mxkbd - modular X key bind daemon - daemon to add, list, remove, and set keybinds and keybind modes
mxkbd [OPTION]
mxkbd is a server or daemon that allows commands be bound to key sequences (keybinds) within modes. When the key sequence within the grabbed keybind mode is pressed its (the keybind's) command will execute. Many modes can exist at one time but only the mode currently set to be the grabbed mode will have its keybinds watched for. Furthermore, only one mode can be set to be the grabbed mode at a time, however, the grabbed mode can be switched out to any other mode at any time as requested. By default new keybinds will be added and removed from the mode set to be the selected mode. This is to make it possible to add keybinds to one mode with key sequences of another mode. Like the grabbed mode only one mode can be set to be the selected mode. mxkbd needs a client program to send the appropriate requests to add, remove, list and set keybinds and modes to this daemon's socket file. One such client is https://github.com/ZakharEl/mxkbc.
Using the client mxkbc and pressing i followed by t to open alacritty in this example.
It can be used to configure keybinding functionality independently of and portably accross different window managers, desktop environments and other programs. Unlike other keybind or hot key programs it doesn't use a config file but multiple appropriate mxkbd client program calls. This means 4 things. One, that different clients could be written in different programming languages and have different interfaces - they just need to be able to write appropriately to and read from a socket file (hopefully read and write from other protocols like through the internet with inet). Two, that mxkbd does not need to be restarted to make a change or changes - just run the appropriate mxkbd client calls. Three, the functionality of a config file can still be achieved by writing and using a script or program that in turn has mxkbd client program calls in it. Four, if a mxkbd client is called using the wrong syntax then all keybinds of the mxkbd server are not lost with mxkbd crashing. Instead the changes that would have been made by the offending mxkbd client command(s) are not done. Everything else will continue to work fine.
In addition, since this daemon is modular based keybinds are grouped into modes. This means 2 things. First, you will not need to write increasingly hard to remember, lengthy and carpal tunnel inducing keybinds since you can have the same keys execute different programs accross different keybind modes. Second, you can group keybinds with a related theme together in 1 mode and make those keybinds have easier to remember keys.
Open a terminal and run
git clone https://github.com/ZakharEl/mxkbd. Then cd into the clone directory and run
sudo make install-S,--socket PATH Set this daemon's socket file to PATH. Default socket file path is ~/.config/mxkbd/mxkbd.socket
-d,--default MODE Set this daemon's default mode to MODE.
-g,--grabbed MODE Set this daemon's grabbed mode to MODE.
-s,--selected MODE Set this daemon's selected mode to MODE.
-D,--deletefile if set and socket file exists but is not an actual socket file then delete the file and recreate it as a socket, otherwise exit
Currently the grabbed keys do not set back to the beginning of the currently grabbed mode's keybinds when a key that is not any grabbed keybind's next segment is pressed. This is being considered as a feature as it would be pretty nifty as to not have to retype a lengthy keybind if the wrong key is pressed. The keybinds do reset if other keybind's next segment but not their own is pressed though.
- add option to use inet in place of socket file
- possibly add option to have keybinds registered on 1 device to trigger their command to be run on another device
- add caching mechanism to store not currently grabbed keybind modes off of ram and into hard disk to save on memory
- add option to set default_keybind_mode, grabbed_keybind_mode and selected_keybind_mode to null, not delete them but set them to null
- add option to set custom seperator for keybind_bind seq to something other than '+'
- add option to have the keybinds reset to their beginning when something other than the next keybind portion of any keybind is pressed
- add functionality to have keybinds registered not only on keypress events but also key release events.
- add functionality to list currently grabbed keybinds
- add functionality to list the already pressed keys of a keybind
- add functionality to list the not yet pressed keys of a keybind
- add option to set a different delimitor than '\n' in the output sent to a client executing the list_operation
- add option to have keybinds and keybind modes registor only to a given X window (only a given application)
- add more comments in the C++ code for better documentation
- perhaps split up the C++ code into multiple files
- add a password lock to block changes being made to modes and keybinds (adding, removal, etc) except from already added keybinds triggering said changes on a keypress
- should I make changing the grabbed mode and/or default mode blockable?
- should I make a mechanism to distinguish between changes made with a keybind and changes made with a mxkbd client command?
Written by Zachary Schlitt <ztschlitt@gmail.com>
GPL 3.0
