alpymist

Reference

Every setting

Every setting Alpymist has, by area. Each can be changed in the Settings app, found by its title in the menu's search, or read and changed from a terminal:

alpymist get power.lid
alpymist set power.lid lock
alpymist reset power.lid
alpymist list power.lid      # its value, and what it can be

System marks a setting that changes the machine for everyone and asks for an administrator's password; the rest are your account's own. Where a change does not apply at once, the setting says when.

This page is made from the settings themselves, and a test keeps it so: it is what alpymist list prints on a system with nothing added. Yours also lists the settings that packages you installed have added.

Appearance

Setting Values Default
Style
Light text on dark, or dark text on light.
appearance.scheme · New windows		 dark, light dark
Accent colour
The colour of focus, selection and the main button.
appearance.accent · New windows		 mist, fjord, moss, amber, heather, rose mist
Text size
How large text is in the menu, the popups and Alpymist's windows.
appearance.text-size · New windows		 12 to 24 px 16
Wallpaper
The picture behind the desktop.
appearance.wallpaper		 The pictures installed blue-hour.jpg

Displays

Setting Values Default
Each screen has its own workspaces
Super+1 to Super+9 switch between the workspaces of the screen the pointer is on. Off, workspaces 1 to 9 are shared by every screen.
displays.workspaces		 true, false true
Turn the laptop's screen off when the lid closes
While another screen is on, closing the lid turns the built-in screen off and moves what was on it to the others.
displays.lid		 true, false true

Keyboard

Setting Values Default
Keyboard layout
The layout every desktop, the login screen and the console type with.
keyboard.layout · System		 Every XKB layout us
Repeat delay
How long a key is held before it starts repeating.
keyboard.repeat-delay		 150 to 1000 ms 600
Repeat rate
How many times a second a held key repeats.
keyboard.repeat-rate		 10 to 80 per second 25

Language

Setting Values Default
Language
The language programs speak, and how they write dates and numbers.
language.language · Next login		 The languages there are C.UTF-8
Translations
Install every program's translations, about 30 MB, so programs can speak the language above.
language.translations · System · Next login		 true, false false

Touchpad

Setting Values Default
Natural scrolling
Content moves the way your fingers do, as on a phone.
touchpad.natural-scroll		 true, false false
Tap to click
A tap on the touchpad clicks, without pressing it down.
touchpad.tap-to-click		 true, false true
Ignore while typing
The touchpad does nothing for a moment after a key is pressed.
touchpad.disable-while-typing		 true, false true
Scrolling speed
How far content moves for a two-finger swipe.
touchpad.scroll-speed		 25 to 300 % 100

Mouse and pointer

Setting Values Default
Pointer speed
How fast the pointer moves, for mice and touchpads alike.
mouse.speed		 -100 to 100 0
Pointer acceleration
Faster movements carry the pointer further, or every movement counts the same.
mouse.acceleration		 adaptive, flat adaptive
Natural scrolling for mice
The wheel moves content the other way round.
mouse.natural-scroll		 true, false false
Left-handed buttons
Swap the left and right buttons.
mouse.left-handed		 true, false false

Sound

Setting Values Default
Output device
Where sound plays. Automatic leaves it to the system, which prefers what it rates best of what is connected.
sound.output		 Automatic, or a device auto
Output volume
How loud the output device plays.
sound.volume		 0 to 100 % 40
Input device
Which microphone records. Automatic leaves it to the system.
sound.input		 Automatic, or a device auto
Input volume
How much the input device picks up.
sound.input-volume		 0 to 100 % 100

Wi-Fi

Setting Values Default
Wi-Fi
Turn the wireless adapter on or off.
wifi.enabled		 true, false true

Bluetooth

Setting Values Default
Bluetooth
Turn Bluetooth on, now and at every start, to use headphones, keyboards and other devices. Other devices cannot see this computer unless you make it discoverable while pairing.
bluetooth.enabled · System		 true, false false

SSH

Setting Values Default
SSH server
Let the accounts on this computer log in to it from another one, over the network. Installed the first time it is turned on.
ssh.server · System		 true, false false

Power

Setting Values Default
Closing the lid
What happens when the lid closes on battery.
power.lid		 suspend, lock, nothing, hibernate suspend
Closing the lid on the charger
What happens when the lid closes while plugged in.
power.lid-on-power		 suspend, lock, nothing, hibernate suspend
Closing the lid with a screen connected
What happens when the lid closes with another screen plugged in.
power.lid-docked		 suspend, lock, nothing, hibernate nothing
Power button
What pressing the power button does.
power.button		 menu, suspend, power-off, nothing menu
Battery percentage in the bar
Show the charge beside the battery icon.
power.bar-percentage		 true, false true
Time left in the bar
Show how long the battery lasts, or until it is full.
power.bar-time		 true, false false
Power draw in the bar
Show how many watts go in or out.
power.bar-power		 true, false false
Power mode in the bar
Show the power mode beside the battery icon.
power.bar-profile		 true, false false
Power mode
Save battery, balance, or give the processor everything.
power.mode		 power-saver, balanced, performance balanced
Charge limit
Stop charging below full, which keeps a battery that is mostly plugged in healthier.
power.charge-limit · Asks for an administrator's password		 100, 90, 80, 60 100

Notifications

Setting Values Default
Do not disturb
Show no new notifications until it is turned off, or until you log out.
notifications.do-not-disturb		 true, false false
Position
Which corner or edge of the screen notifications appear at.
notifications.position		 top-right, top-center, top-left, bottom-right, bottom-center, bottom-left top-right
Show for
How long a notification stays, when the program that sent it does not say.
notifications.timeout		 3, 6, 10, 15, 30, never 6

AI usage

Each provider installed has a switch, ai.provider-<id>; these are the ones shipped.

Setting Values Default
Anthropic API
What the organisation's API use has cost this month
ai.provider-anthropic-api		 true, false false
Claude
A Pro or Max subscription's 5-hour and weekly limits, as fresh as Claude Code's last use. Needs Claude Code, Anthropic's command-line tool
ai.provider-claude		 true, false false
ChatGPT (Codex)
A ChatGPT plan's 5-hour and weekly Codex limits. Read in a way its vendor does not document: it may stop working. Needs Codex, OpenAI's command-line tool
ai.provider-codex		 true, false false
Gemini CLI
How much of each Gemini model's allowance is used, as fresh as Gemini CLI's last use. Read in a way its vendor does not document: it may stop working. Needs Gemini CLI, Google's command-line tool
ai.provider-gemini		 true, false false
GitHub Copilot
The month's premium requests, what is left of them, and when they start again. Read in a way its vendor does not document: it may stop working
ai.provider-github-copilot		 true, false false
OpenAI API
What the organisation's API use has cost this month
ai.provider-openai-api		 true, false false
OpenRouter
What this key has spent this month, its limit, and the credits left
ai.provider-openrouter		 true, false false
Warn from
How much of a limit is used before the bar changes colour.
ai.warn-at		 50 to 95 % 80
Notify when a limit is near
A notification when a provider passes that, and one more when it is nearly used up.
ai.notify		 true, false true
Ask every
Minutes between askings. A provider that allows less often is asked less often, and none is asked while the screen is locked.
ai.refresh		 1 to 120 min 10
Stop asking on battery below
On battery with less than this left, nothing is asked and the last answers stay. Zero asks regardless.
ai.battery-floor		 0 to 100 % 20

Clipboard

Setting Values Default
Keep a history
Keep what you copy, to paste again from Super+Shift+V. Passwords and keys you copy are kept too, unless a password manager marks them secret.
clipboard.history		 true, false false
Keep it after logging out
Keep the history in a file only you can read, rather than in memory only.
clipboard.remember		 true, false false
Entries kept
The most the history keeps; the oldest go first. Pinned entries are not counted, and never go.
clipboard.size		 10 to 500 50
Forget it when the screen locks
Forget all but pinned entries whenever the screen locks.
clipboard.clear-on-lock		 true, false true
Clear the history
Forget everything but pinned entries, now.
clipboard.clear		 An action

Default applications

Setting Values Default
Web browser
Opens links and web pages.
default.browser		 The applications that open these
Mail
Opens email addresses and messages.
default.mail		 The applications that open these
File manager
Opens folders.
default.files		 The applications that open these
Text editor
Opens text files, configuration and code.
default.editor		 The applications that open these
Terminal
Runs commands, and the programs that run in one.
default.terminal		 The applications that open these
Images
Opens pictures and photos.
default.images		 The applications that open these
PDF
Opens PDF documents.
default.pdf		 The applications that open these
Video
Plays films and clips.
default.video		 The applications that open these
Music
Plays songs and sound files.
default.music		 The applications that open these
Archives
Opens zip files, tarballs and other archives.
default.archives		 The applications that open these
Calendar
Opens calendar files and subscriptions.
default.calendar		 The applications that open these

Startup

Each program that a package installs to start at login also has a switch here, named startup.<program>.

Setting Values Default
Add a program
Start an installed application every time you log in.
startup.add · Next login		 The applications installed

Screensaver

Setting Values Default
Screensaver
Which one appears, or a different one each time.
screensaver.show		 mountains, starfield, random random
Show the screensaver after
Minutes of stillness before it appears. Zero never shows it.
screensaver.after		 0 to 60 min 5
Turn the screen off after
Minutes of stillness before the screen turns off, counted from the last key or click. Zero leaves it on.
screensaver.blank-after		 0 to 60 min 10
Main screen
Where the screensaver shows while the others go dark. A screen that is not connected leaves it on the first.
screensaver.main-screen		 The screens connected
Show it on every screen
Off, it shows on the main screen and the others go dark.
screensaver.every-screen		 true, false false
Lock when the screen turns off
Ask for the password to get back in.
screensaver.lock		 true, false false

Screensaver: Mountains

Setting Values Default
See Mountains now
Show it until a key is pressed or the pointer moves.
screensaver-mountains.preview		 An action
How chunky the picture is
Physical pixels to one drawn pixel. One is no pixelation at all.
screensaver-mountains.block		 1 to 16 px 6
How much mist
Thicker mist hides more of the ranges behind it.
screensaver-mountains.mist		 0 to 200 % 100
How fast the ranges travel
As a percentage of its usual pace. The nearest range travels fastest and every range behind it is close to twice as slow again — nine to one from the front of the picture to the back, which is what gives it depth rather than flatness.
screensaver-mountains.speed		 0 to 300 % 100
How smoothly it scrolls
Frames a second. The ranges travel in a straight line, so fewer frames read as the skyline jumping rather than as slowness — and every frame costs a little battery.
screensaver-mountains.fps		 8 to 30 fps 12
An aircraft crossing
An aeroplane comes in from the distance and goes back out again, with its navigation lights on and its strobe going. It passes behind the mountains.
screensaver-mountains.aircraft		 true, false true
A balloon, now and then
Every few minutes a hot-air balloon drifts through, with its burner flaring. It is the shape the Commodore 64 manual taught everybody to draw.
screensaver-mountains.balloon		 true, false true

Screensaver: Starfield

Setting Values Default
See Starfield now
Show it until a key is pressed or the pointer moves.
screensaver-starfield.preview		 An action
How chunky the picture is
Physical pixels to one drawn pixel. One is no pixelation at all.
screensaver-starfield.block		 1 to 16 px 4
How smoothly it moves
Frames a second. Stars travel in straight lines, so fewer frames read as judder rather than as slowness — and every frame costs a little battery.
screensaver-starfield.fps		 8 to 30 fps 20
How fast the ship goes
As a percentage of its usual cruise.
screensaver-starfield.speed		 25 to 300 % 100
How many stars
As a percentage of what a screen this size suggests.
screensaver-starfield.stars		 20 to 300 % 100
Asteroid fields
Every minute or so, a field of rocks with a gap through it that the ship steers for.
screensaver-starfield.rocks		 true, false true
How chunky the rocks are
Cells across a rock. Fewer is coarser: the rocks are drawn as square blocks however smoothly they move.
screensaver-starfield.grain		 6 to 24 12

Date and time

Setting Values Default
Time zone
The time zone the clock shows, for everyone on this computer.
datetime.timezone · System · Next login		 Every time zone UTC
Set the time from the network
Keep the clock right by asking time servers on the internet.
datetime.network-time · System		 true, false false
24-hour clock
14:30 rather than 2:30 PM, in the top bar and on the login and lock screens.
datetime.24-hour · System		 true, false true

Updates

Setting Values Default
Release channel
Stable is released packages; dev is every change to main, and may break.
updates.channel · System · Next update		 stable, dev stable
Graphics for a virtual machine
In a virtual machine, draw with the host's graphics card: a second build of Mesa, from a repository of its own.
updates.guest-graphics · System · Next update		 true, false false

System

Setting Values Default
Computer name
What this computer is called on the network, in the terminal's prompt and on the login screen.
system.hostname · System		 Text, up to 64 characters alpymist
Password
Change the password this account logs in and unlocks with, in a terminal that asks for the old one first.
system.password		 An action
Administrator
Let this account change settings for everyone and install software. The last administrator cannot be turned off.
system.administrator · System · Next login		 true, false false
Unlock the screen with a fingerprint
Let an enrolled finger unlock the locked screen, beside the password. Fingers are added in Fingerprints.
system.fingerprint-lock · System		 true, false false
Answer administrator prompts with a fingerprint
Let an enrolled finger answer the window that asks for an administrator's password, beside the password. Not doas in a terminal, which takes only the password.
system.fingerprint-prompts · System		 true, false false
Log in with a fingerprint
Let an enrolled finger log in: press Enter with no password typed, then touch the reader. The keyring stays locked after such a login, so saved passwords and keys ask for the password when first used.
system.fingerprint-login · System		 true, false false
Hardware report
Show what this computer is made of and which drivers have it, in a terminal, and offer to open it as a GitHub issue to say what does not work. It holds no serial number, address or name, and nothing is sent unless you submit the issue.
system.report		 An action

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