Keybinds & Cheatsheets

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The dms keybinds command provides a unified interface for viewing and managing keybinds across different applications. It can parse application-specific configurations (like Hyprland) and display user-defined cheatsheets in a consistent format.

Overview

The keybinds framework offers:

Auto-discovery: Automatically finds keybinds from application configs
Custom cheatsheets: Create JSON files for any application
Multiple providers: Built-in support for Hyprland, Sway, MangoWC, and labwc, with extensibility for other applications
XDG compliance: Follows XDG Base Directory standards for config locations

Quick Start

List all available keybind providers:

dms keybinds list
# Alias options:
dms cheatsheet list
dms chsht list

Show keybinds for a specific application:

dms keybinds show hyprland
dms keybinds show sway
dms keybinds show mangowc
dms keybinds show tmux
dms keybinds show firefox

Display in Shell

You can also display keybinds directly within DMS using IPC:

dms ipc call keybinds toggle hyprland
dms ipc call keybinds toggle sway
dms ipc call keybinds toggle <provider>

This opens a modal overlay showing the keybinds in the shell interface.

Built-in Providers

Hyprland

The Hyprland provider automatically parses your Hyprland configuration files and extracts keybinds.

Features:

Parses all *.conf files in your Hyprland config directory
Supports section headers with ##! (categories) and ###! (subcategories)
Auto-generates descriptions for common dispatchers
Respects [hidden] comments to exclude certain binds
Categorizes binds by type (Window, Workspace, Execute, etc.)

Usage:

# Use default Hyprland config path (~/.config/hypr)
dms keybinds show hyprland

# Specify custom path
dms keybinds show hyprland --path /path/to/hypr/config

Description Priority:

The provider generates descriptions in this order:

Custom comment in your config (e.g., bind = SUPER, T, exec, kitty # Open terminal)
Auto-generated for known dispatchers (e.g., killactive → "Close window")
Fallback format showing dispatcher and params (e.g., togglegroup)

Category Logic:

Binds are automatically categorized based on their dispatcher:

Workspace: workspace navigation and management
Monitor: monitor-related actions
Window: window management (move, resize, focus, kill, etc.)
Execute: launching applications and scripts
System: system actions (exit, dpms, etc.)
Other: miscellaneous dispatchers

Example Hyprland config:

##! Window Management
bind = SUPER, Q, killactive
bind = SUPER, F, fullscreen, 0

###! Movement
bind = SUPER, left, movefocus, l
bind = SUPER, right, movefocus, r

##! Workspaces
bind = SUPER, 1, workspace, 1
bind = SUPER, 2, workspace, 2

##! Applications
bind = SUPER, T, exec, kitty # Open terminal
bind = SUPER, E, exec, thunar # File manager

Sway

The Sway provider automatically parses your Sway configuration files and extracts keybinds.

Features:

Parses the Sway config file (typically ~/.config/sway/config)
Supports section comments with ##! (categories) and ###! (subcategories)
Auto-generates descriptions for common Sway commands
Respects [hidden] comments to exclude certain binds
Categorizes binds by type (Window, Workspace, Execute, etc.)

Usage:

# Use default Sway config path (~/.config/sway/config)
dms keybinds show sway

# Specify custom path
dms keybinds show sway --path /path/to/sway/config

Example Sway config:

##! Window Management
bindsym $mod+q kill
bindsym $mod+f fullscreen toggle

###! Movement
bindsym $mod+Left focus left
bindsym $mod+Right focus right

##! Workspaces
bindsym $mod+1 workspace number 1
bindsym $mod+2 workspace number 2

##! Applications
bindsym $mod+Return exec kitty # Open terminal

MangoWC

The MangoWC provider automatically parses your MangoWC (dwl) configuration and extracts keybinds.

Features:

Parses MangoWC keybind definitions
Supports section comments with ##! (categories) and ###! (subcategories)
Auto-generates descriptions for common MangoWC actions
Respects [hidden] comments to exclude certain binds
Categorizes binds by type

Usage:

# Use default MangoWC config path
dms keybinds show mangowc

# Specify custom path
dms keybinds show mangowc --path /path/to/mangowc/config

Niri

The Niri provider parses KDL-format Niri configuration files and extracts keybinds. Unlike the other providers, Niri is writable—you can create and manage keybind overrides through DMS.

Features:

Parses KDL-format config files
Follows include directives to merge all keybind sources
Supports DMS overrides via ~/.config/niri/dms/binds.kdl
Detects conflicts between DMS defaults and your binds
Validates config before writing using niri validate
Supports bind options: repeat, cooldown-ms, allow-when-locked

Usage:

# Use default Niri config path (~/.config/niri)
dms keybinds show niri

# Specify custom config directory
dms keybinds show niri --path /path/to/niri/config

Writing Keybinds

Set overrides that get written to ~/.config/niri/dms/binds.kdl:

# Basic keybind
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+T" "spawn kitty"

# With description (shown in hotkey overlay)
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+T" "spawn kitty" --desc "Open terminal"

# With options
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+V" "spawn pavucontrol" \
  --desc "Volume control" \
  --allow-when-locked

# Disable key repeat
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+Q" "close-window" --no-repeat

# Set cooldown between activations
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+Print" "screenshot" --cooldown-ms 500

# Replace an existing keybind with a new key
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+Shift+T" "spawn kitty" \
  --desc "Open terminal" \
  --replace-key "Mod+T"

Remove a keybind:

dms keybinds remove niri "Mod+T"

Niri Config Setup

Include the DMS binds file in your Niri config:

// ~/.config/niri/config.kdl

// Include DMS keybind overrides
include "~/.config/niri/dms/binds.kdl"

binds {
    Mod+Q { close-window; }
    Mod+T { spawn "kitty"; }
}

Include Order Matters

DMS include before your binds: Your binds override DMS defaults
DMS include after your binds: DMS binds take priority

The cheatsheet output includes conflict detection showing which binds are overridden.

Bind Options

Option	Flag	Description
repeat	`--no-repeat`	Disable key repeat (default: enabled)
cooldown-ms	`--cooldown-ms <ms>`	Minimum time between activations
allow-when-locked	`--allow-when-locked`	Allow bind when screen is locked
hotkey-overlay-title	`--desc <text>`	Description shown in Niri's hotkey overlay

Action Formats

# Simple action
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+F" "fullscreen"

# Action with argument
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+1" "focus-workspace 1"

# Spawn with simple command
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+T" "spawn kitty"

# Spawn with shell command
dms keybinds set niri "Mod+P" "spawn sh -c \"wofi --show drun\""

Category Logic

Binds are auto-categorized based on their action:

Category	Actions
Alt-Tab	`next-window`, `previous-window`
Screenshot	Anything containing "screenshot"
Overview	`show-hotkey-overlay`, `toggle-overview`
System	`quit`, `power-off-monitors`, DPMS actions
Execute	`spawn` commands
Workspace	Actions containing "workspace"
Monitor	`focus-monitor-`, `move--to-monitor-*`
Window	Focus, move, swap, resize, column actions
Other	Everything else

Custom Cheatsheets

You can create custom cheatsheets for any application by adding JSON files to the cheatsheets directory.

Directory Locations

The framework follows XDG Base Directory standards:

Default location (when no XDG vars set):

~/.config/DankMaterialShell/cheatsheets/

With XDG_CONFIG_HOME set:

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/DankMaterialShell/cheatsheets/

With XDG_CONFIG_DIRS set (NixOS compatibility): The framework searches in this order:

$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/DankMaterialShell/cheatsheets/
Each directory in $XDG_CONFIG_DIRS/DankMaterialShell/cheatsheets/

JSON Format

Create a file named after your application (e.g., vim.json, tmux.json):

{
  "title": "Vim Keybinds",
  "provider": "vim",
  "binds": {
    "Mode": [
      {
        "key": "i",
        "desc": "Enter insert mode",
        "subcat": "Insert"
      },
      {
        "key": "Esc",
        "desc": "Exit insert mode",
        "subcat": "Normal"
      }
    ],
    "Editing": [
      {
        "key": "dd",
        "desc": "Delete current line",
        "subcat": "Delete"
      },
      {
        "key": "yy",
        "desc": "Copy current line",
        "subcat": "Yank"
      },
      {
        "key": "p",
        "desc": "Paste after cursor",
        "subcat": "Paste"
      }
    ],
    "Navigation": [
      {
        "key": "gg",
        "desc": "Go to first line"
      },
      {
        "key": "G",
        "desc": "Go to last line"
      }
    ]
  }
}

Field Reference

title (required): Display name shown when viewing the cheatsheet
provider (optional): Provider identifier used in commands (defaults to filename without extension)
binds (required): Object where keys are category names and values are arrays of keybindings
- key (required): The key combination (e.g., "Ctrl+Alt+J", "SUPER+T")
- desc (required): Description of what the keybind does
- subcat (optional): Subcategory for finer organization within a category

Example: tmux Cheatsheet

File: ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/cheatsheets/tmux.json

{
  "title": "tmux Keybinds",
  "provider": "tmux",
  "binds": {
    "Sessions": [
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, $",
        "desc": "Rename session"
      },
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, d",
        "desc": "Detach from session"
      }
    ],
    "Windows": [
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, c",
        "desc": "Create new window"
      },
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, ,",
        "desc": "Rename window"
      },
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, n",
        "desc": "Next window"
      },
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, p",
        "desc": "Previous window"
      }
    ],
    "Panes": [
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, %",
        "desc": "Split vertically",
        "subcat": "Split"
      },
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, \"",
        "desc": "Split horizontally",
        "subcat": "Split"
      },
      {
        "key": "Ctrl+B, x",
        "desc": "Close pane",
        "subcat": "Management"
      }
    ]
  }
}

After creating the file, it will automatically be discovered:

dms keybinds list
# Shows: hyprland, mangowc, sway, firefox, tmux, vim, ...

dms keybinds show tmux
# Displays your custom tmux cheatsheet

Command Reference

`dms keybinds list`

Lists all available keybind providers (both built-in and custom).

Aliases: dms cheatsheet list, dms chsht list

dms keybinds list

Example output:

Available providers:
  - hyprland
  - mangowc
  - sway
  - firefox
  - tmux
  - vim

`dms keybinds show <provider>`

Displays keybinds for the specified provider.

Aliases: dms cheatsheet show, dms chsht show

dms keybinds show <provider> [flags]

Flags:

--path <path>: Override the default config location for any provider
-h, --help: Show help for the command

Examples:

# Show Hyprland keybinds from default location
dms keybinds show hyprland

# Show Hyprland keybinds from custom location
dms keybinds show hyprland --path /custom/path/to/hypr

# Show Sway keybinds with custom config
dms keybinds show sway --path /etc/sway/config

# Show MangoWC keybinds with custom config
dms keybinds show mangowc --path /custom/mangowc/config

# Show custom cheatsheet
dms keybinds show vim

Tips & Best Practices

Organizing Hyprland Configs

Use section headers to organize your keybinds:

##! Window Management
###! Focus
bind = SUPER, left, movefocus, l
bind = SUPER, right, movefocus, r

###! Layout
bind = SUPER, F, fullscreen, 0
bind = SUPER, V, togglefloating

##! Applications
bind = SUPER, T, exec, kitty
bind = SUPER, B, exec, firefox

Hiding Internal Binds

Use [hidden] to exclude binds from the display:

# This won't appear in the keybinds list
bind = SUPER, X, exec, secret-script # [hidden]

Descriptive Comments

Add clear comments to override auto-generated descriptions:

# Auto-generated: "Launch application: kitty"
bind = SUPER, T, exec, kitty

# Custom: "Open terminal"
bind = SUPER, T, exec, kitty # Open terminal

Consistent Naming

When creating custom cheatsheets, use consistent naming:

Filename: application.json (lowercase, no spaces)
Provider: Match the filename or use a common identifier
Title: Use the application's proper name

Overview​

Quick Start​

Built-in Providers​

Hyprland​

Sway​

MangoWC​

Niri​

Writing Keybinds​

Niri Config Setup​

Bind Options​

Action Formats​

Category Logic​

Custom Cheatsheets​

Directory Locations​

JSON Format​

Field Reference​

Example: tmux Cheatsheet​

Command Reference​

dms keybinds list​

dms keybinds show <provider>​

Tips & Best Practices​

Organizing Hyprland Configs​

Hiding Internal Binds​

Descriptive Comments​

Consistent Naming​

Overview

Quick Start

Built-in Providers

Hyprland

Sway

MangoWC

Niri

Writing Keybinds

Niri Config Setup

Bind Options

Action Formats

Category Logic

Custom Cheatsheets

Directory Locations

JSON Format

Field Reference

Example: tmux Cheatsheet

Command Reference

`dms keybinds list`

`dms keybinds show <provider>`

Tips & Best Practices

Organizing Hyprland Configs

Hiding Internal Binds

Descriptive Comments

Consistent Naming