1# Configuration
2
3vev reads `~/.config/vev/config` (`$XDG_CONFIG_HOME` is respected).
4
5- No file means defaults.
6- Changes apply live within a couple of seconds.
7- Exception: `web.listen` and `web.origin` need a gateway restart. See [browser terminal](web-terminal.md#listener-and-public-origin).
8- Invalid values log a warning and fall back to the default.
9
10The full list with defaults:
11
12```text
13# Browser gateway: HTTP listener and browser-facing origin, read at startup.
14web.listen = 127.0.0.1:8778
15web.origin = http://127.0.0.1:8778
16
17# Theme: auto follows the client; dark/light use neutral built-in defaults.
18theme = auto
19# In auto mode with palette inheritance enabled, infer a terminal accent.
20theme.palette = on
21# Accent policy: auto or one exact ANSI slot number from 0 through 15.
22theme.accent = auto
23
24# Palette placement: auto, center, top-left, top, top-right, left, right,
25# bottom-left, bottom, or bottom-right.
26palette.anchor = center
27
28# One floating terminal per tab. An empty command uses the normal shell.
29floating.command =
30floating.width = 80%
31floating.height = 80%
32
33# Let directional keyboard focus continue past a pane edge. Both default off.
34nav.overflow-tabs = off
35nav.overflow-sessions = off
36
37# Show the focused pane's terminal title in tab labels; off keeps the process name only.
38tabs.terminal-title = on
39
40# Remove a numbered (ephemeral) session when its last client exits.
41ephemeral.close-on-exit = on
42
43# Use the kitty keyboard protocol when the terminal supports it (enables Ctrl+1..9).
44keyboard.kitty-protocol = on
45
46# Outer terminal colors: auto (detect), truecolor, 256, 16, or mono.
47terminal.colors = auto
48
49# Draw typed characters on remote sessions before the server echoes them:
50# adaptive (only on a slow link), always, or never.
51echo.predict = adaptive
52
53# Rebindable actions. Leave a line out to keep its built-in binding.
54open-palette = alt+space
55toggle-floating-pane = alt+f
56jump-attention = alt+a
57focus-pane-left = alt+h
58focus-pane-right = alt+l
59focus-pane-up = alt+k
60focus-pane-down = alt+j
61# Optional pane rearrangement actions are unbound by default.
62# consume-or-expel-pane-left = alt+H
63# consume-or-expel-pane-right = alt+L
64# grow-pane-width, shrink-pane-width, grow-pane-height, shrink-pane-height,
65# and equalize-panes are also unbound by default.
66switch-tab-1 = alt+1
67# ... through switch-tab-9 = alt+9
68
69# Per-pane scrollback: decimal MB; zero disables history.
70scrollback.megabytes = 50
71# Optional additional line ceiling; zero means byte-only retention.
72scrollback.lines = 10000
73
74# Processes relaunched when a named session is restored. Empty disables relaunch.
75snapshot.restore_processes = vi,vim,nvim,emacs,man,less,more,tail,top,htop,btop,claude,codex,pi,opencode
76
77# Optional right bar anchors: commands run on the daemon host. Empty disables an anchor.
78bar.top-right =
79bar.bottom-right =
80bar.interval = 5s
81
82# Command palette codes: 2-3 letters or digits.
83code.new-tab = CNT
84code.new-session = CNS
85code.create-ephemeral-session = CES
86code.close-tab = CLT
87code.split-right = SPR
88code.split-left = SPL
89code.split-up = SPU
90code.split-down = SPD
91code.consume-or-expel-pane-left = MPL
92code.consume-or-expel-pane-right = MPR
93code.stack-pane = STP
94code.toggle-stack = TFS
95code.close-pane = CFP
96code.focus-pane-left = FPL
97code.focus-pane-right = FPR
98code.focus-pane-up = FPU
99code.focus-pane-down = FPD
100code.resize-pane = RSZ
101code.grow-pane-width = GPW
102code.shrink-pane-width = SPW
103code.grow-pane-height = GPH
104code.shrink-pane-height = SPH
105code.equalize-panes = EQP
106code.move-pane = MFP
107code.move-tab = MAT
108code.next-tab = NXT
109code.previous-tab = PVT
110code.back-session = BCK
111code.jump-recent-session = JRS
112code.session-picker = SSP
113code.visual-mode = VIS
114code.toggle-floating-pane = TFP
115code.rename-session = RNS
116code.rename-tab = RNT
117code.detach = DET
118code.notifications = NTC
119code.yank-last-notification = YLN
120```
121
122## Scrollback
123
124| Key | Range | Default | Zero means |
125|---|---|---|---|
126| `scrollback.megabytes` | 0–4096 MB | 50 | no history |
127| `scrollback.lines` | 0–1,000,000 | 10,000 | no line limit, bytes only |
128
129- Limits are per pane, including hidden floating panes.
130- They count uncompressed history, not process memory.
131- A reload applies to existing panes right away. Lowering a limit drops the oldest rows.
132- Idle panes compress old history in the background. This saves memory but does not raise the limit.
133
134## Ephemeral sessions
135
136With `ephemeral.close-on-exit = on` (default), a numbered session is removed once its last client is gone for good:
137
138- The client process ends (terminal closed, SIGHUP, or SIGTERM). The client tells the daemon on a best-effort basis; if that message is lost, the rule below applies.
139- A client that lost its connection does not reconnect before the resume window (15 minutes) expires.
140
141The session stays while any other client is attached. A detach (keybinding, palette, or picker switch) keeps it, and so does a network drop within the resume window. Named sessions are never affected. Set `off` to keep numbered sessions until you kill them.
142
143Closing the terminal of a client running inside SSH also sends SIGHUP, so a dropped SSH connection removes the session. Use a named session for work you want to resume.
144
145## Development environments
146
147Set `VEV_ENV=<name>` to move every vev file into `.dev/<name>/` under the current directory. Use it to test a build without touching your real sessions.
148
149```sh
150VEV_ENV=dev go run .
151VEV_ENV=dev go run . kill --sessions
152rm -rf .dev/dev
153```
154
155- Name: up to 64 letters, digits, `.`, `_`, or `-`, starting with a letter or digit.
156- The same name shares one daemon. Use different names to run builds side by side.
157- Config, sessions, hosts, snapshots, and logs are isolated.
158- If the socket path gets too long, sockets move to `/tmp/vev-<uid>-<hash>`. Everything else stays in `.dev/<name>/`.
159- It is not a sandbox: pane processes see your real system.
160
161## Remote hosts
162
163```sh
164vev host add user@host                    # add a host (QUIC, the default)
165vev host add --transport ssh user@host    # add a host that uses SSH only
166vev host rm user@host                     # remove it
167vev host list                             # show hosts and their status
168```
169
170- `--transport quic|ssh` selects the carriage. `quic` (default) opens a direct QUIC connection bootstrapped over SSH; `ssh` carries everything over SSH, for networks that block UDP.
171- A host keeps the transport it was added with. To change it, run `vev host rm` and then `vev host add` again; adding it with a different transport is refused.
172- The broker stores hosts in `~/.local/state/vev/broker/state/state.json`.
173- Hosts connect over SSH, so your SSH config (aliases, keys) applies.
174- Remote sessions appear as `session@host` in `vev ls --all` and in the picker.
175
176### Warm remote transports
177
178After you leave a remote, vev keeps its connection open for a while. Going back is then instant: no new SSH login or QUIC handshake.
179
180Configure this in `~/.config/vev/broker.json`. The file is created on first use and read when the broker starts.
181
182```json
183{
184  "marker": "vev.broker.offline/v1",
185  "registrations": [],
186  "warmTransports": 8,
187  "warmIdleTimeout": "off"
188}
189```
190
191- `warmTransports`: how many idle connections to keep (0–64, default 8). The oldest one closes first. `0` disables it.
192- `warmIdleTimeout`: close an idle connection after this long, such as `5m` (max `24h`). Default `off`: no time limit.
193
194Warm connections never keep the broker running. Each open QUIC connection, warm ones included, sends a small keepalive every 2 seconds so mobile and NAT paths stay open; on battery, set `warmIdleTimeout` to close idle ones.
195
196## Logs and durable state
197
198| What | Where |
199|---|---|
200| Logs (JSON lines, e.g. `vev-daemon.log`) | `~/.local/state/vev/` |
201| Sessions and snapshots | `~/.local/state/vev/` |
202| Broker hosts and logs | `~/.local/state/vev/broker/` |
203| Socket and lock | `$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/vev/` |
204
205`$XDG_STATE_HOME` is respected. Set `VEV_LOG=debug|warn|error` to change the log level (default `info`).
206
207If the daemon refuses to start because its session data is broken, do not edit the files. See [durable session recovery](durable-session-recovery.md).
208
209## Theme
210
211| Setting | Effect |
212|---|---|
213| `theme = auto` | Follow your terminal's colors and light/dark mode. |
214| `theme = dark` / `light` | Neutral built-in colors. Ignores the two settings below. |
215| `theme.palette = off` | Neutral colors, no accent. |
216| `theme.accent = auto` | Pick an accent from your terminal's ANSI colors (blue if unsure). |
217| `theme.accent = 0`–`15` | Use exactly that ANSI color as the accent. |
218
219- vev only colors its own UI (bars, borders, palette). Pane content is never recolored.
220- Tinted backgrounds need a truecolor or 256-color terminal. On 16-color and monochrome terminals vev uses bold, reverse, and faint instead. See [terminal colors](terminal.md#colors).
221- `terminal.colors` forces the color mode of your terminal (`auto`, `truecolor`, `256`, `16`, `mono`). `VEV_COLORS` overrides it. See [terminal colors](terminal.md#colors).
222- vev follows light/dark switches your terminal reports. It cannot see palette changes the terminal does not report.
223
224## Bindings
225
226Valid keys: `alt+<char>`, `alt+space`, `alt+left/right/up/down`, `alt+1` to `alt+9`.
227
228- Setting an action replaces all its default keys. For example, setting `focus-pane-left` removes Alt+Left too.
229- Tab switching works with AZERTY and other layouts without extra config.
230- Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 (recent sessions) are fixed and not rebindable. Turn them off with `keyboard.kitty-protocol = off`.
231- `alt+[` is not supported: terminals use it for escape sequences.
232- Cmd/Super is not supported. Map it in your terminal to `ESC` + a character, then bind `alt+<char>` in vev.
233
234## Pane consume or expel
235
236Moves the focused pane between columns, like the Niri window manager. It has no default key: use palette codes `MPL` / `MPR`, or bind `consume-or-expel-pane-left/right`.
237
238- A pane alone in its column joins the column next to it.
239- A pane sharing a column leaves it and becomes its own column.
240- Works only with column layouts. Nested mixed splits are not supported.
241
242## Navigation overflow
243
244Both are `off` by default.
245
246- `nav.overflow-tabs = on`: Alt+h/l at the edge of the tab moves to the next tab.
247- `nav.overflow-sessions = on`: Alt+k/j at the edge moves to the next session (alphabetical).
248
249No wrap-around. Only keyboard focus overflows, never the mouse or floating panes.
250
251## Copy mode
252
253Scroll up with the mouse to enter. Scroll back to the bottom to leave.
254
255| Key | Action |
256|---|---|
257| `h` `j` `k` `l` | move |
258| `w` `b` `e` | word motions |
259| `v` or Space | start selection |
260| `y` or Enter | copy |
261
262With the mouse: drag to select, double-click to select a word.
263
264```ini
265# Unicode whitespace always separates words.
266# The default is " -_@".
267copy.word-separators = " -_@"
268# Disable animated wheel scrolling (default: off).
269copy.reduce-motion = off
270```
271
272- `copy.word-separators = ""` uses only whitespace.
273- `copy.reduce-motion = on` scrolls three rows per wheel step, without animation.
274
275## Responsive overlays
276
277Below 80 columns, popups (palette, picker, floating terminal, prompts) become full-width drawers at the bottom of the screen. The background dims while a popup is open.
278
279## Palette anchor
280
281- Default: centered.
282- `palette.anchor = auto`: bottom bar from 80 to 95 columns, right-side rail from 96 columns.
283- Any other value places it at that spot. Below 80 columns it is always a bottom drawer.
284
285## Floating terminal
286
287- `floating.command` runs through your shell. Changes apply on the next launch.
288- Below 80 columns, the terminal takes the full width and keeps `floating.height`.
289- Floating terminals are not restored after a daemon restart.
290- Each session keeps one pre-started shell ready. The first tab that opens its floating terminal takes it, and the session starts the next one in the background. A shell started in another directory is replaced by a fresh one in the tab's directory.
291
292## Bar anchors
293
294`bar.top-right` and `bar.bottom-right` show the output of a command in the bar. Both are off by default.
295
296- The command runs on the daemon host every `bar.interval` (minimum `1s`), with the same environment as your panes.
297- vev shows the first line of output, without colors. On failure it keeps the last good value.
298- Scripts receive `VEV_ANCHOR`, `VEV_SESSION`, `VEV_TAB`, `VEV_PANE`, `VEV_PANE_CWD`, `VEV_COLS`, and `VEV_CLIENT_PID`.
299- `VEV_CLIENT_PID` is the PID of a local attached client, so a script can find the terminal window and monitor showing the bar. With several clients attached, it is the one whose terminal has focus, else the first local one. It is empty when only remote clients (SSH or another machine) are attached, since their process lives elsewhere.
300- Failures are logged with the exit code and stderr. Exit 127 means "command not found".
301
302Release installs ship two example scripts: `vev-bar-top-right` and `vev-bar-bottom-right`. Under the NeferWL compositor, the first one also shows the client's monitor and workspaces (`DP-2 [x][ ][ ]`); set `bar.interval = 1s` to follow workspace changes. The second one runs `git status` on every refresh; raise the interval on large repositories.