| name | kwriteconfig-edit |
| description | Safely edit KDE config files via kwriteconfig6 / kwriteconfig5 with backup-before-write. Use whenever you need to set a key in a KDE rc file (kwinrc, kdeglobals, plasmarc, etc.) — never edit those files with sed. |
kwriteconfig safe edit
KDE config files use a custom INI dialect with array suffixes ([$e], [$i]), nested groups (--group A --group B), and comments KDE will rewrite. Never use sed / awk / hand-rolled INI parsers on them — use kwriteconfig6 (or kwriteconfig5 on KF5).
Detection
KW=$(command -v kwriteconfig6 || command -v kwriteconfig5)
KR=$(command -v kreadconfig6 || command -v kreadconfig5)
Read a key
$KR --file kdeglobals --group General --key ColorScheme
Set a key (with backup)
TARGET="$HOME/.config/kwinrc"
[ -f "$TARGET" ] && cp -a "$TARGET" "$TARGET.bak.$(date +%s)"
$KW --file kwinrc --group Compositing --key Backend "OpenGL"
Nested groups
$KW --file plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc \
--group Containments --group 1 --group General \
--key wallpaperplugin "org.kde.image"
Delete a key / group
$KW --file kwinrc --group Compositing --key Backend --delete
$KW --file kwinrc --group Compositing --delete-group
After-edit reload
Different components watch different files. Common ones:
| File | Reload |
|---|
kwinrc | qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure |
kglobalshortcutsrc | qdbus org.kde.kglobalaccel /kglobalaccel reloadConfiguration |
kdeglobals | most apps re-read on launch; kbuildsycoca6 for menu/icon caches |
plasma-org.kde.plasma.desktop-appletsrc | restart plasmashell |
khotkeysrc | qdbus org.kde.kded6 /modules/khotkeys reread_configuration |
Notes
- Backups go to
${CLAUDE_USER_DATA:-${XDG_DATA_HOME:-$HOME/.local/share}/claude-plugins}/kde-plasma/state/kwriteconfig-backups/ (preferred over inline .bak clutter for non-trivial sessions).
- Boolean values are lowercase:
true / false.
