using gnome keyboard shortcut to create new kitty tab and general key disenshittification

in gnome, kitty, ux, keyboard, note-to-self

I like to hit ctrl+alt+t to open a terminal instance in my gnome. Additionaly I want the keyboard-shortcut to open a new kitty instance OR if the instance already exists, it should create a new tab inside that window and bring the kitty window to the front.

To achieve this, first I need to enable remote control in kitty config (crtl+shift+f2)

allow_remote_control socket-only

Next, create the keyboard shortcut in gnome settings (Settings -> Keyboard -> View and Customize Shortcuts -> Custom Shortcuts):

sh -c "k=/home/martin/.local/kitty.app/bin/kitty; $k @ --to unix:@kt launch --type=tab && $k @ --to unix:@kt focus-window || $k --listen-on unix:@kt"

Replace "/home/martin/.local/kitty.app/bin/kitty" in the command with the actual path to your kitty binary.

Done! Of course you can use any other keyboard shortcut.

Some disenshittification

using keyd the copilot key can be made into regular RCTRL/Menu again:

# install keyd from copr
sudo dnf copr enable alternateved/keyd
sudo dnf install keyd -y

then run sudo mkdir /etc/keyd && sudo nano /etc/keyd/default.conf to create the config directory and the config file. Enter:

[ids]

*

[main]
f23+leftshift+leftmeta = timeout(rightcontrol, 500, S-f10)
capslock = leftmeta

Now run sudo systemctl enable keyd --now once and the service is permanently enabled and running. With single presses or combos the copilot key will act like the regular control key. Pressing it longer will open the context menu.