hotkeys

name

hotkeys

description

Use when adding, changing, looking up, or auditing keybindings/hotkeys/shortcuts across the mandragora repo. Loads the cross-program inventory and the user's existing binding "language" (modifier conventions, key families, shared prefixes) before proposing changes. Triggers on "bind X to Y", "what does <key> do", "find a free key for Z", conflict checks, hotkey audits, or any edit to hyprland/aerc/nvim/zsh/tmux/lf/mpv/waybar bindings.

hotkeys — cross-program binding advisor

Overview

The user's bindings span 8 dialects (Hyprland, aerc, nvim, zsh, tmux, lf, mpv, waybar) with ~600 entries. They aren't 8 isolated configs — they're one language built up over years of muscle memory. Conventions repeat across tools. Treating them as a single namespace, with a normalized inventory, lets you spot conflicts, see free slots, and propose new bindings that fit instead of fighting the existing grammar.

This skill is the data layer (bin/hotkey-index produces a TSV) plus the methodology (this file).

When to invoke

• "What does <key> do?" / "Is <chord> taken?"
• "Bind <key> to <action>" / "Add a hotkey for X"
• "Suggest a free key for Y"
• "Audit my hyprland binds" / "Find conflicts"
• About to edit any of: .config/hypr/hyprland.conf, .config/aerc/binds.conf, .config/nvim/map.vim, .config/zsh/zshrc.zsh, .config/tmux/tmux.conf, .config/mpv/input.conf, modules/user/{lf,waybar,zx-dirs}.nix.
• Refactoring a binding family (e.g. window-management cluster).

Do NOT invoke when:

• The user is editing a binding-adjacent line for an unrelated reason (whitespace, a command's args).
• The change is in a context with no binding semantics (e.g. waybar styling, hyprland decoration rules).

Step 1 — always rebuild the index first

python3 /home/m/.claude/skills/hotkeys/bin/hotkey-index > /tmp/hotkeys.tsv
# (path is a symlink to agent-skills/hotkeys/bin/hotkey-index)

The index is not committed/cached — generate fresh every invocation. The repo changes constantly; a stale snapshot will mislead.

TSV columns: scope | context | mods | key | action | file:line

• scope: hyprland | aerc | nvim | zsh | tmux | lf | mpv | waybar
• context: submap (global, gaps-all, powermenu, capture), aerc section (messages, view, compose...), vim mode (normal, insert, visual...), tmux table (prefix, root, copy-mode-vi), zsh keymap (emacs, viins).
• mods: alphabetically sorted, +-joined: SUPER, CTRL, SHIFT, ALT, or combinations like CTRL+SUPER, SHIFT+SUPER.
• key: the key itself, normalized (e.g. Q, j, F2, mouse:272, Tab).
• action: the raw command, lightly whitespace-collapsed.
• src: <file>:<line> — always verify edge cases against the source.

Step 2 — know the user's language

These conventions are observable in the inventory. Treat them as soft rules — propose changes that respect them and explicitly call out when you're departing.

Layer-by-modifier

Layer	Modifier family	Purpose
Desktop / WM	SUPER, SUPER+SHIFT, SUPER+CTRL	Global Hyprland actions; never used inside terminal apps
Terminal apps	CTRL, ALT	nvim/tmux/aerc/zsh/lf — same chord = related action where possible
In-app modes	(no modifier) single char	vim-style: j/k/h/l, g, z, etc.
Submap	bare key inside submap	Hyprland gaps-all, gaps-local, powermenu, capture

The hard rule: SUPER+_ is reserved for Hyprland. Don't propose SUPER+_ chords for inside-terminal actions — they'll never reach the app.

Vim primitives are universal

hjkl means left/down/up/right everywhere — Hyprland focus, tmux pane, lf nav, vim, aerc message list. When proposing a movement-like action, default to hjkl. When proposing a non-movement action, avoid hjkl unless you're extending the family (e.g. SHIFT+H/J/K/L for "move thing in that direction").

Capital is the louder cousin

Across most tools: lowercase = step / once, UPPER = bigger / file-level / stronger.

• Hyprland: SUPER+J focus down, SUPER+SHIFT+J move window down.
• aerc: j/k next/prev message, J/K next/prev folder.
• mpv: j/k cycle subs, J/K window-scale tweak; w/b seek 4s, W/B seek 16s.
• vim: many <A-h>/<A-H> resize-direction pairs.

When proposing a "stronger" variant of an existing lowercase binding, the capital is the natural slot.

Family prefixes

• z<letter> — directory shortcut family. Single source of truth: modules/user/zx-dirs.nix. Consumed by both lf (as g<letter>) and zsh (as z<letter> shell aliases). Never add a z<letter> directly in lf.nix or zshrc.zsh — edit zx-dirs.nix.
• o<letter> — sort-order in lf (os/oS/om/oM/oc/oC).
• p<letter> — paste variants in lf (pb, pB).
• y<letter> — yank variants in lf (P/N/B for path/name/bytes).

When adding to a family, follow the existing micro-grammar (lowercase = ascending, uppercase = descending; etc.). Surface the family pattern to the user so they can intentionally extend it.

Shared cross-tool conventions

• Q / QQ — quit (vim, hyprland-killactive, aerc).
• Esc — bail out / leave submap / cancel (Hyprland submaps, vim mode-exit).
• <C-h>/<C-j>/<C-k>/<C-l> — vim-aware cross-pane nav (vim ↔ tmux, see is_vim shell check in tmux.conf).
• <A-h>/<A-j>/<A-k>/<A-l> — same as above (alternate set).
• Return (SUPER+Return) — biggest-pane / "do the obvious thing".

Submap semantics (Hyprland)

SUPER+CTRL+G enters gaps-all; SUPER+SHIFT+G enters gaps-local. Inside a submap, single keys do the work and Esc/Return/Z/S/SHIFT+I reset. When proposing a new "modal cluster" (e.g. a window-resize mode), the existing submap pattern is the template.

Step 3 — querying the inventory

After generating /tmp/hotkeys.tsv, use these recipes. Pipe through column -t -s$'\t' for human-readable output.

# What's bound to a specific chord, anywhere?
awk -F'\t' '$3=="SUPER" && $4=="K"' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv

# Free-key check: which SUPER+letter slots are taken in Hyprland global?
awk -F'\t' '$1=="hyprland" && $2=="global" && $3=="SUPER" && length($4)==1 {print $4}' \
  /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | sort -u

# All bindings for a tool
awk -F'\t' '$1=="aerc"' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | column -t -s$'\t'

# Cross-tool collisions on the same chord (informational — many are intentional;
# e.g. SUPER+J focus is Hyprland-layer while j next-message is aerc-layer)
awk -F'\t' '{print $3"|"$4}' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | sort | uniq -c | sort -rn | head -20

# True conflicts: same scope+context, same chord, different actions
awk -F'\t' '{print $1"\t"$2"\t"$3"\t"$4}' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | sort | uniq -d

# Family inspection: what's in the o-prefix family?
awk -F'\t' '$1=="lf" && $4 ~ /^o/' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv

About "duplicates": Hyprland intentionally chains multiple actions on one chord (e.g. SUPER+Tab = cyclenext AND bringactivetotop). Don't flag chained Hyprland binds as conflicts — they fire in sequence by design. Flag a true conflict only when the two actions are not part of an obvious pair.

Step 4 — the advisory workflow

When the user asks to BIND a new key

1. Run hotkey-index.
2. Identify the layer: desktop (Hyprland), terminal-global (zsh/tmux), or app-local (specific tool).
3. Find the relevant family: is this a movement? a launcher? a sort-order? a directory shortcut? Check the family-prefix list above.
4. Check the slot:
   • If a family fits, propose the next free slot in that family using its micro-grammar.
   • If no family fits, look for a free single chord in the relevant layer that the user will find memorable (mnemonic letter > arbitrary letter; lowercase > shifted).
5. Check for collisions in the same scope+context.
6. Propose 1–3 options with one-line reasoning each ("SUPER+B is free and B = browser fits the launcher pattern"). Always include a "doesn't fit because…" if you considered something and rejected it — the user makes better calls when they see the rejected options.
7. Apply the edit to the right file. Always patch the source — never the generated nix-store copy.
8. Verify with hyprctl configerrors if you touched Hyprland (per non-negotiable #11).

When the user asks "what does X do?" / "is X taken?"

1. Run hotkey-index.
2. Show every match across scopes (a chord can be bound in multiple layers).
3. If the chord is unbound, say so explicitly and offer to bind it.

When the user asks for an audit / "make this more intuitive"

1. Run hotkey-index.
2. Look for inconsistencies:
   • Lowercase/uppercase pair where only one half exists ("SHIFT+H doesn't have a sibling H doing the lighter action").
   • Same family with arbitrary letter assignments instead of mnemonic ones.
   • Identical actions bound to wildly different chords across tools (unify them).
   • Dead bindings (the action references a binary or function that no longer exists — verify with which / command -v / grep).
3. Look for ergonomic issues:
   • Capital chords without SHIFT typed as the modifier (e.g. SHIFT+SUPER+P) — flag if a lowercase slot is free and the action is frequent.
   • Three-modifier chords on common actions.
   • Chord that physically requires two hands but the action is paired with a one-handed predecessor.
4. Present findings as a punch list — small, independent, the user can pick which to apply. Don't bundle everything into a giant rewrite.

Critical rules

1. Single source of truth for z<letter> — directory shortcuts go in modules/user/zx-dirs.nix. Never add z<letter> bindings directly to lf.nix or zshrc.zsh.
2. Respect submap conventions — Hyprland submaps use Esc, Return, Z, S, SHIFT+I to reset. New submaps must include those exits.
3. No SUPER+_ for in-app actions — that chord never reaches the running terminal app.
4. Hyprland sequential binds aren't conflicts — SUPER+Tab → cyclenext and SUPER+Tab → bringactivetotop is intentional chaining.
5. Vim/tmux navigation pair — if you change <C-h/j/k/l> or <A-h/j/k/l> in either tmux.conf or map.vim, change the other to match. The is_vim shell predicate in tmux.conf depends on the pair.
6. Edit source, not store — the bindings live in /etc/nixos/mandragora/. The deployed ~/.config/... paths are nix-store symlinks; editing them is a no-op and may be wiped at next switch.
7. Hyprland validation — after any hyprland.conf edit, hyprctl configerrors must be empty (per non-negotiable #11).
8. Rebuild after committing — bindings only become live after mandragora-switch. The user expects you to rebuild yourself; don't ask them to.

Quick reference

Need	Command
Generate inventory	python3 ~/.claude/skills/hotkeys/bin/hotkey-index > /tmp/hotkeys.tsv
Check a chord	awk -F'\t' '$3=="SUPER" && $4=="K"' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv
Free SUPER letters	comm -23 <(printf '%s\n' {A..Z}) <(awk -F'\t' '$1=="hyprland" && $3=="SUPER" && length($4)==1' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | cut -f4 | sort -u)
All bindings for tool	awk -F'\t' '$1=="aerc"' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | column -t -s$'\t'
Family inspection	awk -F'\t' '$4 ~ /^o/' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv
Same-context dupes	awk -F'\t' '{print $1"\t"$2"\t"$3"\t"$4}' /tmp/hotkeys.tsv | sort | uniq -d
Validate hyprland	hyprctl configerrors
Rebuild	mandragora-switch "<msg>"

Hand-off

After the change, summarize:

Bound: <chord> -> <action>  (<scope>:<context>)
Fits convention: <family / pattern> | NEW family: <description>
Collisions checked: <none | listed>
Hyprland validation: <empty | errors and what you did>
Next: <mandragora-switch | already rebuilt>

Then stop. The user steers from there.