IPC

IPC Reference

iNiR exposes IPC targets you can call from Niri keybinds, scripts, or your terminal.

Quick discovery: inir help lists all targets, inir <target> --help shows available functions. Shell completions: eval "$(inir completions bash)" (also zsh, fish).

From terminal (for testing, or showing off):

inir <target> <function>

In Niri config (for actual keybinds):

bind "Key" { spawn "inir" "<target>" "<function>"; }

For low-level debugging, inir ipc <target> <function> still works.

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Available Targets

Everything iNiR can do, exposed for your scripting pleasure.

overview

Toggle the workspace overview panel. The one with all your windows looking tiny and organized.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close overview
open	Open overview
close	Close overview
clipboardToggle	Open clipboard search, or close if already open
actionOpen	Open overview in action search mode
toggleReleaseInterrupt	Clear the super-key release interrupt flag

bind "Mod+Space" { spawn "inir" "overview" "toggle"; }

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overlay

The central overlay. Search, quick actions, widgets. The thing that pops up and makes you feel productive.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close overlay

bind "Super+G" { spawn "inir" "overlay" "toggle"; }

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clipboard

Clipboard history panel. Because Ctrl+V only remembers one thing, and that's not enough for power users.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close panel
open	Open panel
close	Close panel

bind "Super+V" { spawn "inir" "clipboard" "toggle"; }

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altSwitcher

Alt+Tab window switcher. Works across workspaces, unlike some other implementations we won't name.

Function	Description
toggle	Toggle switcher
open	Open switcher
close	Close switcher
next	Focus next window
previous	Focus previous window

bind "Alt+Tab" { spawn "inir" "altSwitcher" "next"; }
bind "Alt+Shift+Tab" { spawn "inir" "altSwitcher" "previous"; }

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region

Region selection tools. Screenshots, OCR, recording. Draw a box, get stuff done.

Function	Description
screenshot	Take a region screenshot
search	Image search (Google Lens)
googleLens	Start a region capture for Google Lens
ocr	OCR text recognition
record	Record region (no audio)
recordWithSound	Record region with audio

bind "Super+Shift+S" { spawn "inir" "region" "screenshot"; }
bind "Super+Shift+X" { spawn "inir" "region" "ocr"; }
bind "Super+Shift+A" { spawn "inir" "region" "search"; }

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voiceSearch

Voice search using Gemini API. Records from microphone, transcribes with Gemini, opens Google search.

Function	Description
start	Start recording
stop	Stop recording
toggle	Toggle recording

bind "Super+Shift+V" { spawn "inir" "voiceSearch" "toggle"; }

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session

Power menu. Logout, suspend, reboot, shutdown. The "I'm done for today" buttons.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close session menu
open	Show session screen
close	Hide session screen

bind "Super+Shift+E" { spawn "inir" "session" "toggle"; }

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lock

Lock screen. For when you need to pretend you're working.

Function	Description
activate	Lock the screen
deactivate	Cancel lock and mark screen unlocked
status	Return lock state (locked, activating, or unlocked)
focus	Refocus the lock screen input

bind "Super+Alt+L" allow-when-locked=true { spawn "inir" "lock" "activate"; }

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cheatsheet

Keyboard shortcuts reference. For when you forget what you just configured five minutes ago.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close cheatsheet
open	Show cheatsheet overlay
close	Hide cheatsheet overlay

bind "Super+Slash" { spawn "inir" "cheatsheet" "toggle"; }

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closeConfirm

Close window confirmation dialog. Shows a prompt before closing the focused window. Useful if you're the type who accidentally closes things and then regrets it.

Function	Description
trigger	Show close confirmation for focused window
close	Dismiss the dialog without closing

bind "Mod+Q" repeat=false { spawn "inir" "close-window"; }

By default, confirmation is disabled (closes immediately). Enable it in settings or config:

"closeConfirm": {
  "enabled": true
}

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settings

Open the settings window. GUI config so you don't have to edit JSON like it's 2005.

Function	Description
open	Open settings window
toggle	Toggle settings (overlay mode toggles, window mode opens)

bind "Super+Comma" { spawn "inir" "settings"; }

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controlPanel

Quick settings panel. Toggles, sliders, and system controls without opening full settings.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close control panel
open	Open control panel
close	Close control panel

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sidebarLeft

Left sidebar (AI chat, apps).

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close left sidebar
open	Show left sidebar
close	Hide left sidebar

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sidebarRight

Right sidebar (quick toggles, notepad, settings).

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close right sidebar
open	Show right sidebar
close	Hide right sidebar

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bar

Top bar visibility.

Function	Description
toggle	Show/hide bar
open	Show bar
close	Hide bar

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globalActions

Command palette / action registry. Search and execute shell actions from scripts or keybinds.

Function	Description
run <id> [args]	Execute action by ID (e.g. toggle-mute, install-package vim)
list [category]	List all actions, optionally filtered by category
search <query>	Fuzzy search actions by name/description/keywords
open	Open the overview in action mode

Categories: system, appearance, tools, media, settings, custom.

bind "Super+Slash" { spawn "inir" "globalActions" "open"; }
bind "Super+M" { spawn "inir" "globalActions" "run" "toggle-mute"; }

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wallpaperSelector

Wallpaper picker grid.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close wallpaper selector
open	Open wallpaper selector
close	Close wallpaper selector
toggleOnMonitor <name>	Open wallpaper selector on a specific monitor
random	Pick a random wallpaper from the current folder

bind "Ctrl+Alt+T" { spawn "inir" "wallpaperSelector" "toggle"; }

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coverflowSelector

Wallpaper coverflow (3D card) picker.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close coverflow selector
open	Open coverflow selector
close	Close coverflow selector

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mediaControls

Floating media controls panel.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close media controls
open	Show media controls
close	Hide media controls

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osk

On-screen keyboard.

Function	Description
toggle	Show/hide on-screen keyboard
open	Show on-screen keyboard
close	Hide on-screen keyboard

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audio

Volume and mute control.

Function	Description
volumeUp	Increase volume
volumeDown	Decrease volume
mute	Toggle speaker mute
micMute	Toggle microphone mute

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zoom

Screen zoom. Accessibility feature, or for reading tiny text without squinting.

Function	Description
zoomIn	Increase zoom level
zoomOut	Decrease zoom level

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brightness

Display brightness control.

Function	Description
increment	Increase brightness
decrement	Decrease brightness

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mpris

Media player control. Automatically detects and uses YtMusic controls when active, otherwise uses the active MPRIS player.

Function	Description
pauseAll	Pause all players
playPause	Toggle play/pause (uses YtMusic if active)
previous	Previous track (uses YtMusic if active)
next	Next track (uses YtMusic if active)

bind "Ctrl+Mod+Space" { spawn "inir" "mpris" "playPause"; }
bind "Mod+Alt+N" { spawn "inir" "mpris" "next"; }
bind "Mod+Alt+P" { spawn "inir" "mpris" "previous"; }

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ytmusic

Direct YtMusic player control. Use these if you want to control YtMusic specifically, regardless of what other players are active.

Function	Description
playPause	Toggle YtMusic play/pause
next	Play next track in YtMusic
previous	Play previous track in YtMusic
stop	Stop YtMusic playback

bind "Mod+M+Space" { spawn "inir" "ytmusic" "playPause"; }

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osdVolume

On-screen volume indicator.

Function	Description
trigger	Show volume OSD
toggle	Toggle volume OSD
hide	Hide volume OSD

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cliphistService

Clipboard history service. The backend that makes clipboard panel work. You probably don't need to call this directly.

Function	Description
update	Refresh clipboard history

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ai

AI chat service. Multi-provider (Gemini, OpenAI, Mistral) with tool support.

Function	Description
ensureInitialized	Force-load models and API keys
diagnose	Dump current AI state (model, keys, config) as JSON
run <text>	Send a message or /command to the AI chat
runGet <text>	Run AI command and return the last response

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packageSearch

Package search service. Searches pacman repos and installed packages.

Function	Description
search <query>	Start a package search
results	Print current search results

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appCatalog

App catalog service. Browse, search, and install curated applications.

Function	Description
refresh	Refresh the installed-state cache
search <query>	Filter catalog entries by query
install <id>	Install app by catalog ID
list	List catalog apps with install status and descriptions

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gamemode

Performance mode for gaming. Auto-detects fullscreen apps and disables animations/effects. Can also be toggled manually for those stubborn games that don't go fullscreen properly.

Function	Description
toggle	Toggle gamemode on/off
activate	Force enable gamemode
deactivate	Force disable gamemode
status	Print current gamemode state (e.g. active (manual), inactive (off))

bind "Super+F12" { spawn "inir" "gamemode" "toggle"; }

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panelFamily

Switch between panel styles. ii supports two visual styles: Material ii (default) and Waffle (Windows 11-like).

Function	Description
cycle	Cycle to next panel family (ii → waffle → ii)
set	Set specific family ("ii" or "waffle")

bind "Mod+Shift+W" { spawn "inir" "panelFamily" "cycle"; }

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shellUpdate

Shell update checker. Monitors the git repo for new commits and shows an update overlay.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close update overlay
open	Open update overlay
close	Close update overlay
check	Check for updates now
performUpdate	Run the update
dismiss	Dismiss update notification
undismiss	Un-dismiss update notification
diagnose	Dump update state as JSON

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notifications

Notification management.

Function	Description
test	Send test notifications
clearAll	Dismiss all notifications
toggleSilent	Toggle Do Not Disturb mode

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minimize

Window minimization (Niri workaround - moves windows to hidden workspace).

Function	Description
minimize	Minimize focused window
restore	Restore a minimized window by ID

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tiling

Tiling layout overlay. Pick or cycle through tiling presets for the current workspace.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close tiling picker
open	Open tiling picker
hide	Close picker and OSD
cycle	Cycle to next tiling preset (shows OSD)
showOsd	Flash the current tiling preset OSD
promote	Promote focused window to master position

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keyboard

Keyboard layout switching (Niri only). Cycles through configured keyboard layouts and queries layout info.

Function	Description
switchLayout	Switch to next keyboard layout
switchLayoutPrevious	Switch to previous keyboard layout
getCurrentLayout	Get the current layout name
getLayouts	Get all configured layout names (JSON array)

bind "Mod+Alt+K" { spawn "inir" "keyboard" "switchLayout"; }

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Waffle-Specific Targets

These targets only work when using the Waffle (Windows 11) panel style.

search

Waffle start menu / search.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close start menu
open	Open start menu
close	Close start menu

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wactionCenter

Waffle action center (quick settings).

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close action center

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wnotificationCenter

Waffle notification center.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close notification center

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wwidgets

Waffle widgets panel.

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close widgets
open	Open widgets
close	Close widgets

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wbar

Waffle taskbar visibility.

Function	Description
toggle	Show/hide taskbar
open	Show taskbar
close	Hide taskbar

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taskview

Waffle task view (Win+Tab style).

Function	Description
toggle	Open/close task view
open	Show task view
close	Hide task view

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osd

Waffle on-screen display indicator (volume, brightness).

Function	Description
trigger	Show the OSD indicator

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waffleAltSwitcher

Waffle Alt+Tab window switcher. Separate from the ii altSwitcher — supports quick-switch (first tab switches instantly, second opens UI) and no-visual-UI mode.

Function	Description
open	Open switcher
close	Close switcher
toggle	Toggle switcher
next	Focus next window
previous	Focus previous window