DankMaterialShell/docs/IPC.md

IPC Commands Reference

DankMaterialShell provides comprehensive IPC (Inter-Process Communication) functionality that allows external control of the shell through command-line commands. All IPC commands follow the format:

dms ipc call <target> <function> [parameters...]

Target: audio

Audio system control and information.

Functions

setvolume <percentage>

• Set output volume to specific percentage (0-100)
• Returns: Confirmation message

increment <step>

• Increase output volume by step amount
• Parameters: step - Volume increase amount (default: 5)
• Returns: Confirmation message

decrement <step>

• Decrease output volume by step amount
• Parameters: step - Volume decrease amount (default: 5)
• Returns: Confirmation message

mute

• Toggle output device mute state
• Returns: Current mute status

setmic <percentage>

• Set input (microphone) volume to specific percentage (0-100)
• Returns: Confirmation message

micmute

• Toggle input device mute state
• Returns: Current mic mute status

status

• Get current audio status for both input and output devices
• Returns: Volume levels and mute states

Examples

dms ipc call audio setvolume 50
dms ipc call audio increment 10
dms ipc call audio mute

Target: brightness

Display brightness control for internal and external displays.

Functions

set <percentage> [device]

• Set brightness to specific percentage (1-100)
• Parameters:
  • percentage - Brightness level (1-100)
  • device - Optional device name (empty string for default)
• Returns: Confirmation with device info

increment <step> [device]

• Increase brightness by step amount
• Parameters:
  • step - Brightness increase amount
  • device - Optional device name (empty string for default)
• Returns: Confirmation with new brightness level

decrement <step> [device]

• Decrease brightness by step amount
• Parameters:
  • step - Brightness decrease amount
  • device - Optional device name (empty string for default)
• Returns: Confirmation with new brightness level

status

• Get current brightness status
• Returns: Current device and brightness level

list

• List all available brightness devices
• Returns: Device names and classes

Examples

dms ipc call brightness set 80
dms ipc call brightness increment 10 ""
dms ipc call brightness decrement 5 "intel_backlight"

Target: night

Night mode (gamma/color temperature) control.

Functions

toggle

• Toggle night mode on/off
• Returns: Current night mode state

enable

• Enable night mode
• Returns: Confirmation message

disable

• Disable night mode
• Returns: Confirmation message

status

• Get current night mode status
• Returns: Night mode enabled/disabled state

temperature [value]

• Get or set night mode color temperature
• Parameters:
  • value - Optional temperature in Kelvin (2500-6000, steps of 500)
• Returns: Current or newly set temperature

automation [mode]

• Get or set night mode automation mode
• Parameters:
  • mode - Optional automation mode: "manual", "time", or "location"
• Returns: Current or newly set automation mode

schedule <start> <end>

• Set time-based automation schedule
• Parameters:
  • start - Start time in HH:MM format (e.g., "20:00")
  • end - End time in HH:MM format (e.g., "06:00")
• Returns: Confirmation of schedule update

location <latitude> <longitude>

• Set manual coordinates for location-based automation
• Parameters:
  • latitude - Latitude coordinate (e.g., 40.7128)
  • longitude - Longitude coordinate (e.g., -74.0060)
• Returns: Confirmation of coordinates update

Examples

dms ipc call night toggle
dms ipc call night temperature 4000
dms ipc call night automation time
dms ipc call night schedule 20:00 06:00
dms ipc call night location 40.7128 -74.0060

Target: mpris

Media player control via MPRIS interface.

Functions

list

• List all available media players
• Returns: Player names

play

• Start playback on active player
• Returns: Nothing

pause

• Pause playback on active player
• Returns: Nothing

playPause

• Toggle play/pause state on active player
• Returns: Nothing

previous

• Skip to previous track
• Returns: Nothing

next

• Skip to next track
• Returns: Nothing

stop

• Stop playback on active player
• Returns: Nothing

Examples

dms ipc call mpris playPause
dms ipc call mpris next

Target: lock

Screen lock control and status.

Functions

lock

• Lock the screen immediately
• Returns: Nothing

demo

• Show lock screen in demo mode (doesn't actually lock)
• Returns: Nothing

isLocked

• Check if screen is currently locked
• Returns: Boolean lock state

Examples

dms ipc call lock lock
dms ipc call lock isLocked

Target: inhibit

Idle inhibitor control to prevent automatic sleep/lock.

Functions

toggle

• Toggle idle inhibit state
• Returns: Current inhibit state message

enable

• Enable idle inhibit (prevent sleep/lock)
• Returns: Confirmation message

disable

• Disable idle inhibit (allow sleep/lock)
• Returns: Confirmation message

Examples

dms ipc call inhibit toggle
dms ipc call inhibit enable

Target: wallpaper

Wallpaper management and retrieval with support for per-monitor configurations.

Legacy Functions (Global Wallpaper Mode)

get

• Get current wallpaper path
• Returns: Full path to current wallpaper file, or error if per-monitor mode is enabled

set <path>

• Set wallpaper to specified path
• Parameters: path - Absolute or relative path to image file
• Returns: Confirmation message or error if per-monitor mode is enabled

clear

• Clear all wallpapers and disable per-monitor mode
• Returns: Success confirmation

next

• Cycle to next wallpaper in the same directory
• Returns: Success confirmation or error if per-monitor mode is enabled

prev

• Cycle to previous wallpaper in the same directory
• Returns: Success confirmation or error if per-monitor mode is enabled

Per-Monitor Functions

getFor <screenName>

• Get wallpaper path for specific monitor
• Parameters: screenName - Monitor name (e.g., "DP-2", "eDP-1")
• Returns: Full path to wallpaper file for the specified monitor

setFor <screenName> <path>

• Set wallpaper for specific monitor (automatically enables per-monitor mode)
• Parameters:
  • screenName - Monitor name (e.g., "DP-2", "eDP-1")
  • path - Absolute or relative path to image file
• Returns: Success confirmation with monitor and path info

nextFor <screenName>

• Cycle to next wallpaper for specific monitor
• Parameters: screenName - Monitor name (e.g., "DP-2", "eDP-1")
• Returns: Success confirmation

prevFor <screenName>

• Cycle to previous wallpaper for specific monitor
• Parameters: screenName - Monitor name (e.g., "DP-2", "eDP-1")
• Returns: Success confirmation

Examples

Global wallpaper mode:

dms ipc call wallpaper get
dms ipc call wallpaper set /path/to/image.jpg
dms ipc call wallpaper next
dms ipc call wallpaper clear

Per-monitor wallpaper mode:

# Set different wallpapers for each monitor
dms ipc call wallpaper setFor DP-2 /path/to/image1.jpg
dms ipc call wallpaper setFor eDP-1 /path/to/image2.jpg

# Get wallpaper for specific monitor
dms ipc call wallpaper getFor DP-2

# Cycle wallpapers for specific monitor
dms ipc call wallpaper nextFor eDP-1
dms ipc call wallpaper prevFor DP-2

# Clear all wallpapers and return to global mode
dms ipc call wallpaper clear

Error handling: When per-monitor mode is enabled, legacy functions will return helpful error messages:

dms ipc call wallpaper get
# Returns: "ERROR: Per-monitor mode enabled. Use getFor(screenName) instead."

dms ipc call wallpaper set /path/to/image.jpg
# Returns: "ERROR: Per-monitor mode enabled. Use setFor(screenName, path) instead."

Target: profile

User profile image management.

Functions

getImage

• Get current profile image path
• Returns: Full path to profile image or empty string if not set

setImage <path>

• Set profile image to specified path
• Parameters: path - Absolute or relative path to image file
• Returns: Success message with path or error message

clearImage

• Clear the profile image
• Returns: Success confirmation message

Examples

dms ipc call profile getImage
dms ipc call profile setImage /path/to/avatar.png
dms ipc call profile clearImage

Target: theme

Theme mode control (light/dark mode switching).

Functions

toggle

• Toggle between light and dark themes
• Returns: Current theme mode ("light" or "dark")

light

• Switch to light theme mode
• Returns: "light"

dark

• Switch to dark theme mode
• Returns: "dark"

getMode

• Returns current mode
• Returns: "dark" or "light"

Examples

dms ipc call theme toggle
dms ipc call theme dark

Target: bar

Top bar visibility control.

Functions

reveal

• Show the top bar
• Returns: Success confirmation

hide

• Hide the top bar
• Returns: Success confirmation

toggle

• Toggle top bar visibility
• Returns: Success confirmation with current state

status

• Get current top bar visibility status
• Returns: "visible" or "hidden"

Examples

dms ipc call bar toggle
dms ipc call bar hide
dms ipc call bar status

Modal Controls

These targets control various modal windows and overlays.

Target: spotlight

Application launcher modal control.

Functions:

• open - Show the spotlight launcher
• close - Hide the spotlight launcher
• toggle - Toggle spotlight launcher visibility

Target: clipboard

Clipboard history modal control.

Functions:

• open - Show clipboard history
• close - Hide clipboard history
• toggle - Toggle clipboard history visibility

Target: notifications

Notification center modal control.

Functions:

• open - Show notification center
• close - Hide notification center
• toggle - Toggle notification center visibility

Target: settings

Settings modal control.

Functions:

• open - Show settings modal
• close - Hide settings modal
• toggle - Toggle settings modal visibility

Target: processlist

System process list and performance modal control.

Functions:

• open - Show process list modal
• close - Hide process list modal
• toggle - Toggle process list modal visibility

Target: powermenu

Power menu modal control for system power actions.

Functions:

• open - Show power menu modal
• close - Hide power menu modal
• toggle - Toggle power menu modal visibility

Target: control-center

Control Center popout containing network, bluetooth, audio, power, and other quick settings.

Functions:

• open - Show the control center
• close - Hide the control center
• toggle - Toggle control center visibility

Examples

dms ipc call control-center toggle
dms ipc call control-center open
dms ipc call control-center close

Target: notepad

Notepad/scratchpad modal control for quick note-taking.

Functions:

• open - Show notepad modal
• close - Hide notepad modal
• toggle - Toggle notepad modal visibility

Target: dash

Dashboard popup control with tab selection for overview, media, and weather information.

Functions:

• open [tab] - Show dashboard popup with optional tab selection
  • Parameters: tab - Optional tab to open: "" (default), "overview", "media", or "weather"
  • Returns: Success/failure message
• close - Hide dashboard popup
  • Returns: Success/failure message
• toggle [tab] - Toggle dashboard popup visibility with optional tab selection
  • Parameters: tab - Optional tab to open when showing: "" (default), "overview", "media", or "weather"
  • Returns: Success/failure message

Target: file

File browser controls for selecting wallpapers and profile images.

Functions:

• browse <type> - Open file browser for specific file type
  • Parameters: type - Either "wallpaper" or "profile"
  • wallpaper - Opens wallpaper file browser in Pictures directory
  • profile - Opens profile image file browser in Pictures directory
  • Both browsers support common image formats (jpg, jpeg, png, bmp, gif, webp)

Modal Examples

# Open application launcher
dms ipc call spotlight toggle

# Show clipboard history
dms ipc call clipboard open

# Toggle notification center
dms ipc call notifications toggle

# Show settings
dms ipc call settings open

# Show system monitor
dms ipc call processlist toggle

# Show power menu
dms ipc call powermenu toggle

# Open notepad
dms ipc call notepad toggle

# Show dashboard with specific tabs
dms ipc call dash open overview
dms ipc call dash toggle media
dms ipc call dash open weather

# Open file browsers
dms ipc call file browse wallpaper
dms ipc call file browse profile

Common Usage Patterns

Keybinding Integration

These IPC commands are designed to be used with window manager keybindings. Example niri configuration:

binds {
    Mod+Space { spawn "qs" "-c" "dms" "ipc" "call" "spotlight" "toggle"; }
    Mod+V { spawn "qs" "-c" "dms" "ipc" "call" "clipboard" "toggle"; }
    Mod+P { spawn "qs" "-c" "dms" "ipc" "call" "notepad" "toggle"; }
    Mod+X { spawn "qs" "-c" "dms" "ipc" "call" "powermenu" "toggle"; }
    XF86AudioRaiseVolume { spawn "qs" "-c" "dms" "ipc" "call" "audio" "increment" "3"; }
    XF86MonBrightnessUp { spawn "qs" "-c" "dms" "ipc" "call" "brightness" "increment" "5" ""; }
}

Scripting and Automation

IPC commands can be used in scripts for automation:

#!/bin/bash
# Toggle night mode based on time of day
hour=$(date +%H)
if [ $hour -ge 20 ] || [ $hour -le 6 ]; then
    dms ipc call night enable
else
    dms ipc call night disable
fi

Status Checking

Many commands provide status information useful for scripts:

# Check if screen is locked before performing action
if dms ipc call lock isLocked | grep -q "false"; then
    # Perform action only if unlocked
    dms ipc call notifications open
fi

Return Values

Most IPC functions return string messages indicating:

• Success confirmation with current values
• Error messages if operation fails
• Status information for query functions
• Empty/void return for simple action functions

Functions that return void (like media controls) execute the action but don't provide feedback. Check the application state through other means if needed.