Provided by: sway_1.10.1-2_amd64 
NAME
sway - configuration file and commands
DESCRIPTION
A sway configuration file is a list of sway commands that are executed by sway on startup. These
commands usually consist of setting your preferences and setting key bindings. An example config is
likely present in /etc/sway/config for you to check out.
Lines in the configuration file might be extended through multiple lines by adding a '\' character at the
end of line. e.g.:
bindsym Shift+XF86AudioRaiseVolume exec \
pactl set-sink-volume @DEFAULT_SINK@ -1%
Commands can also be given as a block in the form command { <subcommands...> }. Anything before the
opening { will be prepended to the lines inside the block. For example:
output eDP-1 {
background ~/wallpaper.png fill
resolution 1920x1080
}
is identical to
output eDP-1 background ~/wallpaper.png fill
output eDP-1 resolution 1920x1080
These commands can be executed in your config file, via swaymsg(1), or via the bindsym command.
COMMAND CONVENTIONS
Commands are split into several arguments using spaces. You can enclose arguments with quotation marks
("..." or '...') to add spaces to a single argument. You may also run several commands in order by
separating each with , or ;. Criteria is retained across commands separated by ,, but will be reset (and
allow for new criteria, if desired) for commands separated by a ;.
Throughout the documentation, | is used to distinguish between arguments for which you may only select
one. [...] is used for optional arguments, and <...> for arguments where you are expected to supply some
value.
COMMANDS
This section only lists general commands. For input and output commands, refer to sway-input(5) and sway-
output(5).
Config only commands
The following commands may only be used in the configuration file.
bar [<bar-id>] <bar-subcommands...>
For details on bar subcommands, see sway-bar(5).
default_orientation horizontal|vertical|auto
Sets the default container layout for tiled containers.
include <path>
Includes another file from path. path can be either a full path or a path relative to the parent
config, and expands shell syntax (see wordexp(3) for details). The same include file can only be
included once; subsequent attempts will be ignored.
swaybg_command <command>
Executes custom background command. Default is swaybg. Refer to sway-output(5) for more information.
It can be disabled by setting the command to a single dash: swaybg_command -
swaynag_command <command>
Executes custom command for swaynag. Default is swaynag. Additional arguments may be appended to the
end. This should only be used to either direct sway to call swaynag from a custom path or to provide
additional arguments. This should be placed at the top of the config for the best results.
It can be disabled by setting the command to a single dash: swaynag_command -
workspace_layout default|stacking|tabbed
Specifies the initial layout for new containers in an empty workspace.
xwayland enable|disable|force
Enables or disables Xwayland support, which allows X11 applications to be used. enable will lazily
load Xwayland so Xwayland will not be launched until the first client attempts to connect. In some
cases, such as slower machines, it may be desirable to have Xwayland started immediately by using
force instead of enable.
Runtime only commands
The following commands cannot be used directly in the configuration file. They are expected to be used
with bindsym or at runtime through swaymsg(1).
border none|normal|csd|pixel [<n>]
Set border style for focused window. normal includes a border of thickness n and a title bar. pixel
is a border without title bar n pixels thick. The title bar always shows in stacking or tabbed
layouts. csd is short for client-side-decorations, which allows the client to draw its own
decorations. Default is normal with border thickness 2.
border toggle
Cycles through the available border styles.
exit
Exit sway and end your Wayland session.
floating enable|disable|toggle
Make focused view floating, non-floating, or the opposite of what it is now.
<criteria> focus
Moves focus to the container that matches the specified criteria.
focus up|right|down|left
Moves focus to the next container in the specified direction.
focus prev|next [sibling]
Moves focus to the previous or next container in the current layout. By default, the last active
child of the newly focused container will be focused. The sibling option indicates not to immediately
focus a child of the container.
focus child
Moves focus to the last-focused child of the focused container.
focus parent
Moves focus to the parent of the focused container.
focus output up|right|down|left
Moves focus to the next output in the specified direction.
focus output <name>
Moves focus to the named output.
focus tiling
Sets focus to the last focused tiling container.
focus floating
Sets focus to the last focused floating container.
focus mode_toggle
Moves focus between the floating and tiled layers.
fullscreen [enable|disable|toggle] [global]
Makes focused view fullscreen, non-fullscreen, or the opposite of what it is now. If no argument is
given, it does the same as toggle. If global is specified, the view will be fullscreen across all
outputs.
gaps inner|outer|horizontal|vertical|top|right|bottom|left all|current set|plus|minus|toggle <amount>
Changes the inner or outer gaps for either all workspaces or the current workspace. outer gaps can be
altered per side with top, right, bottom, and left or per direction with horizontal and vertical.
inhibit_idle focus|fullscreen|open|none|visible
Set/unset an idle inhibitor for the view. focus will inhibit idle when the view is focused by any
seat. fullscreen will inhibit idle when the view is fullscreen (or a descendant of a fullscreen
container) and is visible. open will inhibit idle until the view is closed (or the inhibitor is
unset/changed). visible will inhibit idle when the view is visible on any output. none will remove
any existing idle inhibitor for the view.
This can also be used with criteria to set an idle inhibitor for any existing view or with for_window
to set idle inhibitors for future views.
layout default|splith|splitv|stacking|tabbed
Sets the layout mode of the focused container.
When using the stacking layout, only the focused window in the container is displayed, with the
opened windows' list on the top of the container.
The tabbed layout is similar to stacking, but the windows’ list is vertically split.
layout toggle [split|all]
Cycles the layout mode of the focused container though a preset list of layouts. If no argument is
given, then it cycles through stacking, tabbed and the last split layout. If split is given, then it
cycles through splith and splitv. If all is given, then it cycles through every layout.
layout toggle [split|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith] [split|tabbed|stacking|splitv|splith]...
Cycles the layout mode of the focused container through a list of layouts.
max_render_time off|<msec>
Controls when the relevant application is told to render this window, as a positive number of
milliseconds before the next time sway composites the output. A smaller number leads to fresher
rendered frames being composited by sway and lower perceived input latency, but if set too low, the
application may not finish rendering before sway composites the output, leading to delayed frames.
When set to off, the relevant application is told to render this window immediately after display
refresh. How much time is left for rendering before sway composites the output at that point depends
on the output max_render_time setting.
To set this up for optimal latency:
1. Set up output max_render_time (see sway-output(5)).
2. Put the target application in full-screen and have it continuously render something.
3. Start by setting max_render_time 1. If the application drops frames, increment by 1.
This setting only has an effect if a per-output max_render_time is in effect on the output the window
is currently on. See sway-output(5) for further details.
allow_tearing yes|no
Allows or disallows screen tearing as a result of immediate page flips for a fullscreen application.
When this option is not set, the tearing hints provided by the application determine whether tearing
is allowed. When yes is specified, the application allows tearing regardless of the tearing hints.
When no is specified, tearing will never be allowed on the application, regardless of the tearing
hints.
This setting only has an effect if tearing is allowed on the output through the per-output
allow_tearing setting. See sway-output(5) for further details.
move left|right|up|down [<px> px]
Moves the focused container in the direction specified. The optional px argument specifies how many
pixels to move the container. If unspecified, the default is 10 pixels. Pixels are ignored when
moving tiled containers.
move [absolute] position <pos_x> [px|ppt] <pos_y> [px|ppt]
Moves the focused container to the specified position in the workspace. The position can be specified
in pixels or percentage points, omitting the unit defaults to pixels. If absolute is used, the
position is relative to all outputs. absolute can not be used with percentage points.
move [absolute] position center
Moves the focused container to be centered on the workspace. If absolute is used, it is moved to the
center of all outputs.
move position cursor|mouse|pointer
Moves the focused container to be centered on the cursor.
move [container|window] [to] mark <mark>
Moves the focused container to the specified mark.
move [--no-auto-back-and-forth] [container|window] [to] workspace [number] <name>
Moves the focused container to the specified workspace. The string number is optional and is used to
match a workspace with the same number, even if it has a different name.
move [container|window] [to] workspace prev|next|current
Moves the focused container to the previous, next or current workspace on this output, or if no
workspaces remain, the previous or next output.
move [container|window] [to] workspace prev_on_output|next_on_output
Moves the focused container to the previous or next workspace on this output, wrapping around if
already at the first or last workspace.
move [container|window] [to] workspace back_and_forth
Moves the focused container to previously focused workspace.
move [container|window] [to] output <name-or-id>|current
Moves the focused container to the specified output.
move [container|window] [to] output up|right|down|left
Moves the focused container to next output in the specified direction.
move [container|window] [to] scratchpad
Moves the focused container to the scratchpad.
move workspace [to] output <name-or-id>|current
Moves the focused workspace to the specified output.
move workspace to [output] <name-or-id>|current
Moves the focused workspace to the specified output.
move workspace [to] output up|right|down|left
Moves the focused workspace to next output in the specified direction.
move workspace to [output] up|right|down|left
Moves the focused workspace to next output in the specified direction.
nop <comment>
A no operation command that can be used to override default behaviour. The optional comment argument
is ignored, but logged for debugging purposes.
reload
Reloads the sway config file and applies any changes. The config file is located at path specified by
the command line arguments when started, otherwise according to the priority stated in sway(1).
rename workspace [<old_name>] to <new_name>
Rename either <old_name> or the focused workspace to the <new_name>
resize shrink|grow width|height [<amount> [px|ppt]]
Resizes the currently focused container by amount, specified in pixels or percentage points. If the
units are omitted, floating containers are resized in px and tiled containers by ppt. amount will
default to 10 if omitted.
resize set height <height> [px|ppt]
Sets the height of the container to height, specified in pixels or percentage points. If the units
are omitted, floating containers are resized in px and tiled containers by ppt. If height is 0, the
container will not be resized.
resize set [width] <width> [px|ppt]
Sets the width of the container to width, specified in pixels or percentage points. If the units are
omitted, floating containers are resized in px and tiled containers by ppt. If width is 0, the
container will not be resized.
resize set [width] <width> [px|ppt] [height] <height> [px|ppt]
Sets the width and height of the container to width and height, specified in pixels or percentage
points. If the units are omitted, floating containers are resized in px and tiled containers by ppt.
If width or height is 0, the container will not be resized on that axis.
scratchpad show
Shows a window from the scratchpad. Repeatedly using this command will cycle through the windows in
the scratchpad.
shortcuts_inhibitor enable|disable
Enables or disables the ability of clients to inhibit keyboard shortcuts for a view. This is
primarily useful for virtualization and remote desktop software. It affects either the currently
focused view or a set of views selected by criteria. Subcommand disable additionally deactivates any
active inhibitors for the given view(s). Criteria are particularly useful with the for_window command
to configure a class of views differently from the per-seat defaults established by the seat
subcommand of the same name. See sway-input(5) for more ways to affect inhibitors.
split vertical|v|horizontal|h|none|n|toggle|t
Splits the current container, vertically or horizontally. When none is specified, the effect of a
previous split is undone if the current container is the only child of a split parent. When toggle is
specified, the current container is split opposite to the parent container's layout.
splith
Equivalent to split horizontal
splitv
Equivalent to split vertical
splitt
Equivalent to split toggle
sticky enable|disable|toggle
"Sticks" a floating window to the current output so that it shows up on all workspaces.
swap container with id|con_id|mark <arg>
Swaps the position, geometry, and fullscreen status of two containers. The first container can be
selected either by criteria or focus. The second container can be selected by id, con_id, or mark. id
can only be used with xwayland views. If the first container has focus, it will retain focus unless
it is moved to a different workspace or the second container becomes fullscreen on the same workspace
as the first container. In either of those cases, the second container will gain focus.
title_format <format>
Sets the format of window titles. The following placeholders may be used:
%title - The title supplied by the window
%app_id - The wayland app ID (applicable to wayland windows only)
%class - The X11 classname (applicable to xwayland windows only)
%instance - The X11 instance (applicable to xwayland windows only)
%shell - The protocol the window is using (typically xwayland or
xdg_shell)
This command is typically used with for_window criteria. For example:
for_window [title="."] title_format "<b>%title</b> (%app_id)"
Note that markup requires pango to be enabled via the font command.
The default format is "%title".
Config or runtime commands
The following commands may be used either in the configuration file or at runtime.
assign <criteria> [→] [workspace] [number] <workspace>
Assigns views matching criteria (see CRITERIA for details) to workspace. The → (U+2192) is optional
and cosmetic. This command is equivalent to:
for_window <criteria> move container to workspace <workspace>
assign <criteria> [→] output left|right|up|down|<name>
Assigns views matching criteria (see CRITERIA for details) to the specified output. The → (U+2192) is
optional and cosmetic. This command is equivalent to:
for_window <criteria> move container to output <output>
bindsym [--whole-window] [--border] [--exclude-titlebar] [--release] [--locked] [--to-code] [--input-
device=<device>] [--no-warn] [--no-repeat] [--inhibited] [Group<1-4>+]<key combo> <command>
Binds key combo to execute the sway command command when pressed. You may use XKB key names here
(wev(1) is a good tool for discovering these). With the flag --release, the command is executed when
the key combo is released. If input-device is given, the binding will only be executed for that input
device and will be executed instead of any binding that is generic to all devices. If a group number
is given, then the binding will only be available for that group. By default, if you overwrite a
binding, swaynag will give you a warning. To silence this, use the --no-warn flag.
For specifying modifier keys, you can use the XKB modifier names Shift, Lock (for Caps Lock),
Control, Mod1 (for Alt), Mod2 (for Num Lock), Mod3 (for XKB modifier Mod3), Mod4 (for the Logo key),
and Mod5 (for AltGr). In addition, you can use the aliases Ctrl (for Control), Alt (for Alt), and
Super (for the Logo key).
Unless the flag --locked is set, the command will not be run when a screen locking program is active.
If there is a matching binding with and without --locked, the one with will be preferred when locked
and the one without will be preferred when unlocked. If there are matching bindings and one has both
--input-device and --locked and the other has neither, the former will be preferred even when
unlocked.
Unless the flag --inhibited is set, the command will not be run when a keyboard shortcuts inhibitor
is active for the currently focused window. Such inhibitors are usually requested by remote desktop
and virtualization software to enable the user to send keyboard shortcuts to the remote or virtual
session. The --inhibited flag allows one to define bindings which will be exempt from pass-through to
such software. The same preference logic as for --locked applies.
Unless the flag --no-repeat is set, the command will be run repeatedly when the key is held,
according to the repeat settings specified in the input configuration.
Bindings to keysyms are layout-dependent. This can be changed with the --to-code flag. In this case,
the keysyms will be translated into the corresponding keycodes in the first configured layout.
Mouse bindings operate on the container under the cursor instead of the container that has focus.
Mouse buttons can either be specified in the form button[1-9] or by using the name of the event code
(ex BTN_LEFT or BTN_RIGHT). For the former option, the buttons will be mapped to their values in X11
(1=left, 2=middle, 3=right, 4=scroll up, 5=scroll down, 6=scroll left, 7=scroll right, 8=back,
9=forward). For the latter option, you can find the event names using libinput debug-events.
The priority for matching bindings is as follows: input device, group, and locked state.
--whole-window, --border, and --exclude-titlebar are mouse-only options which affect the region in
which the mouse bindings can be triggered. By default, mouse bindings are only triggered when over
the title bar. With the --border option, the border of the window will be included in this region.
With the --whole-window option, the cursor can be anywhere over a window including the title, border,
and content. --exclude-titlebar can be used in conjunction with any other option to specify that the
titlebar should be excluded from the region of consideration.
If --whole-window is given, the command can be triggered when the cursor is over an empty workspace.
Using a mouse binding over a layer surface's exclusive region is not currently possible.
Example:
# Execute firefox when alt, shift, and f are pressed together
bindsym Mod1+Shift+f exec firefox
bindcode [--whole-window] [--border] [--exclude-titlebar] [--release] [--locked] [--input-
device=<device>] [--no-warn] [--no-repeat] [--inhibited] [Group<1-4>+]<code> <command> is also
available for binding with key/button codes instead of key/button names.
bindswitch [--locked] [--no-warn] [--reload] <switch>:<state> <command>
Binds <switch> to execute the sway command command on state changes. Supported switches are lid
(laptop lid) and tablet (tablet mode) switches. Valid values for state are on, off and toggle. These
switches are on when the device lid is shut and when tablet mode is active respectively. toggle is
also supported to run a command both when the switch is toggled on or off.
Unless the flag --locked is set, the command will not be run when a screen locking program is active.
If there is a matching binding with and without --locked, the one with will be preferred when locked
and the one without will be preferred when unlocked.
If the --reload flag is given, the binding will also be executed when the config is reloaded. toggle
bindings will not be executed on reload. The --locked flag will operate as normal so if the config is
reloaded while locked and --locked is not given, the binding will not be executed.
By default, if you overwrite a binding, swaynag will give you a warning. To silence this, use the
--no-warn flag.
Example:
# Show the virtual keyboard when tablet mode is entered.
bindswitch tablet:on busctl call --user sm.puri.OSK0 /sm/puri/OSK0 sm.puri.OSK0 SetVisible b true
# Log a message when the laptop lid is opened or closed.
bindswitch lid:toggle exec echo "Lid moved"
bindgesture [--exact] [--input-device=<device>] [--no-warn] <gesture>[:<fingers>][:directions] <command>
Binds gesture to execute the sway command command when detected. Currently supports the hold, pinch
or swipe gesture. Optionally can be limited to bind to a certain number of fingers or, for a pinch or
swipe gesture, to certain directions.
┌───────┬─────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ type │ fingers │ direction │
├───────┼─────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ hold │ 1 - 5 │ none │
├───────┼─────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ swipe │ 3 - 5 │ up, down, left, right │
├───────┼─────────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ pinch │ 2 - 5 │ all above + inward, outward, clockwise, counterclockwise │
└───────┴─────────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The fingers can be limited to any sensible number or left empty to accept any finger counts. Valid
directions are up, down, left and right, as well as inward, outward, clockwise, counterclockwise for
the pinch gesture. Multiple directions can be combined by a plus.
If a input-device is given, the binding will only be executed for that input device and will be
executed instead of any binding that is generic to all devices. By default, if you overwrite a
binding, swaynag will give you a warning. To silence this, use the --no-warn flag.
The --exact flag can be used to ensure a binding only matches when exactly all specified directions
are matched and nothing more. If there is matching binding with --exact, it will be preferred.
The priority for matching bindings is as follows: input device, then exact matches followed by
matches with the highest number of matching directions.
Gestures executed while the pointer is above a bar are not handled by sway. See the respective
documentation, e.g. bindgesture in sway-bar(5).
Example:
# Allow switching between workspaces with left and right swipes
bindgesture swipe:right workspace prev
bindgesture swipe:left workspace next
# Allow container movements by pinching them
bindgesture pinch:inward+up move up
bindgesture pinch:inward+down move down
bindgesture pinch:inward+left move left
bindgesture pinch:inward+right move right
client.background <color>
This command is ignored and is only present for i3 compatibility.
client.<class> <border> <background> <text> [<indicator> [<child_border>]]
Configures the color of window borders and title bars. The first three colors are required. When
omitted indicator will use a sane default and child_border will use the color set for background.
Colors may be specified in hex, either as #RRGGBB or #RRGGBBAA.
The available classes are:
client.focused
The window that has focus.
client.focused_inactive
The most recently focused view within a container which is not focused.
client.focused_tab_title
A view that has focused descendant container. Tab or stack container title that is the parent of
the focused container but is not directly focused. Defaults to focused_inactive if not specified
and does not use the indicator and child_border colors.
client.placeholder
Ignored (present for i3 compatibility).
client.unfocused
A view that does not have focus.
client.urgent
A view with an urgency hint. Note: Native Wayland windows do not support urgency. Urgency only
works for Xwayland windows.
The meaning of each color is:
border
The border around the title bar.
background
The background of the title bar.
text
The text color of the title bar.
indicator
The color used to indicate where a new view will open. In a tiled container, this would paint the
right border of the current view if a new view would be opened to the right.
child_border
The border around the view itself.
The default colors are:
┌───────────────────┬─────────┬────────────┬─────────┬───────────┬──────────────┐
│ class │ border │ background │ text │ indicator │ child_border │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ background │ n/a │ #ffffff │ n/a │ n/a │ n/a │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ focused │ #4c7899 │ #285577 │ #ffffff │ #2e9ef4 │ #285577 │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ focused_inactive │ #333333 │ #5f676a │ #ffffff │ #484e50 │ #5f676a │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ focused_tab_title │ #333333 │ #5f676a │ #ffffff │ n/a │ n/a │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ unfocused │ #333333 │ #222222 │ #888888 │ #292d2e │ #222222 │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ urgent │ #2f343a │ #900000 │ #ffffff │ #900000 │ #900000 │
├───────────────────┼─────────┼────────────┼─────────┼───────────┼──────────────┤
│ placeholder │ #000000 │ #0c0c0c │ #ffffff │ #000000 │ #0c0c0c │
└───────────────────┴─────────┴────────────┴─────────┴───────────┴──────────────┘
default_border normal|none|pixel [<n>]
Set default border style for new tiled windows. Config reload won't affect existing windows, only
newly created ones after the reload.
default_floating_border normal|none|pixel [<n>]
Set default border style for new floating windows. This only applies to windows that are spawned in
floating mode, not windows that become floating afterwards.
exec <shell command>
Executes shell command with sh.
exec_always <shell command>
Like exec, but the shell command will be executed again after reload.
floating_maximum_size <width> x <height>
Specifies the maximum size of floating windows. -1 x -1 removes the upper limit. The default is 0 x
0, which will use the width and height of the entire output layout as the maximums
floating_minimum_size <width> x <height>
Specifies the minimum size of floating windows. The default is 75 x 50.
floating_modifier <modifier> [normal|inverse]
When the modifier key is held down, you may hold left click to move windows, and right click to
resize them. Setting modifier to none disables this feature. If inverse is specified, left click is
used for resizing and right click for moving.
focus_follows_mouse yes|no|always
If set to yes, moving your mouse over a window will focus that window. If set to always, the window
under the cursor will always be focused, even after switching between workspaces.
focus_on_window_activation smart|urgent|focus|none
This option determines what to do when a client requests window activation. If set to urgent, the
urgent state will be set for that window. If set to focus, the window will become focused. If set to
smart, the window will become focused only if it is already visible, otherwise the urgent state will
be set. Default is urgent.
focus_wrapping yes|no|force|workspace
This option determines what to do when attempting to focus over the edge of a container. If set to
no, the focused container will retain focus, if there are no other containers in the direction. If
set to yes, focus will be wrapped to the opposite edge of the container, if there are no other
containers in the direction. If set to force, focus will be wrapped to the opposite edge of the
container, even if there are other containers in the direction. If set to workspace, focus will wrap
like in the yes case and additionally wrap when moving outside of workspaces boundaries. Default is
yes.
font [pango:]<font>
Sets font to use for the title bars. To enable support for pango markup, preface the font name with
pango:. For example, monospace 10 is the default font. To enable support for pango markup,
pango:monospace 10 should be used instead. Regardless of whether pango markup is enabled, font should
be specified as a pango font description. For more information on pango font descriptions, see
https://docs.gtk.org/Pango/type_func.FontDescription.from_string.html#description
force_display_urgency_hint <timeout> [ms]
If an application on another workspace sets an urgency hint, switching to this workspace may lead to
immediate focus of the application, which also means the window decoration color would be immediately
reset to client.focused. This may make it unnecessarily hard to tell which window originally raised
the event. This option allows one to set a timeout in ms to delay the urgency hint reset.
titlebar_border_thickness <thickness>
Thickness of the titlebar border in pixels
titlebar_padding <horizontal> [<vertical>]
Padding of the text in the titlebar. horizontal value affects horizontal padding of the text while
vertical value affects vertical padding (space above and below text). Padding includes titlebar
borders so their value should be greater than titlebar_border_thickness. If vertical value is not
specified it is set to the horizontal value.
for_window <criteria> <command>
Whenever a window that matches criteria appears, run list of commands. See CRITERIA for more details.
gaps inner|outer|horizontal|vertical|top|right|bottom|left <amount>
Sets default amount pixels of inner or outer gap, where the inner affects spacing around each view
and outer affects the spacing around each workspace. Outer gaps are in addition to inner gaps. To
reduce or remove outer gaps, outer gaps can be set to a negative value. outer gaps can also be
specified per side with top, right, bottom, and left or per direction with horizontal and vertical.
This affects new workspaces only, and is used when the workspace doesn't have its own gaps settings
(see: workspace <ws> gaps ...).
hide_edge_borders [--i3] none|vertical|horizontal|both|smart|smart_no_gaps
Hides window borders adjacent to the screen edges. Default is none. The --i3 option enables
i3-compatible behavior to hide the title bar on tabbed and stacked containers with one child. The
smart|smart_no_gaps options are equivalent to setting smart_borders smart|no_gaps and
hide_edge_borders none.
input <input_device> <input-subcommands...>
For details on input subcommands, see sway-input(5).
* may be used in lieu of a specific device name to configure all input devices. A list of input
device names may be obtained via swaymsg -t get_inputs.
seat <seat> <seat-subcommands...>
For details on seat subcommands, see sway-input(5).
kill
Kills (closes) the currently focused container and all of its children.
smart_borders on|no_gaps|off
If smart_borders are on, borders will only be enabled if the workspace has more than one visible
child. If smart_borders is set to no_gaps, borders will only be enabled if the workspace has more
than one visible child and gaps equal to zero.
smart_gaps on|off|toggle|inverse_outer
If smart_gaps are on gaps will only be enabled if a workspace has more than one child. If smart_gaps
are inverse_outer outer gaps will only be enabled if a workspace has exactly one child.
mark --add|--replace [--toggle] <identifier>
Marks are arbitrary labels that can be used to identify certain windows and then jump to them at a
later time. Each identifier can only be set on a single window at a time since they act as a unique
identifier. By default, mark sets identifier as the only mark on a window. --add will instead add
identifier to the list of current marks for that window. If --toggle is specified mark will remove
identifier if it is already marked.
mode <mode>
Switches to the specified mode. The default mode is default.
mode [--pango_markup] <mode> <mode-subcommands...>
The only valid mode-subcommands... are bindsym, bindcode, bindswitch, and set. If --pango_markup is
given, then mode will be interpreted as pango markup.
mouse_warping output|container|none
If output is specified, the mouse will be moved to new outputs as you move focus between them. If
container is specified, the mouse will be moved to the middle of the container on switch. Default is
output.
no_focus <criteria>
Prevents windows matching <criteria> from being focused automatically when they're created. This has
no effect on the first window in a workspace.
output <output_name> <output-subcommands...>
For details on output subcommands, see sway-output(5).
* may be used in lieu of a specific output name to configure all outputs. A list of output names may
be obtained via swaymsg -t get_outputs.
popup_during_fullscreen smart|ignore|leave_fullscreen
Determines what to do when a fullscreen view opens a dialog. If smart (the default), the dialog will
be displayed. If ignore, the dialog will not be rendered. If leave_fullscreen, the view will exit
fullscreen mode and the dialog will be rendered.
primary_selection enabled|disabled
Enable or disable the primary selection clipboard. May only be configured at launch. Default is
enabled.
set $<name> <value>
Sets variable $name to value. You can use the new variable in the arguments of future commands. When
the variable is used, it can be escaped with an additional $ (ie $$name) to have the replacement
happen at run time instead of when reading the config. However, it does not always make sense for the
variable to be replaced at run time since some arguments do need to be known at config time.
show_marks yes|no
If show_marks is yes, marks will be displayed in the window borders. Any mark that starts with an
underscore will not be drawn even if show_marks is yes. The default is yes.
opacity [set|plus|minus] <value>
Adjusts the opacity of the window between 0 (completely transparent) and 1 (completely opaque). If
the operation is omitted, set will be used.
tiling_drag enable|disable|toggle
Sets whether or not tiling containers can be dragged with the mouse. If enabled (default), the
floating_mod can be used to drag tiling, as well as floating, containers. Using the left mouse button
on title bars without the floating_mod will also allow the container to be dragged. toggle should not
be used in the config file.
tiling_drag_threshold <threshold>
Sets the threshold that must be exceeded for a container to be dragged by its titlebar. This has no
effect if floating_mod is used or if tiling_drag is set to disable. Once the threshold has been
exceeded once, the drag starts and the cursor can come back inside the threshold without stopping the
drag. threshold is multiplied by the scale of the output that the cursor on. The default is 9.
title_align left|center|right
Sets the title alignment. If right is selected and show_marks is set to yes, the marks will be shown
on the left side instead of the right side.
unbindswitch <switch>:<state>
Removes a binding for when <switch> changes to <state>.
unbindgesture [--exact] [--input-device=<device>] <gesture>[:<fingers>][:directions]
Removes a binding for the specified gesture, fingers and directions combination.
unbindsym [--whole-window] [--border] [--exclude-titlebar] [--release] [--locked] [--to-code] [--input-
device=<device>] <key combo>
Removes the binding for key combo that was previously bound with the given flags. If input-device is
given, only the binding for that input device will be unbound.
unbindcode [--whole-window] [--border] [--exclude-titlebar] [--release] [--locked] [--input-
device=<device>] <code> is also available for unbinding with key/button codes instead of key/button
names.
unmark [<identifier>]
unmark will remove identifier from the list of current marks on a window. If identifier is omitted,
all marks are removed.
urgent enable|disable|allow|deny
Using enable or disable manually sets or unsets the window's urgent state. Using allow or deny
controls the window's ability to set itself as urgent. By default, windows are allowed to set their
own urgency.
workspace [--no-auto-back-and-forth] [number] <[num:]name>
Switches to the specified workspace. The num: portion of the name is optional and will be used for
ordering. If num: is not given and name is a number, then it will be also be used for ordering.
If the no-auto-back-and-forth option is given, then this command will not perform a back-and-forth
operation when the workspace is already focused and workspace_auto_back_and_forth is enabled.
If the number keyword is specified and a workspace with the number already exists, then the workspace
with the number will be used. If a workspace with the number does not exist, a new workspace will be
created with the name name.
workspace prev|next
Switches to the next workspace on the current output or on the next output if currently on the last
workspace.
workspace prev_on_output|next_on_output
Switches to the next workspace on the current output.
workspace back_and_forth
Switches to the previously focused workspace.
workspace <name> gaps inner|outer|horizontal|vertical|top|right|bottom|left <amount>
Specifies that workspace name should have the given gaps settings when it is created.
This command does not affect existing workspaces. To alter the gaps of an existing workspace, use the
gaps command.
workspace <name> output <outputs...>
Specifies that workspace name should be shown on the specified outputs. Multiple outputs can be
listed and the first available will be used. If the workspace gets placed on an output further down
the list and an output that is higher on the list becomes available, the workspace will be moved to
the higher priority output.
This command does not affect existing workspaces. To move an existing workspace, use the move command
in combination with the workspace criteria (non-empty workspaces only) or workspace command (to
switch to the workspace before moving).
workspace_auto_back_and_forth yes|no
When yes, repeating a workspace switch command will switch back to the prior workspace. For example,
if you are currently on workspace 1, switch to workspace 2, then invoke the workspace 2 command
again, you will be returned to workspace 1. Default is no.
CRITERIA
A criteria is a string in the form of, for example:
[class="[Rr]egex.*" title="some title"]
The string contains one or more (space separated) attribute/value pairs. They are used by some commands
to choose which views to execute actions on. All attributes must match for the criteria to match.
Criteria is retained across commands separated by a ,, but will be reset (and allow for new criteria, if
desired) for commands separated by a ;.
Criteria may be used with either the for_window or assign commands to specify operations to perform on
new views. A criteria may also be used to perform specific commands (ones that normally act upon one
window) on all views that match that criteria. For example:
Focus on a window with the mark "IRC":
[con_mark="IRC"] focus
Kill all windows with the title "Emacs":
[class="Emacs"] kill
You may like to use swaymsg -t get_tree for finding the values of these properties in practice for your
applications.
The following attributes may be matched with:
all
Matches all windows.
app_id
Compare value against the app id. Can be a regular expression. If value is __focused__, then the app
id must be the same as that of the currently focused window. app_id are specific to Wayland
applications.
class
Compare value against the window class. Can be a regular expression. If value is __focused__, then
the window class must be the same as that of the currently focused window. class are specific to X11
applications and require XWayland.
con_id
Compare against the internal container ID, which you can find via IPC. If value is __focused__, then
the id must be the same as that of the currently focused window.
con_mark
Compare against the window marks. Can be a regular expression.
floating
Matches floating windows.
id
Compare value against the X11 window ID. Must be numeric. id is specific to X11 applications and
requires XWayland.
instance
Compare value against the window instance. Can be a regular expression. If value is __focused__, then
the window instance must be the same as that of the currently focused window. instance is specific to
X11 applications and requires XWayland.
pid
Compare value against the window's process ID. Must be numeric.
shell
Compare value against the window shell, such as "xdg_shell" or "xwayland". Can be a regular
expression. If value is __focused__, then the shell must be the same as that of the currently focused
window.
tiling
Matches tiling windows.
title
Compare against the window title. Can be a regular expression. If value is __focused__, then the
window title must be the same as that of the currently focused window.
urgent
Compares the urgent state of the window. Can be first, last, latest, newest, oldest or recent.
window_role
Compare against the window role (WM_WINDOW_ROLE). Can be a regular expression. If value is
__focused__, then the window role must be the same as that of the currently focused window.
window_role is specific to X11 applications and requires XWayland.
window_type
Compare against the window type (_NET_WM_WINDOW_TYPE). Possible values are normal, dialog, utility,
toolbar, splash, menu, dropdown_menu, popup_menu, tooltip and notification. window_type is specific
to X11 applications and requires XWayland.
workspace
Compare against the workspace name for this view. Can be a regular expression. If the value is
__focused__, then all the views on the currently focused workspace matches.
SEE ALSO
sway(1) sway-input(5) sway-output(5) sway-bar(5) sway-ipc(7)
2025-02-04 sway(5)