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# Fill the top and bottom bars with the theme surface; off keeps the terminal background.
82bar.background = on
83
84# Command palette codes: 2-3 letters or digits.
85code.new-tab = CNT
86code.new-session = CNS
87code.create-ephemeral-session = CES
88code.close-tab = CLT
89code.split-right = SPR
90code.split-left = SPL
91code.split-up = SPU
92code.split-down = SPD
93code.consume-or-expel-pane-left = MPL
94code.consume-or-expel-pane-right = MPR
95code.stack-pane = STP
96code.toggle-stack = TFS
97code.close-pane = CFP
98code.focus-pane-left = FPL
99code.focus-pane-right = FPR
100code.focus-pane-up = FPU
101code.focus-pane-down = FPD
102code.resize-pane = RSZ
103code.grow-pane-width = GPW
104code.shrink-pane-width = SPW
105code.grow-pane-height = GPH
106code.shrink-pane-height = SPH
107code.equalize-panes = EQP
108code.move-pane = MFP
109code.move-tab = MAT
110code.next-tab = NXT
111code.previous-tab = PVT
112code.back-session = BCK
113code.jump-recent-session = JRS
114code.session-picker = SSP
115code.visual-mode = VIS
116code.toggle-floating-pane = TFP
117code.rename-session = RNS
118code.rename-tab = RNT
119code.detach = DET
120code.notifications = NTC
121code.yank-last-notification = YLN
122```
123
124## Scrollback
125
126| Key | Range | Default | Zero means |
127|---|---|---|---|
128| `scrollback.megabytes` | 0–4096 MB | 50 | no history |
129| `scrollback.lines` | 0–1,000,000 | 10,000 | no line limit, bytes only |
130
131- Limits are per pane, including hidden floating panes.
132- They count uncompressed history, not process memory.
133- A reload applies to existing panes right away. Lowering a limit drops the oldest rows.
134- Idle panes compress old history in the background. This saves memory but does not raise the limit.
135
136## Ephemeral sessions
137
138With `ephemeral.close-on-exit = on` (default), a numbered session is removed once its last client is gone for good:
139
140- 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.
141- A client that lost its connection does not reconnect before the resume window (15 minutes) expires.
142
143The 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.
144
145Closing 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.
146
147## Development environments
148
149Set `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.
150
151```sh
152VEV_ENV=dev go run .
153VEV_ENV=dev go run . kill --sessions
154rm -rf .dev/dev
155```
156
157- Name: up to 64 letters, digits, `.`, `_`, or `-`, starting with a letter or digit.
158- The same name shares one daemon. Use different names to run builds side by side.
159- Config, sessions, hosts, snapshots, and logs are isolated.
160- If the socket path gets too long, sockets move to `/tmp/vev-<uid>-<hash>`. Everything else stays in `.dev/<name>/`.
161- It is not a sandbox: pane processes see your real system.
162
163## Remote hosts
164
165```sh
166vev host add user@host                    # add a host (QUIC, the default)
167vev host add --transport ssh user@host    # add a host that uses SSH only
168vev host rm user@host                     # remove it
169vev host list                             # show hosts and their status
170```
171
172- `--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.
173- 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.
174- The broker stores hosts in `~/.local/state/vev/broker/state/state.json`.
175- Hosts connect over SSH, so your SSH config (aliases, keys) applies.
176- Remote sessions appear as `session@host` in `vev ls --all` and in the picker.
177
178### Warm remote transports
179
180After you leave a remote, vev keeps its connection open for a while. Going back is then instant: no new SSH login or QUIC handshake.
181
182Configure this in `~/.config/vev/broker.json`. The file is created on first use and read when the broker starts.
183
184```json
185{
186  "marker": "vev.broker.offline/v1",
187  "registrations": [],
188  "warmTransports": 8,
189  "warmIdleTimeout": "off"
190}
191```
192
193- `warmTransports`: how many idle connections to keep (0–64, default 8). The oldest one closes first. `0` disables it.
194- `warmIdleTimeout`: close an idle connection after this long, such as `5m` (max `24h`). Default `off`: no time limit.
195
196Warm 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.
197
198## Logs and durable state
199
200| What | Where |
201|---|---|
202| Logs (JSON lines, e.g. `vev-daemon.log`) | `~/.local/state/vev/` |
203| Sessions and snapshots | `~/.local/state/vev/` |
204| Broker hosts and logs | `~/.local/state/vev/broker/` |
205| Socket and lock | `$XDG_RUNTIME_DIR/vev/` |
206
207`$XDG_STATE_HOME` is respected. Set `VEV_LOG=debug|warn|error` to change the log level (default `info`).
208
209If the daemon refuses to start because its session data is broken, do not edit the files. See [durable session recovery](durable-session-recovery.md).
210
211## Theme
212
213| Setting | Effect |
214|---|---|
215| `theme = auto` | Follow your terminal's colors and light/dark mode. |
216| `theme = dark` / `light` | Neutral built-in colors. Ignores `theme.palette` and `theme.accent`. |
217| `theme.palette = off` | Neutral colors, no accent. |
218| `theme.accent = auto` | Pick an accent from your terminal's ANSI colors (blue if unsure). |
219| `theme.accent = 0`–`15` | Use exactly that ANSI color as the accent. |
220| `bar.background = off` | Keep the terminal background behind the top and bottom bars (useful with a transparent terminal). Tabs and recent sessions keep their colors. No effect on 16-color and mono terminals, where bars already use it. |
221
222- vev only colors its own UI (bars, borders, palette). Pane content is never recolored.
223- 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).
224- `terminal.colors` forces the color mode of your terminal (`auto`, `truecolor`, `256`, `16`, `mono`). `VEV_COLORS` overrides it. See [terminal colors](terminal.md#colors).
225- vev follows light/dark switches your terminal reports. It cannot see palette changes the terminal does not report.
226
227## Bindings
228
229Valid keys: `alt+<char>`, `alt+space`, `alt+left/right/up/down`, `alt+1` to `alt+9`.
230
231- Setting an action replaces all its default keys. For example, setting `focus-pane-left` removes Alt+Left too.
232- Tab switching works with AZERTY and other layouts without extra config.
233- Ctrl+1 to Ctrl+9 (recent sessions) are fixed and not rebindable. Turn them off with `keyboard.kitty-protocol = off`.
234- `alt+[` is not supported: terminals use it for escape sequences.
235- Cmd/Super is not supported. Map it in your terminal to `ESC` + a character, then bind `alt+<char>` in vev.
236
237## Pane consume or expel
238
239Moves 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`.
240
241- A pane alone in its column joins the column next to it.
242- A pane sharing a column leaves it and becomes its own column.
243- Works only with column layouts. Nested mixed splits are not supported.
244
245## Navigation overflow
246
247Both are `off` by default.
248
249- `nav.overflow-tabs = on`: Alt+h/l at the edge of the tab moves to the next tab.
250- `nav.overflow-sessions = on`: Alt+k/j at the edge moves to the next session (alphabetical).
251
252No wrap-around. Only keyboard focus overflows, never the mouse or floating panes.
253
254## Copy mode
255
256Scroll up with the mouse to enter. Scroll back to the bottom to leave.
257
258| Key | Action |
259|---|---|
260| `h` `j` `k` `l` | move |
261| `w` `b` `e` | word motions |
262| `v` or Space | start selection |
263| `y` or Enter | copy |
264
265With the mouse: drag to select, double-click to select a word.
266
267```ini
268# Unicode whitespace always separates words.
269# The default is " -_@".
270copy.word-separators = " -_@"
271# Disable animated wheel scrolling (default: off).
272copy.reduce-motion = off
273```
274
275- `copy.word-separators = ""` uses only whitespace.
276- `copy.reduce-motion = on` scrolls three rows per wheel step, without animation.
277
278## Responsive overlays
279
280Below 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.
281
282## Palette anchor
283
284- Default: centered.
285- `palette.anchor = auto`: bottom bar from 80 to 95 columns, right-side rail from 96 columns.
286- Any other value places it at that spot. Below 80 columns it is always a bottom drawer.
287
288## Floating terminal
289
290- `floating.command` runs through your shell. Changes apply on the next launch.
291- Below 80 columns, the terminal takes the full width and keeps `floating.height`.
292- Floating terminals are not restored after a daemon restart.
293- 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.
294
295## Bar anchors
296
297`bar.top-right` and `bar.bottom-right` show the output of a command in the bar. Both are off by default.
298
299- The command runs on the daemon host every `bar.interval` (minimum `1s`), with the same environment as your panes.
300- vev shows the first line of output, without colors. On failure it keeps the last good value.
301- Scripts receive `VEV_ANCHOR`, `VEV_SESSION`, `VEV_TAB`, `VEV_PANE`, `VEV_PANE_CWD`, `VEV_COLS`, and `VEV_CLIENT_PID`.
302- `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.
303- Failures are logged with the exit code and stderr. Exit 127 means "command not found".
304
305Release 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.