Usage

Type to search. If the first word is a keyword owned by a plugin, that plugin answers the query. Otherwise the whole input is an app or command query. See Plugins for the routing rules.

Enter acts on the highlighted row. An empty query shows no rows.

Query types

The table lists the built-in keywords. A plugin can add its own.

Input	Action
firefox	search installed applications (name, keywords, description)
f <query>	search files by name or path
d <query>	search directories by path (multi-token)
r <query>	fuzzy-search $PATH executables and run one
?	show keyword modes, default functions, hints and each plugin's remembered default action
lock / reboot / shutdown	system commands
2 + 3	inline calculator

On KDE Plasma, reboot, shutdown and logout ask the session manager (org.kde.Shutdown) to log out first, and fall back to systemctl/loginctl when that call fails. Stopping plasmashell through systemd can make the shutdown hang.

Some features need an optional component. Copy and paste need wl-clipboard; without it, the keyword returns no rows. A host registered in plugins.toml adds its own keyword the same way. The full list is in feature dependencies.

Path queries

A query that contains / or starts with ~ is a path query. If the path exists, the launcher opens it directly and does not search by name. ~ and relative paths resolve under $HOME; an absolute path such as /etc/hosts opens wherever it points.

If the path does not exist yet, the launcher lists entries in the typed directory that match the last component. A trailing / lists the directory itself. Matching ignores case, even in the parent components already typed. An existing exact path is still opened literally.

When no provider matches

If no provider matches a plain query, the launcher lists the first level of $HOME in the same way.

Keys

Key	Action
Enter	launch the selected result
Shift+Enter	open the selected result's action panel
Alt+Enter	in the panel, set the highlighted action as its plugin's default, or clear it
↑ / ↓	move the selection
PageUp / PageDown	move by a page
Tab	complete the last word or path component from the results
Home / End	move the caret to the start/end of the query
Ctrl+A	select the whole query
Shift+←/→	extend the selection
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X	copy the selection to the clipboard
Ctrl+V	paste
Delete	delete the character after the caret
Esc	dismiss (or close the action panel)

Action panel

Opening the panel

Shift+Enter opens a Wox-style second level for the highlighted row: the commands that result type offers.

The footer names the row, or the group you entered, at its right edge, just left of the action count; a long name is elided. With the footer disabled, the panel shows no title.

The panel starts with the row's own command (Open). Next come the actions its plugin adds for that type. A file row adds "Open in terminal", "Reveal in file manager" and "Copy path", then an Open with group for the system's other handlers. An application row lists its [Desktop Action …] groups. Any actions an external host attached come last.

A dot marks the entry Enter runs. Open carries it until a default is remembered. A row with no command has no panel at all, and the footer hides its actions hint.

Groups and levels

A group carries a › and opens a third level instead of running. Enter on Open with lists the handlers by application name. Enter runs the highlighted one, and Esc returns to the row's actions. A handler can be made the default from that level, like any other entry.

While the panel is open, ↑/↓ and the wheel move through it. Enter runs the highlighted command or opens the highlighted group. Esc goes back one level; at the top it closes the panel. Shift+Enter closes the panel from any level. Typing closes the panel and returns to the field.

Default actions

Alt+Enter remembers the highlighted command as the default for its plugin. Enter on later rows of that plugin then runs it, and the row's own command stays available as Open. The remembered action carries a dot, and the footer shows the Alt+Enter hint. Alt+Enter on Open, or on the action that is already the default, clears it, so Enter opens normally again. Both a plugin's own actions and a host's actions can be made the default.

Alt+Enter re-sends the query and keeps the panel open on the entry you changed, so the default dot moves to that entry.

Footer and row indicators

While a default is in effect, the row-level footer names the action Enter will run (⏎ Open in terminal) instead of ⏎ Launch. The row carries the same dot the panel puts on that action, so the state reads at a glance; a long action name is elided. ? lists each plugin's remembered action as · Enter: <action id>.

The interface language is set in config.toml; see Config.