notification in history, suppresses only low and normal urgency popups, and never suppresses critical urgency. Reset restores Do Not Disturb off and the six-second ordinary duration.

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 Fedora-managed locker untouched.

Modifier Syntax

Use space-separated modifiers: "SUPER", "SUPER SHIFT", "SUPER CTRL", "SUPER CTRL SHIFT".

Available Functions

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