Configuration

Configuration file location

Glide looks for configuration in the following locations (in order of preference):

~/.config/glide/glide.toml (preferred, added in v0.2.9)
~/.glide.toml (legacy location, still supported)

You can also specify a custom config path using the --config flag when launching Glide.

Key naming conventions

When defining key bindings in your config file, you must use specific key names that Glide recognizes.

Common keys

Arrow keys: ArrowLeft, ArrowDown, ArrowUp, ArrowRight
Letter keys: Just use the letter capitalized (e.g., A, H, J, K, L)
Number keys: Use the number (e.g., 1, 2, 3)
Modifiers: Alt, Ctrl, Shift, Cmd (all must be capitalized)

Examples

[keys]
# Using arrow keys
"Alt + ArrowLeft" = { move_focus = "left" }
"Alt + ArrowDown" = { move_focus = "down" }
"Alt + ArrowUp" = { move_focus = "up" }
"Alt + ArrowRight" = { move_focus = "right" }

# Using letter keys
"Alt + H" = { move_focus = "left" }
"Alt + J" = { move_focus = "down" }

# Multiple modifiers
"Alt + Shift + E" = "save_and_exit"

Working with default key bindings

As of v0.2.9, you can choose to extend the default key bindings instead of replacing them entirely.

Extending defaults (new in v0.2.9)

Set default_keys = true in the [settings] section to include all default key bindings. You can then add your own or override specific ones:

[settings]
default_keys = true

[keys]
# Add a new key binding
"Alt + M" = { move_focus = "left" }

# Override a default binding
"Alt + Minus" = { split = "vertical" }

# Disable a default binding
"Alt + Equal" = "disable"

Replacing defaults (traditional behavior)

If you want complete control, either:

Don’t set default_keys (defaults to false), or
Set default_keys = false

Then define all your key bindings in the [keys] section.

Default configuration

The following is the default configuration file that ships with Glide:

# This is the default configuration. A .glide.toml file in your home directory
# can override these settings.

[settings]

# Enable animations.
animate = true

# Disable each space by default. When this is set, Use the
# toggle_space_activated command to enable a space.
default_disable = true

# Focus the window under the mouse as it moves.
focus_follows_mouse = true

# Move the mouse to the middle of the window each time the focus changes.
mouse_follows_focus = true

# Hide the mouse each time a new window is focused. Ignored if
# mouse_follows_focus is false.
mouse_hides_on_focus = true

# Gap between windows and screen edges (in pixels).
outer_gap = 0

# Gap between adjacent windows (in pixels).
inner_gap = 0

# The default layout kind for new spaces: "tree" or "scroll".
# Note: "scroll" requires settings.experimental.scroll.enable = true.
default_layout_kind = "tree"

# Visual bars for window groups (tabbed/stacked containers).
group_bars.enable = true
group_bars.thickness = 6
group_bars.horizontal_placement = "top"
group_bars.vertical_placement = "right"

# Enables the status icon.
status_icon.enable = true

# Whether to include Glide's default key bindings.
#
# Note: Default keys are always included if there is no keys section of the
# config. You can disable this by adding an empty `[keys]` section to your
# config file.
#
# Individual key bindings can be disabled by setting the key to "disabled".
default_keys = false

[keys]
# Note: Modifier and key names must be capitalized.
# On Mac keyboards, "Alt" refers to the Option (⌥) key.
#
# Arrow keys use the names: ArrowLeft, ArrowDown, ArrowUp, ArrowRight
# Example: "Alt + ArrowDown" = { move_focus = "down" }
#
# For a comprehensive list of key names, see:
# https://docs.rs/livesplit-hotkey/0.8.0/livesplit_hotkey/enum.KeyCode.html

# Save the current state to the restore file and exit.
# Restore this with the --restore option when starting glide.
# Note that the restore file is only useful when upgrading or restarting
# glide itself; it is not valid after the user logs out or restarts.
"Alt + Shift + E" = "save_and_exit"

# Toggle whether the current space is managed by Glide.
"Alt + Z" = "toggle_space_activated"

# Focus the window in the specified direction.
"Alt + H" = { move_focus = "left" }
"Alt + J" = { move_focus = "down" }
"Alt + K" = { move_focus = "up" }
"Alt + L" = { move_focus = "right" }

# Move the focused window in the specified direction.
"Alt + Shift + H" = { move_node = "left" }
"Alt + Shift + J" = { move_node = "down" }
"Alt + Shift + K" = { move_node = "up" }
"Alt + Shift + L" = { move_node = "right" }

# Resize the focused window in the specified direction by percentage.
"Alt + Ctrl + H" = { resize = { direction = "left", percent = 5 } }
"Alt + Ctrl + J" = { resize = { direction = "down", percent = 5 } }
"Alt + Ctrl + K" = { resize = { direction = "up", percent = 5 } }
"Alt + Ctrl + L" = { resize = { direction = "right", percent = 5 } }

# Move up or down the tree hierarchy, selecting a parent or child node
# respectively. These commands change which node is selected (similar to
# move_focus) rather than moving windows. The selected node affects subsequent
# operations like move_node, split, or group commands.
# Note: The selected node is not currently shown visually.
"Alt + A" = "ascend"
"Alt + D" = "descend"

# Toggle between saved layouts on the active space. This allows you to access
# layouts from other screen sizes.
"Alt + N" = "next_layout"
"Alt + P" = "prev_layout"

# Create a container above the current node in the specified orientation.
# This has the effect of "splitting" the current window/node once a new node
# is added.
"Alt + Backslash" = { split = "horizontal" }
"Alt + Equal" = { split = "vertical" }

# Change the parent node to a horizontal or vertical group, also known as
# "tabbed" and "stacked" respectively. Groups show one window at a time,
# allocating their entire frame to that window.
#
# These commands all the parent of the current window, converting it to
# or from a group.
"Alt + T" = { group = "horizontal" }
"Alt + S" = { group = "vertical" }
"Alt + E" = "ungroup"

# Float the current node. Floating windows are allowed to overlap and keep
# whatever size and position you give them. Note that they do not actually
# float on top of other windows, as that would require disabling security
# protection on your machine.
"Alt + Shift + Space" = "toggle_window_floating"

# Toggle between focusing floating nodes. When switching to floating mode
# this will put all floating windows on top, and when switching away it will
# hide floating windows.
"Alt + Space" = "toggle_focus_floating"

# Toggle whether the focused node takes up the whole screen.
"Alt + F" = "toggle_fullscreen"

#
# Utilities
#

# Execute an arbitrary command. Accepts an array or space-delimited string as args.
# DISABLED by default; see exec_cmd in Cargo.toml.
# "<key>" = { "exec" = ["bash", "-c", "echo 'hello world' >/tmp/test.txt"] }

#
# Developer commands
#

# Print the current layout in the logs.
"Alt + Shift + D" = "debug"

# Scroll layout commands are experimental and intentionally not bound by
# default. If you enable settings.experimental.scroll.enable, add explicit
# keybindings in your personal config under [keys], for example:
# "Alt + Shift + S" = "change_layout_kind"
# "Alt + Shift + T" = "toggle_column_tabbed"
# "Alt + Shift + W" = "cycle_column_width"

# WARNING:
# This section contains experimental features that might break or be removed in
# the future. Use at your own risk!
[settings.experimental]

# Show the current space index on the status icon.
status_icon.space_index = false

# Use color in the icon.
status_icon.color = false

# Ignored; kept for compatibility.
status_icon.enable = true

# Scroll layout settings.

# Enable the experimental scroll/niri layout and related commands.
scroll.enable = false

# When to center the focused column: "never", "always", or "on_overflow".
scroll.center_focused_column = "never"

# Number of columns visible at once (1-5).
scroll.visible_columns = 2

# Preset column width proportions to cycle through with cycle_column_width.
scroll.column_width_presets = [0.333, 0.5, 0.667, 1.0]

# Where to place new windows: "new_column" or "same_column".
scroll.new_window_in_column = "new_column"

# Scroll sensitivity multiplier for trackpad/mouse wheel.
scroll.scroll_sensitivity = 20.0

# Invert the scroll direction (natural scrolling).
scroll.invert_scroll_direction = false

# Allow focus to wrap around from last column to first and vice versa.
scroll.infinite_loop = false

# Aspect ratio for single-column mode (e.g. "16:9"). Empty string disables.
scroll.single_column_aspect_ratio = ""