Configuration file

#The file

The file is ~/.config/mielwm/config.json. mielwm reads it when it starts and again whenever it changes, so edits apply as soon as you save. Settings writes the same file, and Settings > Advanced > Config file opens it.

A key you leave out keeps its default, so a short file is normal:

{
  "layout:default": "tiles",
  "gaps:inner_horizontal": 8,
  "layout:workspace_rules": "com.spotify.client=2,com.hnc.Discord=1",
  "distortion": { "strength": 0.18 },
  "navigator:accent": "cyan",
  "keys:opt+space": "overview",
  "keys:ctrl+opt+g": "none"
}

Keys can be flat, like "distortion:strength": 0.18, or nested, like "distortion": { "strength": 0.18 }. Both mean the same.

#Errors

If the file isn't valid JSON, mielwm keeps its defaults and the menu bar item turns into a warning sign. A key with a bad value or an unknown name is skipped on its own and the rest still apply. Settings > Advanced and the menu's Config has problems… list each error. A number outside a setting's range is clamped to the nearest one that works.

#How Settings writes it

Settings leaves keys it didn't touch alone, but JSON comments get lost. A setting changed back to its default disappears from the file.

#Layout and workspaces

#Gaps

Layouts and gaps explains the top edge modes.

#Input

#The overview

#Panels and color

#The lens and the background

#Placement and tidying

#Animation, menu bar and apps

#Shortcuts

keys:<chord> binds a chord to an action. Write chords as modifiers and a key joined by +: ctrl+opt+g, opt+shift+left, cmd+,. Modifiers are ctrl, opt, cmd and shift. Set a chord to "none" to unbind a default, or to "noop" to have it do nothing at all, so the key never reaches an app.

{
  "keys:opt+space": "overview",
  "keys:ctrl+opt+g": "none",
  "keys:opt+shift+f": "layout floating",
  "keys:opt+b": "workspace-back-and-forth",
  "keys:opt+shift+equal": "resize smart +100"
}

The action names are the same as the command line ones. By default ⌥0, ⌥⇧0 and ⌥; are noop, so they never type º, ‚ or … by accident.

#The layout file

mielwm remembers where your windows sit in ~/Library/Application Support/mielwm/layout.json, so they come back to their spots after a restart. It writes that file on its own, and you never need to edit it. If windows keep coming back in strange places, quit mielwm, delete the file and open mielwm again.