__ _______________________ _________._________________________ \_ _____/ \______ \ / _ \ / _____/ / _____/ | | \_ _____/ | __) | _/ / /_\ \ / \ ___ / \ ___ | | | __)_ | \ | | \ / | \ \ \_\ \ \ \_\ \ | |___ | \ \___ / |____|_ / \____|__ / \______ / \______ / |_______ \ /_______ / \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/ \/

qtile Cheatsheet

← Back to cheatsheets

← Home

qtile is a full-featured, hackable tiling window manager written in Python.

Application Launch

  • Mod+Return - Launch terminal
  • Mod+P - Application launcher (rofi/dmenu)
  • Mod+Shift+P - Application launcher (alternative)

Window Management

  • Mod+W - Close focused window
  • Mod+Shift+C - Close window (alternative)
  • Mod+F - Toggle fullscreen
  • Mod+Shift+F - Toggle floating
  • Mod+M - Minimize window
  • Mod+Shift+M - Restore minimized window

Window Navigation

  • Mod+J or Mod+↓ - Focus down
  • Mod+K or Mod+↑ - Focus up
  • Mod+H or Mod+← - Focus left
  • Mod+L or Mod+→ - Focus right
  • Mod+Space - Switch focus between panes (stack layout)
  • Mod+Tab - Switch to next window
  • Mod+Shift+Tab - Switch to previous window

Window Movement

  • Mod+Shift+J or Mod+Shift+↓ - Move window down
  • Mod+Shift+K or Mod+Shift+↑ - Move window up
  • Mod+Shift+H or Mod+Shift+← - Move window left
  • Mod+Shift+L or Mod+Shift+→ - Move window right
  • Mod+Shift+Space - Swap window with master

Window Resizing

  • Mod+Ctrl+H or Mod+Ctrl+← - Grow window left
  • Mod+Ctrl+L or Mod+Ctrl+→ - Grow window right
  • Mod+Ctrl+J or Mod+Ctrl+↓ - Grow window down
  • Mod+Ctrl+K or Mod+Ctrl+↑ - Grow window up
  • Mod+Shift+Equal - Reset window sizes

Layouts

  • Mod+Tab - Switch to next layout
  • Mod+Shift+Tab - Switch to previous layout
  • Mod+Space - Switch focus (stack layout)
  • Mod+Shift+Space - Swap window with master

Groups (Workspaces)

  • Mod+1-9 - Switch to group
  • Mod+Shift+1-9 - Move window to group
  • Mod+G - Switch to next group
  • Mod+Shift+G - Switch to previous group

System

  • Mod+Ctrl+R - Reload qtile config
  • Mod+Ctrl+Q - Restart qtile
  • Mod+Shift+Q - Shutdown qtile
  • Mod+Shift+R - Restart qtile (alternative)

Configuration

Config File Location

  • ~/.config/qtile/config.py (user config)
  • Default config in libqtile/resources/default_config.py

Example Key Bindings

Customize in config.py:

from libqtile.config import Key
from libqtile.lazy import lazy

mod = "mod4"  # Super/Windows key

keys = [
    # Application launch
    Key([mod], "Return", lazy.spawn("kitty"), desc="Launch terminal"),
    Key([mod], "p", lazy.spawn("rofi -show drun"), desc="Application launcher"),
    
    # Window navigation
    Key([mod], "j", lazy.layout.down(), desc="Move focus down"),
    Key([mod], "k", lazy.layout.up(), desc="Move focus up"),
    Key([mod], "h", lazy.layout.left(), desc="Move focus left"),
    Key([mod], "l", lazy.layout.right(), desc="Move focus right"),
    
    # Window movement
    Key([mod, "shift"], "j", lazy.layout.shuffle_down(), desc="Move window down"),
    Key([mod, "shift"], "k", lazy.layout.shuffle_up(), desc="Move window up"),
    Key([mod, "shift"], "h", lazy.layout.shuffle_left(), desc="Move window left"),
    Key([mod, "shift"], "l", lazy.layout.shuffle_right(), desc="Move window right"),
    
    # Window management
    Key([mod], "w", lazy.window.kill(), desc="Close window"),
    Key([mod], "f", lazy.window.toggle_fullscreen(), desc="Toggle fullscreen"),
    Key([mod, "shift"], "f", lazy.window.toggle_floating(), desc="Toggle floating"),
    
    # Layouts
    Key([mod], "Tab", lazy.next_layout(), desc="Switch layouts"),
    Key([mod], "space", lazy.layout.next(), desc="Switch focus"),
    
    # Groups
    Key([mod], "1", lazy.group["1"].toscreen(), desc="Switch to group 1"),
    Key([mod, "shift"], "1", lazy.window.togroup("1"), desc="Move window to group 1"),
    
    # System
    Key([mod, "control"], "r", lazy.reload_config(), desc="Reload config"),
    Key([mod, "control"], "q", lazy.restart(), desc="Restart qtile"),
    Key([mod, "shift"], "q", lazy.shutdown(), desc="Shutdown qtile"),
]

Change Modifier Key

mod = "mod4"  # Super/Windows key
# or
mod = "mod1"  # Alt key

Tips

  • Config is Python - full programming language available
  • Use KeyChord for binding sequences/modes
  • Supports groups (workspaces) and moving windows between them
  • Layouts, widgets, and screen settings all in Python config
  • Default layout switching and focus commands use hjkl
  • Use lazy.call() for custom functions
  • Supports multiple screens/monitors
  • Widgets configurable via Python
  • Use EzKey helper for simpler key definitions

← Back to cheatsheets

← Home