Hotkeys

Xenocept registers one global hotkey: the binding that summons (or hides) the capture overlay. Tool selection and editing actions inside the overlay are reached through the radial menu and a small set of fixed keyboard shortcuts.

The Global Hotkey

Default: Ctrl+Backquote on every platform — the same string is used on Linux, macOS, and Windows.

The binding is stored in /config/settings.json under the hotkey key (see Settings). It is editable from the Settings UI; setting it there persists to settings.json and re-registers the global shortcut immediately.

The Hotkey’s Behavior

Pressing the hotkey toggles the overlay:

If the overlay is hidden: capture a fresh screenshot of the monitor under the cursor and show the overlay.
If the overlay is visible: hide it.

Note that this is a toggle, not a “capture again” affordance. The overlay does not stack screenshots within a single session.

Modifier Syntax

The hotkey value is a Tauri-style shortcut string.

Examples that parse correctly:

Ctrl+Backquote
Ctrl+Shift+Backquote
Alt+F12
Super+Space

The exact token grammar is whatever the Tauri global-shortcut plugin accepts. If you set something that fails to register (key already taken, plugin rejects the syntax), Xenocept logs a warning at startup and falls back to the previous binding.

Fixed Editor Shortcuts (Inside the Overlay)

Once the overlay is open, the canvas listens for these keys:

Key	Action
`Ctrl/Cmd + Z`	Undo
`Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + Z`	Redo
`Escape`	Commit the in-progress text editor (if any), otherwise dismiss the overlay.
`Delete` / `Backspace`	Delete the current selection.
`PageUp` / `PageDown`	Move selection up/down in z-order.

The radial menu (held to summon, or its persistent variant) is how you switch tools. There are no alphabetic single-key shortcuts for tools.

Conflicts

If another app already owns your chosen binding, Tauri’s global_shortcut.register returns an error. Xenocept logs a warning to its diagnostics log and the hotkey is not active — you’ll need to pick a different combination via the Settings UI.

On Wayland, the desktop compositor decides which keys can be globally bound. Some compositors restrict bindings to a specific set; if registration keeps failing, try a function-key combination or an unusual modifier set.

Suspending the Hotkey

POST /api/v1/hotkey/suspend lets the frontend temporarily disable the hotkey. This is intended for in-app flows where the hotkey would interfere with what the user is doing (for example, when an inline text editor is open inside the overlay). The hotkey resumes when the suspend flag is cleared.

External tooling does not need to interact with this endpoint.

Keyboard shortcuts