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:

qs -c 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

qs -c dms ipc call audio setvolume 50
qs -c dms ipc call audio increment 10
qs -c 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

qs -c dms ipc call brightness set 80
qs -c dms ipc call brightness increment 10 ""
qs -c 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

Examples

qs -c dms ipc call night toggle
qs -c dms ipc call night temperature 4000

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

qs -c dms ipc call mpris playPause
qs -c 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

qs -c dms ipc call lock lock
qs -c 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

qs -c dms ipc call inhibit toggle
qs -c dms ipc call inhibit enable

Target: wallpaper

Wallpaper management and retrieval.

Functions

get

• Get current wallpaper path
• Returns: Full path to current wallpaper file

set <path>

• Set wallpaper to specified path
• Parameters: path - Absolute or relative path to image file
• Returns: Confirmation message or error

Examples

qs -c dms ipc call wallpaper get
qs -c dms ipc call wallpaper set /path/to/image.jpg

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

qs -c dms ipc call profile getImage
qs -c dms ipc call profile setImage /path/to/avatar.png
qs -c 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

qs -c dms ipc call theme toggle
qs -c dms ipc call theme dark

Target: bar

Top bar visibility control.

Functions

show

• 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

qs -c dms ipc call bar toggle
qs -c dms ipc call bar hide
qs -c 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

Modal Examples

# Open application launcher
qs -c dms ipc call spotlight toggle

# Show clipboard history
qs -c dms ipc call clipboard open

# Toggle notification center
qs -c dms ipc call notifications toggle

# Show settings
qs -c dms ipc call settings open

# Show system monitor
qs -c dms ipc call processlist toggle

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"; }
    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
    qs -c dms ipc call night enable
else
    qs -c 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 qs -c dms ipc call lock isLocked | grep -q "false"; then
    # Perform action only if unlocked
    qs -c 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.