winget install --id=HasNate618.Glyph -e Glyph is a Windows-first, highly configurable leader-key overlay. Press the Glyph key to open an overlay, then type short sequences to trigger actions. Keymaps are configured in YAML with optional per-app layers. Themes are JSON-based.
A modern and highly configurable leader-key driven command overlay for Windows.
Glyph is a small productivity layer for Windows: press the Glyph key to open an overlay, then type short sequences to trigger actions.
It’s designed to be:
apps: and shared app groups via groups:.action: built-in action idsend: send a key chord (e.g. Ctrl+Shift+T)type: type textexec: launch a program (execArgs, execCwd supported)steps: chain multiple actions together%APPDATA%\Glyph\themes\ with live selection from the Settings UI.dotnet build Glyph.sln -c Debug
dotnet run --project src/Glyph.App/Glyph.App.csproj -c Debug
Glyph.App.exe.%APPDATA%\Glyph\config.json.%APPDATA%\Glyph\config.json%APPDATA%\Glyph\keymaps.yaml%APPDATA%\Glyph\themes\ (*.json)%APPDATA%\Glyph\config.json (field BaseTheme)On first run, a default %APPDATA%\Glyph\keymaps.yaml is created. While developing from source, the template comes from src/Glyph.App/Config/default_keymaps.yaml.
Important: the YAML loader parses the file before applying changes. If the YAML is malformed the loader will log a parse error and will not overwrite your live bindings — this prevents accidental loss of keymaps when editing.
%APPDATA%\Glyph\themes\ on first run.*.json file into %APPDATA%\Glyph\themes\ and select it in the Settings GUI (selection is saved to %APPDATA%\Glyph\config.json).setTheme:.Keymaps are a tree of bindings. Each node has a key and label, and then either:
action: built-in action id
type: text to type
send: key chord to send (e.g. Ctrl+Shift+T)
exec (+ optional execArgs, execCwd): launch a program
steps: chain multiple action/type/send/exec steps
children: nested bindings (multi-stroke sequences)
apps:: program-specific bindings keyed by process name (applied when the foreground process matches)
groups:: named groups of processes that share the same bindings (useful for browsers, terminals, etc.)
Reloading keymaps at runtime: the default keymap binds reloadKeymaps to glyph → , → r.
Backspace (layer-back): When the overlay is open, pressing Backspace will pop the last entered key from the current sequence (i.e. go up one layer). If you are at the root layer (no buffer), Backspace behaves like Esc and immediately hides the overlay. You can still reference Backspace in YAML using the named token Backspace (for example in keyTokens or ``), but the overlay will always treat it as a navigation key while open.
Shift is a modifier (case-sensitive mapping): Shift, LShift, and RShift are not treated as standalone bindable keys. Instead the engine uses the held Shift state to produce shifted characters in the input buffer:
b vs B are distinct steps).Shift+1 -> !, Shift+= -> +, Shift+/ -> ?).In practice, write separate YAML bindings for lowercase and uppercase forms when you want different actions. Example:
bindings:
- key: b
label: Build
action: buildProject
- key: B
label: Build Debug
action: buildDebug
Attempting to bind Shift (or LShift/RShift) as a standalone token (for example Shift+b) is rejected by the YAML loader; instead prefer B or the corresponding shifted symbol.
Chain steps (preferred):
bindings:
- key: ",g"
label: "Git commit"
steps:
- type: git commit ""
- send: Left
Vim-like dd (delete line):
bindings:
- key: t
label: Text
children:
- key: dd
label: Delete Line
steps:
- send: Home
- send: Shift+End
- send: Delete
Per-app binding:
apps:
- process: code
bindings:
- key: f
label: Format file
action: formatDocument
Multi-letter named keys (for example Win, Enter, Left, or F5) can be represented as single logical key steps rather than sequences of characters.
Two ways to declare a named token in a keymap:
keyTokens: an explicit list of token names for a binding (unambiguous).key:: use `` to embed a named token inside a sequence (for example pg).Examples:
bindings:
- keyTokens: ["Win"]
label: Win (single token)
action: openGlyphGui
- key: "pg"
label: P + Win + g
action: logForeground
- key: Win
label: bare Win convenience (single token)
action: openLogs
Display behavior:
Program-prefix (p) and overlay behaviour:
p is a reserved top-level prefix used for program-specific bindings. Program bindings should live under apps: (or groups:) and are applied when the foreground process matches the process name.p prefix in the overlay, the UI shows one of three messages depending on context:
No Program Focused — nothing has focus (desktop/overlay/other) Not Configured — a program is focused but there are no apps:/groups: bindings for itapps:/groups:) — when the focused process has program-specific bindingsExample apps: and groups: usage:
bindings:
- key: p
label: Program
apps:
- process: Spotify
bindings:
- key: p
label: Play / Pause
action: mediaPlayPause
groups:
- name: Browser
processes: [ chrome, msedge, firefox ]
bindings:
- key: t
label: New Tab
send: Ctrl+T
The built-in action ids live in src/Glyph.Actions/ActionRuntime.cs.
Tip: there is a helper action logForeground you can bind (for example to a key in your bindings:) to log the currently focused process name. Use it to discover the exact process string to put in apps:.
scripts/publish.ps1.send/type land in the wrong window: ensure the overlay has fully hidden and the target window is focused.exec doesn’t launch: try the full GUI .exe path (not a CLI shim).action does nothing: it may be unknown; check the built-in list in src/Glyph.Actions/ActionRuntime.cs.MIT. See LICENSE.