input.conf syntax

[Shift+][Ctrl+][Alt+][Meta+]<key> [{<section>}] <command> ( ; <command> )*

Note that by default, the right Alt key can be used to create special characters, and thus does not register as a modifier. This can be changed with --input-right-alt-gr option.

Newlines always start a new binding. # starts a comment (outside of quoted string arguments). To bind commands to the # key, SHARP can be used.

<key> is either the literal character the key produces (ASCII or Unicode character), or a symbolic name (as printed by --input-keylist).

<section> (braced with { and }) is the input section for this command.

<command> is the command itself. It consists of the command name and multiple (or none) arguments, all separated by whitespace. String arguments should be quoted, typically with ". See Flat command syntax.

You can bind multiple commands to one key. For example:

a show-text "command 1" ; show-text "command 2"

It's also possible to bind a command to a sequence of keys:

a-b-c show-text "command run after a, b, c have been pressed"

(This is not shown in the general command syntax.)