---
name: "kew"
section: "5"
platform: "linux"
package: "kew"
version: "4.4.2-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/kewrc"
---

# kew(5)

configuration file for kew

Part of [kewrc(5)](/kewrc/5.md).

## NAME

kewrc - configuration file for kew

## SYNOPSIS

*~/.config/kew/kewrc* (**Linux**/**FreeBSD**/**Android**), *~/Library/Preferences/kew/kewrc* (**macOS**)

## DESCRIPTION

**kewrc** is the configuration file for [**kew**(1)](/kew/1.md), a terminal music player. It is written in INI-style syntax, divided into named sections enclosed in square brackets, each containing *key*=*value* pairs. Lines beginning with **#** are comments.

**kew** does not write to this file except when the **path** command is run. Runtime changes made from within the application are instead tracked in [**kewstaterc**(5)](/kewstaterc/5.md), whose settings take precedence over the corresponding values in **kewrc**.

If **kewrc** is deleted, kew regenerates it on next launch with all available settings and their defaults.

## MISCELLANEOUS SECTION

Settings in the **\[miscellaneous\]** section.

- **path** *path*

  Path to the music library directory. Default: *~/Music*.

- **useArtistsDb** *bool*

  Enable the artist database, which provides clickable artist links in track view. Default: *1*.

- **allowNotifications** *bool*

  Enable desktop notifications. Default: *1*.

- **stripTrackNumbers** *bool*

  Remove leading track numbers from file names as displayed in the library and playlist views. Default: *1*.

- **searchHierarchy** *bool*

  Allow search terms to match in order across directory and file names. Default: *0*.

- **hideLogo** *bool*

  Hide the kew logo. Default: *0*.

- **hideHelp** *bool*

  Hide the help line. Default: *0*.

- **hideFooter** *bool*

  Hide the footer. Default: *0*.

- **hideTimeStatus** *bool*

  Hide the track time line from track view. Default: *0*.

- **simpleTimeStatus** *bool*

  Toggle display of kHz and bitrate alongside the time status. Default: *1*.

- **hideSideCover** *bool*

  Hide the cover art shown on the left-hand side when a song is playing, in most views. Default: *0*.

- **collapseTopLevel** *bool*

  Show only top-level folders in the library view. Default: *0*.

- **autoCloseFolders** *bool*

  Close opened folders when navigating away in Library and Search. Set to *0* to keep multiple folders open until each is closed. Default: *1*.

- **autoResume** *bool*

  Resume the last playing song automatically when kew starts. Default: *0*.

- **titleDelay** *bool*

  Enable the animated (scrolling) song title. Set to *0* to disable. Default: *1*.

- **quitOnStop** *bool*

  Exit kew after the whole playlist has finished playing. Equivalent to the **--quitonstop** command-line flag. Default: *0*.

- **clearListClearsAll** *bool*

  Whether clearing the playlist also removes the currently playing song. Default: *1*.

- **hideGlimmeringText** *bool*

  Hide the glimmering text effect on the bottom row. Default: *0*.

- **replayGainCheckFirst** *int*

  Which ReplayGain value to check first.

  - 0

    track

  - 1

    album

  - 2

    disabled

  - 3

    auto

-

  Default: *3*.

- **saveRepeatShuffleSettings** *bool*

  Persist the repeat and shuffle state between sessions. Default: *0*.

- **repeatState** *int*

  Repeat mode.

  - 0

    off

  - 1

    repeat track

  - 2

    repeat list

-

  Default: *0*.

- **shuffleEnabled** *bool*

  Enable shuffle playback. Default: *0*.

- **trackTitleAsWindowTitle** *bool*

  Set the terminal window title to the title of the currently playing track. Default: *1*.

## COLORS SECTION

Settings in the **\[colors\]** section.

- **theme** *name*

  Name of the theme file to load, located in *~/.config/kew/themes* (Linux/FreeBSD/Android) or *~/Library/Preferences/kew/themes* (macOS). Empty selects the default theme.

- **colorMode** *int*

  Selects the source of the color palette.

  - 0

    16-bit color palette from the default theme

  - 1

    colors derived from the One Album Color theme

  - 2

    colors derived from the TrueColor theme

  - 3

    colors derived from the Album Colors theme

  - 4

    neutral, devoid of color

-

  Default: *3*.

## CROSSFADE SECTION

Settings in the **\[crossfade\]** section.

- **alwaysCrossfade** *bool*

  Crossfade at the end of every song. Default: *0*.

- **fadeEnterSongMs** *ms*

  Fade in a song starting at this track time, in milliseconds. Default: *0*.

- **fadeQuickMs** *ms*

  Duration, in milliseconds, of a quick fade. Default: *3000*.

- **fadeMediumMs** *ms*

  Duration, in milliseconds, of a medium fade. Default: *5000*.

- **fadeSlowMs** *ms*

  Duration, in milliseconds, of a slow fade. Default: *10000*.

## TRACK COVER SECTION

Settings in the **\[track cover\]** section.

- **coverEnabled** *bool*

  Enable rendering of cover art. Default: *1*.

- **coverAnsi** *bool*

  Render covers using ASCII/ANSI art mode. Default: *0*.

- **coverStyle** *style*

  Cover art render style. One of *auto*, *kitty*, *sixels*, *block*, *braille*, *ascii*, *dot*, *vhalf*, or *quad*. Default: *auto*.

## MOUSE SECTION

Settings in the **\[mouse\]** section.

- **mouseEnabled** *bool*

  Enable mouse support. Default: *1*.

## DISCORD SECTION

Settings in the **\[discord\]** section.

- **discordRPCEnabled** *bool*

  Show now-playing status via Discord Rich Presence. Note that enabling this reveals your listening habits to Discord. Default: *0*.

## CHROMA SECTION

Settings in the **\[chroma\]** section.

- **chromaPath** *path*

  Path to visualizer presets.

- **chromaDevice** *name*

  Name of the audio device that Chroma should use, for example *Pipewire Server*.

- **visualizationsMode** *bool*

  Preferred visualizations mode. Either 0 for ASCII or 1 for sixels. Chroma is ASCII only.

- **visualizationsFps** *int*

  Visualizations frame per second.

- **visualizationsShowPresetInfo** *bool*

  Show preset author and name, works for pmstream. Either 1 for show or 0 for not showing.

## VISUALIZER SECTION

Settings in the **\[visualizer\]** section.

- **visualizerColorType** *int*

  Visualizer color mode.

  - 0

    lighten

  - 1

    flat

  - 2

    reversed lighten

  - 3

    party

  - 4

    vibrant

  - 5

    lum vibrant

  - 6

    binning

  - 7

    two color gradient

  - 8

    off

-

  Default: *3*.

- **visualizerHeight** *n*

  Height of the visualizer, in rows. Default: *6*.

- **visualizerBrailleMode** *bool*

  Render the visualizer using Braille dots instead of bars. Default: *0*.

- **visualizerBarWidth** *int*

  Bar width mode.

  - 0

    thin bars

  - 1

    bars twice the width

  - 2

    auto (depends on window size)

-

  Default: *2*.

## PROGRESS BAR SECTION

Settings in the **\[progress bar\]** section, controlling the appearance of the track progress bar. Each character setting takes a single glyph (which may be an empty space); even/odd variants let the bar alternate between two glyphs across its length. When editing, always supply every value, including any that are blank spaces, or the bar's appearance will be corrupted.

- **progressBarElapsedEvenChar** *char*

  Glyph for even-indexed positions already elapsed. Default: *−*(U+2501).

- **progressBarElapsedOddChar** *char*

  Glyph for odd-indexed positions already elapsed. Default: *−*(U+2501).

- **progressBarApproachingEvenChar** *char*

  Glyph for even-indexed positions not yet reached. Default: *−*(U+2501).

- **progressBarApproachingOddChar** *char*

  Glyph for odd-indexed positions not yet reached. Default: *−*(U+2501).

- **progressBarCurrentEvenChar** *char*

  Glyph for the current position when on an even index. Default: *−*(U+2501).

- **progressBarCurrentOddChar** *char*

  Glyph for the current position when on an odd index. Default: *−*(U+2501).

Commented-out presets are provided in the generated file as examples, including a "pill muncher" style (using **•** (**ᗧ**) glyphs) and a dotted style using **□** characters; uncomment and adapt a full set of six values to switch styles.

## KEY BINDINGS SECTION

The **\[key bindings\]** section holds custom key binding assignments.

Enter is bound to **expandFolder** by default. It opens a selected folder; pressing it again enqueues or dequeues that folder. If both actions are explicitly bound to the same key, **expandFolder** takes precedence so the first press still opens the folder. The **collapseFolder** and **switchSearchFocus** actions have no default binding. The latter toggles between editing the search query and navigating results with printable keys. To enable them, add bindings such as:

**bind = Shift+e, collapseFolder**\
 **bind = Ctrl+f, switchSearchFocus**

Note: **Ctrl+h** , **Ctrl+i** , and **Ctrl+m** are indistinguishable from Backspace, Tab, and Enter respectively at the terminal level, and cannot be bound separately from them.

## FILES

- *~/.config/kew/kewrc*

  Configuration file on Linux, FreeBSD, and Android.

- *~/Library/Preferences/kew/kewrc*

  Configuration file on macOS.

- *~/.config/kew/themes* *~/Library/Preferences/kew/themes*

  Directories where theme files are looked up.

## SEE ALSO

[**kew**(1)](/kew/1.md), [**kewstaterc**(5)](/kewstaterc/5.md)