---
name: "keyd-application-mapper"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "keyd"
version: "2.6.0-5"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/keyd-application-mapper"
---

# keyd-application-mapper(1)

remap keys when window focus changes

## NAME

keyd-application-mapper - remap keys when window focus changes

## SYNOPSIS

**keyd-application-mapper** \[**-d**\|**--daemonize**\] \[**-v**\|**--verbose**\]

## OPTIONS

- **-v, --verbose**

  Write verbose output. This includes printing the window focus events detected. You can use this output to determine what a window's class and title is for the purpose of setting mappings for that window in the config file.

- **-d, --daemonize**

  Daemonize, write output to *~/.config/keyd/app.log* instead of stdout.

## DESCRIPTION

A script which reads *~/.config/keyd/app.conf* and applies the supplied bindings whenever a window with a matching class comes into focus.

You can think of each section as a set of application specific masks applied over the global rules defined in */etc/keyd/\*.conf*.

The config file has the following form:

```
	[<filter>]
	<expression 1>
	<expression 2>
	...
```

Where *\<filter\>* has one of the following forms:

```
	[<class exp>]              # Match by window class
	[<class exp>|<title exp>]  # Match by class and title
```

and each *\<expression\>* is a valid argument to *keyd bind* (see **Bindings**).

*\<class exp\>* and *\<title exp\>* are strings which describe window class and title names to be matched, and may optionally contain unix style wildcards (\*). For example, *\[gnome\|\*find\*\]* will match any window with a class of *gnome* and a title containing the substring *find*.

E.G:

```
	[kitty]
	alt.] = C-tab
	alt.[ = C-S-tab
	alt.t = C-S-t
	[st-*]
	alt.1  = macro(Inside space st)
	[chromium]
	control.1 = macro(Inside space chrome!)
	alt.] = C-tab
	alt.[ = C-S-tab
	alt.t = C-t
```

Will remap *A-1* to the the string 'Inside st' when a window with a class that begins with 'st-' (e.g st-256color) is active.

Window class and title names can be obtained by inspecting the output if the program was started with the *-v, --verbose* option. If the program was daemonized, you can read the log file output by e.g. *tail -f ~/.config/keyd/app.log*. A reload may be triggered by sending the script a USR1 signal.

At the moment X, Sway and Gnome are supported.

## INSTALLATION

Installation is a simple matter of running the command *keyd-application-mapper -d* somewhere in your display server initialization logic (e.g *~/.xinitrc* or *~/.xsession*). If you are running Gnome,  running *keyd-application-mapper* for the first time will install an extension which manages the script lifecycle.

In order for this to work, keyd must be running and the user must have access to **/var/run/keyd.socket** (i.e be a member of the **keyd** group).

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

**KEYD\_DEBUG**

Debug log level. *0*,*1* can be specified (default: 0).

## A note on security

**Any user which can interact with a program that directly controls input devices** **should be assumed to have full access to the system.**

While keyd offers slightly better isolation compared to other remappers by dint of mediating access through an IPC mechanism (rather than granting users blanket access to /dev/input/\* and /dev/uinput), it still provides an opportunity for abuse and should be treated with due deference.

Specifically, access to **/var/run/keyd.socket** should only be granted to trusted users and the group *keyd* should be regarded with the same reverence as *wheel*.