# Sxhkd

Related articles

- Xbindkeys
- Xmodmap

From sxhkd's Github page:

  sxhkd is a simple X hotkey daemon with a powerful and compact configuration syntax.

## Installation

Install sxhkd or sxhkd-gitAUR.

## Configuration

sxhkd defaults to `$XDG_CONFIG_HOME/sxhkd/sxhkdrc` for its configuration file. An alternate configuration file can be specified with the `-c` option.

Each line of the configuration file is interpreted as so:

- If it starts with `#`, it is ignored.
- If it starts with one or more white space commands, it is read as a command.
- Otherwise, it is parsed as a hotkey: each key name is separated by spaces and/or `+` characters.

General syntax:

    [MODIFIER + ]*[@|!]KEYSYM
        COMMAND

Where `MODIFIER` is one of the following names: `super`, `hyper`, `meta`, `alt`, `control`, `ctrl`, `shift`, `mode_switch`, `lock`, `mod1`, `mod2`, `mod3`, `mod4`, `mod5`. If `@` is added at the beginning of the keysym, the command will be run on key release events, otherwise on key press events. If `!` is added at the beginning of the keysym, the command will be run on motion notify events and must contain two integer conversion specifications which will be replaced by the x and y coordinates of the pointer relative to the root window referential (the only valid button keysyms for this type of hotkeys are: `button1`, ..., `button5`). The `KEYSYM` names are those your will get from `xev`.

Mouse hotkeys can be defined by using one of the following special keysym names: `button1`, `button2`, `button3`, ..., `button24`. The hotkey can contain a sequence of the form (`STRING_1`,…,`STRING_N`), in which case, the command must also contain a sequence with N elements: the pairing of the two sequences generates N hotkeys. In addition, the sequences can contain ranges of the form `A-Z` where A and Z are alphanumeric characters.

What is actually executed is `SHELL -c COMMAND`, which means you can use environment variables in `COMMAND`. `SHELL` will be the content of the first defined environment variable in the following list: `SXHKD_SHELL`, `SHELL`. If sxhkd receives a `SIGUSR1` signal, it will reload its configuration file.

## Usage

After configuring it, you may wish to setup sxhkd to autostart.

Tip: An example systemd service file is found here.

## See Also

- Official website - includes configuration options, example bindings, and source code.
- ArchLinux forum thread

Categories:

- Keyboards
- X server