System Settings Schema Specification
This is a proposal for inclusion at FreeDesktop.org. It is currently implemented by elementary OS and the Pantheon desktop environment.
- Corentin Noël corentin@elementary.io
- Cassidy James Blaede cassidy@elementary.io
Feb 3, 2021
There are multiple settings centers with different panels and configurations, but there is no way to open a specific preference panel from any app that would be available in any Desktop Environment.
The settings application then needs to define x-scheme-handler/settings as a MIMEType in its .desktop file.
These are proposed standard links to be used by developers. Having a nice fallback scheme should mean that your settings app doesn’t necessarily have to implement all of these or in this particular hierarchy and it should still send users to a useful location. This is very much open to discussion and debate so please email with any feedback or comments!
| Link | Description | Fallback(s) |
|---|---|---|
settings:// |
Main Application | |
settings://about |
View system information | settings |
settings://about/hardware |
View device hardware information | about, settings |
settings://about/os |
View operating system information | about, settings |
settings://accounts |
Manage local user accounts | settings |
settings://accounts/online |
Manage connected online accounts | accounts, settings |
settings://applications/defaults |
Define apps used by xdg-open | applications, settings |
settings://applications/startup |
Manage applications at startup | applications, settings |
settings://date |
Manage date preferences | settings |
settings://desktop |
Change global desktop settings | settings |
settings://desktop/appearance |
Change desktop appearance | desktop, settings |
settings://desktop/appearance/wallpaper |
Change wallpaper(s) | appearance, desktop, settings |
settings://desktop/dock |
Change dock settings | desktop, settings |
settings://display |
Change screen resolution/orientation | settings |
settings://display/color |
Manage color preferences | display, settings |
settings://display/night-light |
Manage Night Light or red shift preferences | display, settings |
settings://firmware |
View and update device firmware | settings |
settings://input |
Manage all input settings | settings |
settings://input/keyboard |
Manage keyboard preferences | input, settings |
settings://input/pointing |
Manage shared pointer-type input settings | input, settings |
settings://input/pointing/mouse |
Manage mouse input preferences | pointing, input, settings |
settings://input/pointing/stylus |
Manage stylus-type pointers and tablets | pointing, input, settings |
settings://input/pointing/touch |
Manage touch input preferences | pointing, input, settings |
settings://language |
Change user/system language | settings |
settings://network |
Manage network enablement | settings |
settings://network/bluetooth |
Manage Bluetooth settings | network, settings |
settings://network/share |
Manage shared content | network, settings |
settings://notifications |
Manage notification preferences | settings |
settings://power |
Manage power preferences | settings |
settings://printer |
Manage printers and tasks | settings |
settings://privacy |
Manage system privacy | settings |
settings://privacy/location |
Manage location services privacy | privacy, settings |
settings://privacy/trash |
Manage automatic deletion of temp and trash files | privacy, settings |
settings://security |
Manage overall security | settings |
settings://security/firewall |
Manage firewall settings in particular | security, settings |
settings://security/locking |
Manage system locking behavior | security, settings |
settings://sound |
Change sound input/output settings | settings |
settings://sound/input |
Change sound input settings specifically | sound, settings |
settings://sound/output |
Change sound output settings specifically | sound, settings |
settings://time |
Manage time/timezone preferences | settings |
settings://universal-access |
Manage accessibility | settings |
These schemas were proposed and/or previously used, but should be replaced with their respective recommendations.
| Link | Recommendation |
|---|---|
settings://desktop/wallpaper |
Use settings://desktop/appearance/wallpaper
|
settings://input/mouse |
Use settings://input/pointing/mouse
|
settings://input/touch |
Use settings://input/pointing/touch
|
settings://input/wacom |
Use settings://input/pointing/stylus
|
settings://security/housekeeping |
Use settings://privacy/trash
|
settings://security/screensaver |
Use settings://security/locking
|
settings://security/privacy |
Use settings://privacy
|
settings://security/privacy/location |
Use settings://privacy/location
|
Original version: Preferences Opening Specification version 0.1 (1st July 2014)
See also: Making System Settings Access a Cross-Desktop Feature