Ghost Key Extension

A GNOME Shell extension that temporarily silences system hotkeys, perfect for gaming or presentations where you don't want system shortcuts interfering.

Features

• Quick Settings Toggle: Toggle Ghost Mode on/off from the system menu
• Selective Key Disabling: Choose which keys to disable via the menu
• Automatic Backup & Restore: Remembers your original keybindings and restores them when Ghost Mode is disabled
• Persistent Settings: Your key selection preferences are saved between sessions

Keys That Can Be Silenced

1. Overlay Key - The overlay key (Super/Windows key)
2. Window Menu - Alt+Space menu activation
3. Input Source Switch - Keyboard layout switching shortcuts
4. Application View - Toggle application overview
5. App Shortcuts (1-9) - Number keys that switch between applications
6. Dash-to-dock Hotkeys - Dash-to-dock hotkeys (if extension is installed)

Screenshot

Installation

From Source

1. Clone or download this repository to your GNOME extensions directory:

   git clone https://github.com/zmzhang8/ghostkey.git ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ghostkey@zhaoming.win

2. Compile the settings schema:

   cd ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ghostkey@zhaoming.win
   glib-compile-schemas schemas/

3. Restart GNOME Shell (X11: Alt+F2, type r, press Enter; Wayland: log out and back in)

4. Enable the extension:

   gnome-extensions enable ghostkey@zhaoming.win

From GNOME Extensions Website

(Coming soon)

Usage

1. Open the system menu in the top-right corner
2. Click on the Ghost Key toggle to enable Ghost Mode
3. Click on the indicator icon (keyboard-hide) to open the menu
4. Select which keys you want to disable using the toggles
5. Click the toggle again to disable Ghost Mode and restore your keys

Safety Features

• Crash Recovery: If GNOME Shell crashes while Ghost Mode is active, the extension detects this on next startup and resets safely
• Backup Verification: Original keybindings are always backed up before disabling
• Graceful Disable: When the extension is disabled, Ghost Mode is automatically turned off and keys are restored
• Error Handling: Individual key failures don't prevent other keys from being silenced/restored

Requirements

• GNOME Shell 48 or later
• dash-to-dock extension (optional, for dash hotkeys support)

Development

File Structure

ghostkey@zhaoming.win/
├── extension.js          # Main extension code
├── metadata.json         # Extension metadata
├── stylesheet.css        # Custom styles (if needed)
├── schemas/
│   ├── org.gnome.shell.extensions.ghostkey.gschema.xml  # Settings schema
└── README.md            # This file

Debug Logging

The extension logs to the GNOME Shell journal. View logs with:

journalctl -f -o cat /usr/bin/gnome-shell | grep GhostKey

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome! Please ensure:

• Code follows GNOME Shell extension conventions
• Error handling is added for all gsettings operations
• The extension works both with and without dash-to-dock