Part of CachyOS Wiki Notes. From the official CachyOS wiki (last updated 2026-01-25).

Niri Keybinds and FAQ

Niri is a scrollable-tiling Wayland compositor with a column-based layout: windows are arranged in columns you scroll horizontally (an “infinite desktop” metaphor — good for ultrawide monitors and many open apps).

CachyOS dotfiles are maintained by Ly-sec (https://github.com/Ly-sec). For Noctalia issues see https://docs.noctalia.dev/.

The mod key is the Windows key (SUPER); it can be changed in the config file.

Notable keybinds

Action	Bind
Terminal	Super+Return
App launcher	Super+Control+Return
Browser (Firefox)	Super+B
File manager	Super+E
Close window	Super+Q
Lock	Super+Alt+L
Screenshots	Control+Shift+1/2/3
Emergency escape (restore control)	Super+Escape
Quit Niri	Control+Alt+Delete

Documented bind categories: Application Control, Workspace Navigation, Window Navigation, Monitor Navigation, Window Management, Layout Controls, Window Modes, Screenshots, System Controls, Media Controls, Advanced Navigation.

Common config changes

Keyboard layout — edit the input section:

input { keyboard { xkb { layout "us" // Change from "de" to your preferred layout } } }

Gaps / window appearance — the layout section:

layout {
    gaps 8 // Change gap size
    focus-ring {
        width 2
        active-color "#your-color"
        inactive-color "#your-color"
    }
}

Startup applications:

spawn-at-startup "your-application"

Multiple monitors — uncomment and modify the output section. Get the correct names first:

niri msg outputs

output "DP-1" {
    mode "1920x1080@60.000"
    scale 1
}

FAQ

• Stuck in a fullscreen app that eats keybinds? Super+Escape restores control — it disables any active keyboard shortcut inhibitor.

Related: Switching Desktop Environments, CachyOS Desktop Environments.