Shortcut Detective
You pressed a shortcut and nothing happened, or the wrong thing did. Shortcut Detective shows every system-wide keyboard shortcut, who owns it, which ones clash, and free combinations you can switch to. You can change, turn off or reset any shortcut right there.
It works on GNOME and the desktops built like it (Cinnamon, Budgie, MATE), which keep their shortcuts in GSettings. On other desktops, such as KDE Plasma, the page says so and points you to System Settings → Shortcuts.
The cheat sheet#
Click Cheat Sheet (next to Record Shortcut), or press Super+Shift+/ from any app, to open a cheat sheet of your shortcuts: a window you read at a glance and close with Esc.
- Shortcuts are grouped by who owns them: Voltkit first, then Windows, GNOME Shell, then the rest alphabetically (system, extensions…). Actions without a shortcut are left out.
- Each shortcut shows its keys as key caps; when an action has several, they are shown side by side with or.
- A last group, In most apps, lists the editing shortcuts almost every app shares (copy, paste, undo, find, save and so on).
- Type to find a shortcut…: filter by action, group or keys (
overview,alt+f4,windows). No shortcuts match means nothing fits. - It is read-only. To change a shortcut, use Shortcut Detective's Change….
The cheat sheet shows the system-wide shortcuts. Apps can have more of their own, and Wayland does not let Voltkit tell which app is in front, so it cannot show the shortcuts of the app you are using. On a desktop whose shortcuts Voltkit cannot read, only the In most apps group is shown.
The hotkey is shortcut_guide in the configuration file. From the terminal: voltkit shortcut-guide.
What it covers#
Voltkit reads the shortcuts of: the window manager, GNOME Shell, system and media keys, your custom shortcuts, enabled shell extensions, and Voltkit's own hotkeys. Each action shows what it does in plain words and who it belongs to (Windows, GNOME Shell, Voltkit, an extension name…).
Press a shortcut to investigate#
- Click Record Shortcut.
- Press the key combination when the page says Press the keys now. Esc cancels (Recording cancelled. Choose Record Shortcut to try again.).
- The details show every action that uses it: - 1 action uses this shortcut: Available as a system-wide shortcut. Apps may still use it within their windows. - N actions share this shortcut: a clash. Change an action to resolve it.
- Under Free combinations to try, Voltkit suggests alternatives: the same key with other modifiers first, then nearby keys. It leaves out combinations apps use for themselves (like Ctrl+S), so a suggestion never steals an app's shortcut.
A bare letter or number cannot be a shortcut because it types text; a combination needs a modifier.
Browse and find#
- All Shortcuts lists everything: Registered shortcuts · N of M. Type in Filter shortcuts by action, owner, or keys… to narrow it. No shortcuts match these filters means nothing fits.
- Conflicts lists only the combinations used by more than one action: Conflicts · N.
- Refresh shortcuts reads them again, for example after you changed something in Settings.
- Actions without a shortcut show Not set; clashing ones show a Conflict badge.
Change a shortcut#
Select an action, then:
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Change… (Change Shortcut) | Opens a recorder. Press the new combination. Voltkit tells you {keys} is free, or {keys} is already used by {action}. Pick another, or change that one first. Click Save. |
| Turn Off | Removes the shortcut so the action has none |
| Reset to Default | Puts it back how the desktop came |
You can also click one of the Free combinations to use it. A toast confirms: "{action}" is now {keys}, has no shortcut now or is back to its default. An action can have several shortcuts; changing one keeps the others. Shortcuts locked by the system administrator say Locked by the system administrator and cannot be changed.
Voltkit's own hotkeys also live in its configuration file; changing them here keeps the two in step.
Keyboard keys#
Below the shortcut list, Keyboard keys changes what a key sends, in every app, instead of what a shortcut does. They are the changes almost everyone wants:
| Setting | Choices | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Caps Lock | As it comes, Escape, Ctrl, Swap with Escape, Backspace | Turning a key you rarely use into one you do. Many people make it Esc (editors) or Ctrl (the terminal) |
| Alt and Super | As they come, Swap Alt and Super | A keyboard laid out like a Mac's |
| Compose key | Off, Right Alt, Menu key, Right Ctrl, Right Super, Caps Lock | Typing accents and symbols: Compose, then ' and e, gives é. See Typing accents and symbols |
- It takes effect at once, with a toast saying Keyboard keys changed. There is nothing to apply or confirm.
- It can't lock you out. These are the desktop's own keyboard options, a plain setting. Voltkit does not read your keyboard for them and installs nothing. Choose As it comes (or Off) in a row, or Put all keys back, and the key is back.
- Options you set elsewhere, such as the way you switch keyboard layouts, are left alone.
- Two jobs can't share one key. Choosing Caps Lock for the Compose key lets go of Caps Lock's other jobs, and choosing a Caps Lock job turns off Compose on Caps Lock.
This is not a full key remapper. It does not do tap-versus-hold keys or per-app changes: on Wayland an app cannot tell which window is in front. It covers the common cases safely.
Related commands#
voltkit shortcuts list # every system-wide shortcut, grouped by owner
voltkit shortcuts who super+v # what a shortcut does
voltkit shortcuts clashes # combinations used by more than one action
voltkit shortcuts install # add Voltkit's hotkeys to GNOME Settings (--dry-run to preview)
voltkit shortcuts remove # remove the ones install addedshortcuts install and remove are for desktops that do not offer the GlobalShortcuts portal. See Global shortcuts and the background service.
Troubleshooting#
- "Shortcuts aren't available on this desktop." Your desktop does not keep shortcuts in GSettings. Use its own settings.
- A shortcut works in the window but not globally. Apps can use keys inside their own windows; this page only lists system-wide shortcuts.