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Configure shortcuts on Linux

On Linux Wayland, Murmure does not register any global shortcut itself. You bind OS-level custom shortcuts that call the murmure binary directly. This works reliably on every compositor (GNOME, KDE, Hyprland, Sway, others) and survives reboots without any extra configuration.

CLI commands reference

Murmure exposes the following commands. Each can be assigned to an OS-level custom shortcut.

Command Effect
murmure --transcription Toggle standard transcription ON/OFF
murmure --transcription-command Toggle transcription in Command mode
murmure --paste-last Paste the last transcription
murmure --cancel Cancel the current recording and return to idle
murmure --voice-mode Toggle Voice Mode ON/OFF
murmure --llm-mode 1 Start transcription with LLM prompt 1
murmure --llm-mode 2 Start transcription with LLM prompt 2
murmure --llm-mode 3 Start transcription with LLM prompt 3
murmure --llm-mode 4 Start transcription with LLM prompt 4

Push-to-talk limitation

OS custom shortcuts fire on key press, not on key release. This means only toggle mode is usable. Push-to-talk (hold to record, release to stop) cannot be implemented with OS custom shortcuts.

GNOME

  1. Open Settings > Keyboard > View and Customize Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts.
  2. Click the + button to add a new shortcut.
  3. Fill in:
  4. Name: Murmure transcription (or any label you prefer)
  5. Command: murmure --transcription
  6. Shortcut: press the key combination you want (e.g. Ctrl+Super+Space)
  7. Click Add.

Repeat for any other commands you want to bind (for example murmure --paste-last on a second shortcut).

KDE Plasma

  1. Open System Settings > Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts.
  2. Click Edit > New > Global Shortcut > Command/URL.
  3. In the Trigger tab, assign your key combination.
  4. In the Action tab, set the command to murmure --transcription.
  5. Apply and close.

Repeat for any other commands you want to bind.

Cinnamon

  1. Open System Settings > Keyboard > Shortcuts > Custom Shortcuts.
  2. Click Add a custom shortcut.
  3. Fill in:
  4. Name: murmure --transcription (or any label you prefer)
  5. Command: murmure --transcription
  6. Click Apply, then click Unassigned next to the new entry and press the key combination you want.

Add a custom shortcut in Cinnamon

Repeat for any other commands you want to bind.

Hyprland

Add bindings to ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf. Replace SUPER, Y with your preferred modifier and key.

# ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

bind = SUPER, Y, exec, murmure --transcription
bind = SUPER SHIFT, Y, exec, murmure --paste-last
bind = SUPER ALT, Y, exec, murmure --cancel

Reload Hyprland to apply (hyprctl reload or log out and back in).

Sway

Add bindings to ~/.config/sway/config. Replace $mod+y with your preferred combination.

# ~/.config/sway/config

bindsym $mod+y exec murmure --transcription
bindsym $mod+Shift+y exec murmure --paste-last
bindsym $mod+Control+y exec murmure --cancel

Reload Sway to apply (swaymsg reload).

Verify Murmure is in the PATH

If your compositor does not find the murmure binary, the shortcut will silently fail. Check that the binary is in your PATH:

which murmure

If it is not found, use the full path in the command, for example /usr/local/bin/murmure --transcription.

Troubleshooting

Shortcut does nothing

  • Verify that murmure is in the PATH (run which murmure in a terminal).
  • Make sure Murmure is already running in the background before pressing the shortcut. The CLI commands communicate with the running instance.
  • Check that no other application has claimed the same key combination in your OS keyboard settings.

The shortcut fires but nothing happens in Murmure

Open a terminal and run murmure --transcription manually. If it says "no running instance found", Murmure is not started. Launch it first (it starts in the tray).

Escape hatch: force XWayland

If you need XWayland for any reason (for example an older compositor), you can start Murmure with the GDK_BACKEND environment variable:

GDK_BACKEND=x11 murmure

This is a GTK-standard variable. Murmure no longer sets it automatically. In XWayland mode, global shortcuts only fire when the Murmure window has focus.