Keybinds

Take full control of Noctalia with keyboard shortcuts and IPC commands. This page covers how to start the shell and all available commands you can bind to your favorite keys.

Available Commands

Noctalia provides extensive IPC (Inter-Process Communication) support, allowing you to control every aspect of the shell through commands. These are perfect for binding to keyboard shortcuts in your window manager or desktop environment.

Core Functions

Function	Command	Description
Application Launcher	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher toggle`	Open/close the application launcher
Control Center	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call controlCenter toggle`	Toggle the control center visibility
Settings	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call settings toggle`	Open/close the settings window

Quick Access

Function	Command	Description
Clipboard History	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher clipboard`	Access your clipboard history
Calculator	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher calculator`	Quick calculator access
Session Menu	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call sessionMenu toggle`	Logout, reboot, shutdown…

System Controls

Audio Management

Function	Command	Description
Volume Up	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume increase`	Increase system volume
Volume Down	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume decrease`	Decrease system volume
Mute Output	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume muteOutput`	Toggle output audio mute
Mute Input	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume muteInput`	Toggle input audio mute

Display & Brightness

Function	Command	Description
Brightness Up	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call brightness increase`	Increase screen brightness
Brightness Down	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call brightness decrease`	Decrease screen brightness

Security & Privacy

Function	Command	Description
Lock Screen	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call lockScreen toggle`	Lock your screen
Idle Inhibitor	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call idleInhibitor toggle`	Prevent system from going idle

Notifications

Function	Command	Description
Notification History	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call notifications toggleHistory`	View past notifications
Do Not Disturb	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call notifications toggleDND`	Toggle notification silence mode
Clear Notification History	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call notifications clear`	Clear notification history

Appearance

Visibility

Function	Command	Description
Toggle Bar Visibility	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call bar toggle`	Switch between invisible and visible

Theme Controls

Function	Command	Description
Toggle Dark Mode	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call darkMode toggle`	Switch between light/dark themes
Set Dark Mode	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call darkMode setDark`	Force dark theme
Set Light Mode	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call darkMode setLight`	Force light theme

Wallpaper Management

Function	Command	Description
Toggle Selector	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper toggle`	Toggle the wallpaper selector
Set Wallpaper	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper set $path $monitor`	Set specific wallpaper on a monitor
Random Wallpaper	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper random`	Apply a random wallpaper
Toggle Automation	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper toggleAutomation`	Toggle wallpaper automation
Enable Automation	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper enableAutomation`	Enable wallpaper automation
Disable Automation	`qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper disableAutomation`	Disable wallpaper automation

Example Configurations

Niri Configuration

Add these binds to your ~/.config/niri/config.kdl:

binds {
    // Core Noctalia binds
    Mod+Space { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "launcher" "toggle"; }
    Mod+S { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "sidePanel" "toggle"; }
    Mod+Comma { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "settings" "toggle"; }

    // Audio controls
    XF86AudioRaiseVolume { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "volume" "increase"; }
    XF86AudioLowerVolume { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "volume" "decrease"; }
    XF86AudioMute { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "volume" "muteOutput"; }

    // Brightness controls
    XF86MonBrightnessUp { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "brightness" "increase"; }
    XF86MonBrightnessDown { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "brightness" "decrease"; }

    // Utility shortcuts
    Mod+V { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "launcher" "clipboard"; }
    Mod+C { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "launcher" "calculator"; }
    Mod+L { spawn "qs" "-c" "noctalia-shell" "ipc" "call" "lockScreen" "toggle"; }
}

Hyprland Configuration

Add these binds to your hyprland.conf:

# Core Noctalia binds
bind = SUPER, SPACE, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher toggle
bind = SUPER, S, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call sidePanel toggle
bind = SUPER, comma, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call settings toggle

# Audio controls
bindel = , XF86AudioRaiseVolume, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume increase
bindel = , XF86AudioLowerVolume, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume decrease
bindl = , XF86AudioMute, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call volume muteOutput

# Brightness controls
bindel = , XF86MonBrightnessUp, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call brightness increase
bindel = , XF86MonBrightnessDown, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call brightness decrease

# Utility shortcuts
bind = SUPER, V, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher clipboard
bind = SUPER, C, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call launcher calculator
bind = SUPER, L, exec, qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call lockScreen toggle

Pro Tips

You can combine multiple IPC calls in shell scripts for complex workflows:

#!/bin/bash
# Toggle dark mode and set matching wallpaper
qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call darkMode toggle
sleep 0.5
qs -c noctalia-shell ipc call wallpaper random