Keybindings Reference

Complete keyboard shortcuts reference for Config-Sway

Keybindings Reference

This page provides a complete reference of all keyboard shortcuts configured in Config-Sway. The configuration uses Vim-style HJKL navigation keys for consistency and efficiency.

Key Legend

Key	Meaning
Super	Windows key (Mod4)
Shift	Shift key
Ctrl	Control key
Alt	Alt key (Mod1)
H/J/K/L	Left/Down/Up/Right (Vim-style)

The modifier key $mod is set to Mod4 (Super/Windows key) by default. All keybindings use this as the primary modifier.

Application Launchers

Quick access to frequently used applications:

Keybinding	Action	Description
Super+Enter	Launch Kitty	Opens the Kitty terminal emulator
Super+F	Launch Firefox	Opens Firefox web browser
Super+Z	Flameshot GUI	Opens Flameshot screenshot tool in GUI mode

Rofi Menus

Config-Sway includes several Rofi-based menus for quick access to common tasks:

Keybinding	Menu	Script Location
Super+D	App launcher	~/.config/rofi/scripts/selector-app.sh
Super+Q	Power menu	~/.config/rofi/scripts/power-menu.sh
Super+A	Theme switcher	~/.config/rofi/scripts/theme-switcher.sh
Super+W	Wallpaper switcher	~/.config/rofi/scripts/wallpaper-switcher.sh
Super+E	Icon/emoji menu	~/.config/rofi/scripts/menu-iconos.sh
Super+Shift+Enter	Hacker mode layout	~/.config/scripts/mode-hacker.sh

Hacker Mode creates a custom terminal layout with:

• Left pane: Main terminal shell
• Top right: tty-clock displaying time
• Bottom right: cava audio visualizer

Window Management

Control windows and their behavior:

Keybinding	Action	Description
Super+C	Kill window	Close the focused window
Super+O	Toggle split layout	Switch between horizontal and vertical splits
Super+Shift+R	Reload config	Reload Sway configuration
Super+Button3	Toggle floating	Right-click with Super to toggle floating mode

The keybindings for floating toggle (Super+U), fullscreen (Super+P), and exit (Super+M) are commented out in the default config. Uncomment line 17 in ~/.config/sway/config if you need these.

Focus Navigation (Vim-style)

Move focus between windows using Vim-style HJKL keys:

Keybinding	Direction
Super+H	Focus left
Super+J	Focus down
Super+K	Focus up
Super+L	Focus right

Moving Floating Windows

Two modes for moving floating windows with different step sizes:

Small Movements (50px)

Keybinding	Direction
Super+Shift+H	Move left 50px
Super+Shift+J	Move down 50px
Super+Shift+K	Move up 50px
Super+Shift+L	Move right 50px

Large Movements (150px)

Keybinding	Direction
Super+Alt+H	Move left 150px
Super+Alt+J	Move down 150px
Super+Alt+K	Move up 150px
Super+Alt+L	Move right 150px

Resizing Floating Windows

Resize floating windows in 50px increments:

Keybinding	Action
Super+Ctrl+H	Shrink width (left)
Super+Ctrl+L	Grow width (right)
Super+Ctrl+J	Shrink height (down)
Super+Ctrl+K	Grow height (up)

Workspace Management

Switching Workspaces

Keybinding	Action
Super+1 to Super+9	Switch to workspace 1-9
Super+0	Switch to workspace 10
Super+S	Switch to “magic” workspace

Moving Windows to Workspaces

Keybinding	Action
Super+Shift+1 to Super+Shift+9	Move window to workspace 1-9
Super+Shift+0	Move window to workspace 10
Super+Shift+S	Move window to “magic” workspace

The “magic” workspace is a special workspace accessible via Super+S. Use it as a scratchpad or temporary workspace for windows you want to access quickly.

Workspace Navigation with Mouse

Keybinding	Action
Super+Scroll Up	Next workspace
Super+Scroll Down	Previous workspace

Mouse Bindings

Enhance window management with mouse gestures:

Keybinding	Action
Super+Left Click	Move window (drag)
Super+Middle Click	Resize window (drag)
Super+Right Click	Toggle floating mode

Multimedia Keys

Audio Control

Control system audio with dedicated multimedia keys:

Key	Action	Command
XF86AudioRaiseVolume	Increase volume	wpctl set-volume -l 1 @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%+
XF86AudioLowerVolume	Decrease volume	wpctl set-volume @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ 5%-
XF86AudioMute	Toggle mute	wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SINK@ toggle
XF86AudioMicMute	Toggle mic mute	wpctl set-mute @DEFAULT_AUDIO_SOURCE@ toggle

Audio controls use wpctl (WirePlumber) with a volume limit of 100% (-l 1) to prevent accidental audio damage.

Brightness Control

Key	Action	Command
XF86MonBrightnessUp	Increase brightness	brightnessctl -e 4 -n 2 set 5%+
XF86MonBrightnessDown	Decrease brightness	brightnessctl -e 4 -n 2 set 5%-

Brightness control uses exponential scaling (-e 4) and maintains a minimum value (-n 2) for better control at low brightness levels.

Media Playback

Control media playback with playerctl:

Key	Action	Command
XF86AudioNext	Next track	playerctl next
XF86AudioPrev	Previous track	playerctl previous
XF86AudioPlay	Play/Pause	playerctl play-pause
XF86AudioPause	Play/Pause	playerctl play-pause

Notification Control (Mako)

Manage notifications with Mako:

Keybinding	Action	Command
Super+N	Dismiss all notifications	makoctl dismiss -a
Super+Shift+N	Toggle Do Not Disturb mode	makoctl mode -a dnd

Input Configuration

The following input settings are configured in ~/.config/sway/config:140-148:

Keyboard

• Layouts: US and Latin American (us,latam)
• Layout switching: Alt+Shift toggles between layouts

Touchpad

• Tap to click: Enabled
• Natural scrolling: Disabled

You can customize input settings by modifying the input blocks in ~/.config/sway/config. See the Sway input documentation for all available options.

Autostart Programs

These programs launch automatically when Sway starts:

Program	Purpose	Configuration
setwallpaper.sh	Sets wallpaper	~/.config/scripts/setwallpaper.sh
nm-applet	Network Manager tray	System tray applet
waybar	Status bar	~/.config/waybar/config-sway.jsonc
mako	Notification daemon	~/.config/mako/config
autostart.sh	Custom autostart apps	~/.config/scripts/autostart.sh

The autostart.sh script automatically launches Firefox (workspace 1), VSCode (workspace 2), and Kitty (workspace 3) on startup. Comment out lines in ~/.config/scripts/autostart.sh if you don’t want these applications to start automatically.