Merge pull request #36 from yusufipk/generic-desktop-shortcuts

Stop telling every desktop that it is KDE

README.md

@@ -5,7 +5,8 @@ machine by default, a model cleans it up (dropping the *uh*s, the restarts, the
 missing punctuation), and the result lands in your clipboard and is pasted into
 whatever window you were typing in.
 
-Built for KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland, and runs on GNOME X11 and macOS too. No
+Built for KDE Plasma 6 on Wayland, and runs on GNOME X11, macOS and any other
+Linux desktop that will let it read the keyboard. No
 dependencies beyond system packages: just the Python standard library, 3.11 or
 newer, and PyQt6.
 
@@ -184,14 +185,19 @@ running.
   right-click to delete.
 - **Turkish and English interface**, following the system locale by default.
 
-## The global shortcuts need one logout
+## The global shortcuts, and the logout KDE needs
 
 KWin only reads `kglobalshortcutsrc` at startup, so the shortcuts `install.sh`
 writes will not fire until you log out and back in. Until then, Settings →
 Shortcuts → **built-in listener** reads `/dev/input` and catches the combination
 itself. The difference: it does not swallow the key, so `Ctrl+Space` also reaches
 the focused application (some editors will pop up autocomplete). The listener
-needs your user in the `input` group: `sudo usermod -aG input $USER`.
+needs your user in the `input` group: `sudo usermod -aG input $USER`. On GNOME
+the shortcut works the moment it is installed, and on a desktop that keeps no
+registry at all (i3, XFCE, sway and most others) the listener is the whole
+mechanism: nothing is installed, nothing waits for a logout, and Settings →
+Shortcuts shows the command to bind if you would rather your desktop owned the
+keys.
 
 ## Layout
 
@@ -211,7 +217,7 @@ vad.py            deciding whether a recording holds speech at all
 filetranscribe.py file transcription: ffmpeg, chunking, timestamps
 overlay.py        the corner indicator
 settings_ui.py    settings window
-hotkey.py         KDE shortcut installation, the evdev listener, Carbon on a Mac
+hotkey.py         the desktop's shortcut registry, the evdev listener, Carbon on a Mac
 paste.py          wl-clipboard and ydotool wrappers, pbcopy and CoreGraphics
 trayicon.py       the tray icons, drawn where there is no icon theme
 i18n.py           the string table

README.tr.md

@@ -4,7 +4,8 @@
 çevrilir, bir model transkripti temizler (ıı'lar, tekrarlar, eksik noktalama),
 sonuç panoya kopyalanır ve o an yazdığın pencereye yapıştırılır.
 
-KDE Plasma 6 / Wayland için yazıldı, GNOME X11 ve macOS'ta da çalışır. Sistem
+KDE Plasma 6 / Wayland için yazıldı; GNOME X11'de, macOS'ta ve klavyeyi
+okumasına izin veren diğer Linux masaüstlerinde de çalışır. Sistem
 paketleri dışında bağımlılığı yok: sadece Python standart kütüphanesi (3.11 veya
 üstü) ve PyQt6.
 
@@ -182,14 +183,18 @@ olmasını ister.
   silebilirsin.
 - **Türkçe ve İngilizce arayüz**, varsayılan olarak sistem dilini izler.
 
-## Global kısayollar için bir kez oturum kapatmak gerekir
+## Global kısayollar ve KDE'nin istediği oturum kapatma
 
 KWin `kglobalshortcutsrc` dosyasını yalnızca açılışta okur, yani `install.sh`'ın
 yazdığı kısayollar oturumu yeniden açana kadar tetiklenmez. O zamana kadar Ayarlar →
 Kısayollar → **yerleşik dinleyici** `/dev/input` üzerinden kombinasyonu kendisi
 yakalar. Tek farkı: tuşu yutmaz, yani `Ctrl+Space` odaktaki uygulamaya da iletilir
 (bazı editörlerde otomatik tamamlama açılabilir). Dinleyici kullanıcının `input`
-grubunda olmasını gerektirir: `sudo usermod -aG input $USER`.
+grubunda olmasını gerektirir: `sudo usermod -aG input $USER`. GNOME'da kısayol
+kurulduğu anda çalışır; hiç kayıt defteri tutmayan masaüstlerinde (i3, XFCE,
+sway ve çoğu diğeri) dinleyici mekanizmanın kendisidir: hiçbir şey kurulmaz,
+oturum kapatmak gerekmez, tuşları masaüstünün sahiplenmesini istersen Ayarlar →
+Kısayollar sekmesi bağlanacak komutu gösterir.
 
 ## Dosyalar
 
@@ -209,7 +214,7 @@ vad.py            kayıtta gerçekten konuşma var mı kararı
 filetranscribe.py dosyadan transkript: ffmpeg, parçalama, zaman damgaları
 overlay.py        köşedeki gösterge
 settings_ui.py    ayarlar penceresi
-hotkey.py         KDE kısayol kurulumu, evdev dinleyici, Mac'te Carbon
+hotkey.py         masaüstünün kısayol kaydı, evdev dinleyici, Mac'te Carbon
 paste.py          wl-clipboard ve ydotool sarmalayıcıları, pbcopy ve CoreGraphics
 trayicon.py       tepsi simgeleri, ikon teması olmayan yerler için çizilmiş
 i18n.py           metin tablosu

cli.py

@@ -35,9 +35,9 @@ import paste
 
 NOT_RUNNING = 3
 
-# Verbs that start the application when none is running, which is what the KDE
+# Verbs that start the application when none is running, which is what a
-# shortcut has always relied on: press the key on a fresh login and Dikte comes
+# shortcut registered with the desktop has always relied on: press the key on a
-# up recording.
+# fresh login and Dikte comes up recording.
 GUI_VERBS = {"", "settings", "toggle", "ask", "meeting"}
 
 # Asking a process that is not there to stop, cancel or quit is not a failure;

dikte.py

@@ -365,8 +365,8 @@ class Dikte:
 
     def _external(self, name, handler):
         # The built-in listener sees the key press the instant it happens, so a
-        # toggle arriving right behind one is the KDE shortcut catching up on
+        # toggle arriving right behind one is the desktop's own shortcut catching
-        # that same press. Its lateness is also the proof we were waiting for
+        # up on that same press. Its lateness is also the proof we were waiting for
         # that the shortcut is live, which leaves the listener with nothing to
         # do but double every press.
         # Where nothing was installed there is no shortcut to catch up, and

hotkey.py

@@ -1,11 +1,16 @@
 """Global shortcuts: the desktop's own registry, plus a listener of our own.
 
 Two things have to happen for a key combination to reach Dikte. Somewhere has
-to be told about it, and something has to be listening. On Linux that is the
+to be told about it, and something has to be listening. Two desktops keep a
-desktop's shortcut registry (KDE's file, GNOME's gsettings) and a reader of
+registry we can write into and read back, and something outside Dikte acts on
-/dev/input for the wait until the registry is live. macOS has no registry to
+it: KDE has a file, GNOME has gsettings. There the /dev/input listener only
-write into: the application asks Carbon for the combination while it runs, so
+covers the wait until the registry is live.
-there the listener is not a fallback but the whole mechanism.
+
+Everywhere else there is nothing to write into, so Dikte holds the combination
+itself for as long as it runs: macOS asks Carbon for it, and every other Linux
+session (i3, XFCE, Cinnamon, sway, whatever the session calls itself) leans on
+the /dev/input listener. That is not a fallback there, it is the mechanism, so
+nothing about installing or removing a registry entry should be offered.
 """
 
 import ast
@@ -105,13 +110,23 @@ def parse_shortcut(text):
     return mods, key
 
 
+# What the running listener holds. Where there is no registry this is the whole
+# of "installed", and it lasts as long as the process does: there is no file,
+# and no other program to read one. Written by the listener that is in use,
+# read by the status line, so what Settings shows is what is actually being
+# listened for.
+_REGISTERED = {}
+
+
 # --- built-in listener ----------------------------------------------------
 
 class EvdevHotkey(QObject):
     """Catches global shortcuts by reading /dev/input directly.
 
     It does not swallow the key; the focused application sees the combination
-    too. This is the fallback that works before the KDE shortcut goes live.
+    too. On KDE that is the price of not waiting for the next login, and the
+    registry takes over once it is live. On a desktop with no registry at all
+    it is the only way the keys arrive, and the price is permanent.
     """
 
     triggered = pyqtSignal(str)   # the name the binding was registered under
@@ -154,6 +169,10 @@ class EvdevHotkey(QObject):
             ))
             return False
         self._bindings = parsed
+        for name, shortcut in bindings.items():
+            spec = SHORTCUTS.get(name)
+            if spec and shortcut:
+                _REGISTERED[spec.desktop_id] = shortcut
         self._stop.clear()
         self._thread = threading.Thread(target=self._loop, args=(devices,), daemon=True)
         self._thread.start()
@@ -164,6 +183,7 @@ class EvdevHotkey(QObject):
         if self._thread:
             self._thread.join(timeout=1.5)
         self._thread = None
+        _REGISTERED.clear()
 
     def _open_devices(self):
         fds = []
@@ -246,12 +266,6 @@ HOTKEY_PRESSED = 5                 # kEventHotKeyPressed
 PARAMETER_ANY = "----"             # kEventParamDirectObject / typeWildCard
 HOTKEY_ID_PARAMETER = "hkid"
 
-# What the running listener holds. This is the whole of "installed" on macOS,
-# and it lasts as long as the process does: there is no file, and no other
-# program to read one. Written by CarbonHotkey.start(), read by the status
-# line, so what Settings shows is what the Mac actually gave us.
-_REGISTERED = {}
-
 
 def parse_macos_shortcut(text):
     """'Cmd+Space' -> (256, 49), or (None, None) when unusable."""
@@ -428,13 +442,39 @@ def _carbon():
 
 # --- the desktop's own shortcut -------------------------------------------
 
+# The four ways a combination can reach Dikte. Everything below asks backend()
+# rather than looking at the session itself, so the name shown, the status read
+# back, what Install writes and what the installer promises cannot disagree
+# about which one this session got.
+KDE = "kde"
+GNOME = "gnome"
+MACOS = "macos"
+LISTENER = "listener"
+
+
 def _macos():
     return sys.platform == "darwin"
 
 
-def _gnome():
+def backend():
-    desktop = os.environ.get("XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP", "").lower()
+    """Which shortcut mechanism this session has.
-    return "gnome" in desktop and shutil.which("gsettings") is not None
+
+    A desktop only counts when the program that writes its registry is
+    installed too: a GNOME session without gsettings, or a Plasma one without
+    kwriteconfig6, has nothing we can register into. Anything unrecognised is
+    the listener's, which is every other Linux desktop and needs nothing from
+    the session at all.
+    """
+    if _macos():
+        return MACOS
+    names = os.environ.get("XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP", "").lower().split(":")
+    names = [name.strip() for name in names if name.strip()]
+    if any("gnome" in name for name in names) and shutil.which("gsettings"):
+        return GNOME
+    if (any("kde" in name or "plasma" in name for name in names)
+            and shutil.which("kwriteconfig6")):
+        return KDE
+    return LISTENER
 
 
 def _gnome_path(desktop_id):
@@ -581,55 +621,77 @@ def installs_shortcuts():
     """Whether this system keeps a shortcut registry to write into.
 
     KDE and GNOME do, and something outside Dikte reads it, so the combination
-    survives Dikte being closed. macOS does not: there is nothing to install,
+    survives Dikte being closed. macOS and the plain listener do not: there is
-    nothing to remove, and Settings should not offer either.
+    nothing to install, nothing to remove, and Settings should not offer either.
     """
-    return not _macos()
+    return backend() in (KDE, GNOME)
 
 
 def shortcut_needs_restart():
     """Whether an installed shortcut waits for the next login before it works.
 
     KWin reads kglobalshortcutsrc once, when it starts. GNOME picks a binding
-    up as it is written, and macOS never had one to write.
+    up as it is written, and the other two never had one to write.
     """
-    return not _macos() and not _gnome()
+    return backend() == KDE
 
 
 def install_shortcut(shortcut, exec_command, name="Dikte: start/stop recording",
                      desktop_id=DESKTOP_ID):
-    if _macos():
+    which = backend()
-        _REGISTERED[desktop_id] = shortcut
+    if which == GNOME:
+        return install_gnome_shortcut(shortcut, exec_command, name, desktop_id)
+    if which == KDE:
+        return install_kde_shortcut(shortcut, exec_command, name, desktop_id)
+    _REGISTERED[desktop_id] = shortcut
+    if which == MACOS:
         return True, t(
             "Shortcut saved: {shortcut}\nDikte holds this one itself while it "
             "is running, so it works as soon as the settings are saved.",
             shortcut=shortcut,
         )
-    if _gnome():
+    return True, t(
-        return install_gnome_shortcut(shortcut, exec_command, name, desktop_id)
+        "Shortcut saved: {shortcut}\n{desktop} has no shortcut registry to "
-    return install_kde_shortcut(shortcut, exec_command, name, desktop_id)
+        "install into, so Dikte listens for this one itself while it is "
+        "running. It works as soon as the settings are saved.",
+        shortcut=shortcut, desktop=desktop_name(),
+    )
 
 
 def remove_shortcut(desktop_id=DESKTOP_ID):
-    if _macos():
+    which = backend()
-        _REGISTERED.pop(desktop_id, None)
+    if which == GNOME:
-    elif _gnome():
         remove_gnome_shortcut(desktop_id)
-    else:
+    elif which == KDE:
         remove_kde_shortcut(desktop_id)
+    else:
+        _REGISTERED.pop(desktop_id, None)
 
 
 def shortcut_status(desktop_id=DESKTOP_ID):
-    if _macos():
+    which = backend()
-        return _REGISTERED.get(desktop_id)
+    if which == GNOME:
-    return (gnome_shortcut_status(desktop_id) if _gnome()
+        return gnome_shortcut_status(desktop_id)
-            else kde_shortcut_status(desktop_id))
+    if which == KDE:
+        return kde_shortcut_status(desktop_id)
+    return _REGISTERED.get(desktop_id)
 
 
 def desktop_name():
-    if _macos():
+    """What to call this session in the interface.
+
+    The listener's desktops get the name the session gave itself, so an i3 user
+    is told about i3 rather than about a KDE that is not running.
+    """
+    which = backend()
+    if which == MACOS:
         return "macOS"
-    return "GNOME" if _gnome() else "KDE"
+    if which == GNOME:
+        return "GNOME"
+    if which == KDE:
+        return "KDE"
+    name = os.environ.get("XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP", "").split(":")[0].strip()
+    return name or "This desktop"
 
 
 # --- KDE ------------------------------------------------------------------
@@ -713,9 +775,12 @@ def kde_shortcut_status(desktop_id=DESKTOP_ID):
 
 def conflicting_shortcuts(shortcut, desktop_id=DESKTOP_ID):
     """Names of other KDE entries bound to the same combination."""
-    if _macos():
+    if backend() != KDE:
-        # There is no list to read: macOS answers the question by refusing the
+        # Nowhere else has a list to read. macOS answers the question by
-        # registration, which CarbonHotkey reports when it asks for the key.
+        # refusing the registration, which CarbonHotkey reports when it asks
+        # for the key; the other two would only be reading a file their session
+        # never looks at, and a leftover one from a Plasma install the user has
+        # since left would refuse perfectly good combinations.
         return []
     try:
         text = SHORTCUTS_FILE.read_text(encoding="utf-8")

i18n.py

@@ -308,6 +308,8 @@ TR = {
     "Registered in KDE: {shortcut}": "KDE'de kayıtlı: {shortcut}",
     "No KDE shortcut installed.": "KDE kısayolu kurulu değil.",
     "Registered in {desktop}: {shortcut}": "{desktop}'da kayıtlı: {shortcut}",
+    "Held by Dikte while it runs: {shortcut}":
+        "Dikte çalıştığı sürece tutuyor: {shortcut}",
     "No global shortcut installed.": "Global kısayol kurulu değil.",
     "No global shortcut installed. The tray menu starts a meeting too.":
         "Global kısayol kurulu değil. Toplantı tepsi menüsünden de başlatılabilir.",
@@ -351,6 +353,18 @@ TR = {
     "meantime.":
         "Dikte bu kombinasyonları çalışırken macOS'tan kendisi ister. Hiçbir şey "
         "kurulmaz ve o sırada başka hiçbir uygulama bu tuşları almaz.",
+    "{desktop} keeps no shortcut registry, so Dikte listens for these "
+    "combinations itself while it is running. Your user has to be able to read "
+    "/dev/input for that, and the focused application receives the keys as "
+    "well. To have the desktop own them instead, bind this command in its own "
+    "configuration, with the last word swapped for pause, cancel, ask or "
+    "meeting:":
+        "{desktop} kısayol kaydı tutmaz, bu yüzden Dikte bu kombinasyonları "
+        "çalıştığı sürece kendisi dinler. Bunun için kullanıcının /dev/input'u "
+        "okuyabilmesi gerekir, ayrıca tuşlar odaktaki uygulamaya da iletilir. "
+        "Tuşları masaüstünün sahiplenmesini istersen, son kelimeyi pause, "
+        "cancel, ask veya meeting ile değiştirerek şu komutu kendi "
+        "yapılandırmasında bir tuşa bağla:",
     "Shortcut conflict": "Kısayol çakışması",
     "{shortcut} is also used by:\n\n{list}\n\nInstall anyway?":
         "{shortcut} şu girdilerde de kullanılıyor:\n\n{list}\n\nYine de kurulsun mu?",
@@ -367,6 +381,12 @@ TR = {
     "running, so it works as soon as the settings are saved.":
         "Kısayol kaydedildi: {shortcut}\nDikte bunu çalıştığı sürece kendisi "
         "tutar, yani ayarlar kaydedilir kaydedilmez çalışır.",
+    "Shortcut saved: {shortcut}\n{desktop} has no shortcut registry to install "
+    "into, so Dikte listens for this one itself while it is running. It works "
+    "as soon as the settings are saved.":
+        "Kısayol kaydedildi: {shortcut}\n{desktop} kurulacak bir kısayol kaydı "
+        "tutmadığı için Dikte bunu çalıştığı sürece kendisi dinler. Ayarlar "
+        "kaydedilir kaydedilmez çalışır.",
     "Could not reach the macOS shortcut service: {error}":
         "macOS kısayol servisine ulaşılamadı: {error}",
     "macOS would not give Dikte {shortcut}; another application already holds it.":

install.sh

@@ -163,11 +163,28 @@ if python3 -c 'import PyQt6.QtWidgets' 2>/dev/null; then
   if [[ -n "$CANCEL_SHORTCUT" ]]; then
     register cancel "$CANCEL_SHORTCUT" "Discard the recording"
   fi
-  if [[ "${XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP:-}" != *[Gg][Nn][Oo][Mm][Ee]* ]]; then
+  # Which of the three mechanisms this session got is Dikte's answer to give,
-    warn "KWin only reads these at startup, so they go live after your next"
+  # not this script's. Guessing from XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP here is how every
-    say  "login. Until then open Settings → Shortcuts and turn on the"
+  # session that was neither GNOME nor KDE used to be promised a KWin that was
-    say  "built-in listener to use them right away."
+  # never running.
-  fi
+  case "$("$PY" -c 'import sys; sys.path.insert(0, sys.argv[1]); import hotkey; print(hotkey.backend())' "$DIR" 2>/dev/null)" in
+    kde)
+      warn "KWin only reads these at startup, so they go live after your next"
+      say  "login. Until then open Settings → Shortcuts and turn on the"
+      say  "built-in listener to use them right away."
+      ;;
+    gnome) ;;
+    *)
+      if id -nG 2>/dev/null | tr ' ' '\n' | grep -qx input; then
+        say "Your desktop keeps no shortcut registry, so Dikte listens for these"
+        say "keys itself while it is running."
+      else
+        warn "Your desktop keeps no shortcut registry, so Dikte listens for these"
+        say  "keys itself, and it cannot read /dev/input yet:"
+        say  "  sudo usermod -aG input $(id -un)   (then log out and back in)"
+      fi
+      ;;
+  esac
 else
   warn "PyQt6 is missing, so no shortcut was registered. Install it, then run:"
   say  "dikte shortcut install toggle --combo '$SHORTCUT'"

ipc.py

@@ -28,7 +28,11 @@ def script_path():
 
 
 def command_for(verb):
-    """The command line a KDE shortcut runs for one of the verbs."""
+    """The command line a desktop's shortcut runs for one of the verbs.
+
+    Also what Settings shows an i3 or XFCE user to paste into their own
+    configuration, since there is no registry there for Dikte to write into.
+    """
     return f"{sys.executable} {script_path()} {verb}"
 
 

settings_ui.py

@@ -1363,15 +1363,34 @@ class SettingsWindow(QDialog):
             )
         elif hotkey.installs_shortcuts():
             explanation = t("The shortcut starts working as soon as it is installed.")
-        else:
+        elif hotkey.backend() == hotkey.MACOS:
             explanation = t(
                 "Dikte asks macOS for these combinations itself, while it is "
                 "running. Nothing is installed, and no other application receives "
                 "them in the meantime."
             )
+        else:
+            # The desktops nobody writes a backend for. Saying "installed" here
+            # would be the old bug in words: there is no registry, the listener
+            # is the whole mechanism, and both of its costs are permanent
+            # rather than lasting until the next login.
+            explanation = t(
+                "{desktop} keeps no shortcut registry, so Dikte listens for "
+                "these combinations itself while it is running. Your user has "
+                "to be able to read /dev/input for that, and the focused "
+                "application receives the keys as well. To have the desktop own "
+                "them instead, bind this command in its own configuration, with "
+                "the last word swapped for pause, cancel, ask or meeting:",
+                desktop=hotkey.desktop_name(),
+            )
         note = QLabel(explanation)
         note.setWordWrap(True)
         layout.addWidget(note)
+        if hotkey.backend() == hotkey.LISTENER:
+            command = QLineEdit(ipc.command_for("toggle"))
+            command.setReadOnly(True)
+            command.setCursorPosition(0)
+            layout.addWidget(command)
         layout.addStretch(1)
         return page
 
@@ -1442,7 +1461,7 @@ class SettingsWindow(QDialog):
         """The field a global shortcut is typed or picked in."""
         box = QComboBox()
         box.setEditable(True)
-        box.addItems(MAC_SHORTCUTS if hotkey.desktop_name() == "macOS"
+        box.addItems(MAC_SHORTCUTS if hotkey.backend() == hotkey.MACOS
                      else SHORTCUTS)
         box.setCurrentText("")
         if placeholder:
@@ -1491,8 +1510,9 @@ class SettingsWindow(QDialog):
     def _install_buttons(install_handler, remove_handler):
         """Install and Remove, where this system has somewhere to install into.
 
-        macOS has not: Dikte asks for the combination itself while it runs, so
+        macOS has not, and neither has a Linux desktop that keeps no registry:
-        there is nothing to write down and nothing to take back out.
+        Dikte holds the combination itself while it runs, so there is nothing
+        to write down and nothing to take back out.
         """
         if not hotkey.installs_shortcuts():
             return []
@@ -1990,11 +2010,16 @@ class SettingsWindow(QDialog):
     def _refresh_shortcut_status(self, which):
         _box, status, missing = self._shortcut_rows[which]
         current = hotkey.shortcut_status(hotkey.SHORTCUTS[which].desktop_id)
-        status.setText(
+        if not current:
-            t("Registered in {desktop}: {shortcut}",
+            status.setText(missing)
-              desktop=hotkey.desktop_name(), shortcut=current) if current
+        elif hotkey.installs_shortcuts():
-            else missing
+            status.setText(t("Registered in {desktop}: {shortcut}",
-        )
+                             desktop=hotkey.desktop_name(), shortcut=current))
+        else:
+            # Nothing was written anywhere: this is the combination the running
+            # process is holding, which is the only sense in which it exists.
+            status.setText(t("Held by Dikte while it runs: {shortcut}",
+                             shortcut=current))
 
     def _cleanup_provider_changed(self):
         provider = self.cleanup_provider.currentData() or "openrouter"

tests/test_hotkey.py

@@ -174,38 +174,69 @@ class Bindings(DikteTest):
 
 
 class Chooser(DikteTest):
-    """Which desktop is asked to register the shortcut."""
+    """Which mechanism the session gets, and everything keyed off that."""
 
     def setUp(self):
         super().setUp()
         self.patch_attr(hotkey.sys, "platform", "linux")
+        self.addCleanup(hotkey._REGISTERED.clear)
 
     @contextlib.contextmanager
-    def under(self, desktop, has_gsettings=True):
+    def under(self, desktop, tools=True):
-        """A session that says it is this desktop, with or without gsettings."""
+        """A session that says it is this desktop, with or without its tools."""
         with mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP": desktop}), \
                 mock.patch.object(hotkey.shutil, "which",
-                                  return_value="/usr/bin/gsettings"
+                                  return_value="/usr/bin/tool" if tools else None):
-                                  if has_gsettings else None):
             yield
 
     def test_gnome_when_the_session_says_so_and_gsettings_is_there(self):
         with self.under("GNOME"):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.backend(), hotkey.GNOME)
             self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "GNOME")
 
-    def test_kde_otherwise(self):
+    def test_kde_when_the_session_says_so_and_kwriteconfig_is_there(self):
         with self.under("KDE"):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.backend(), hotkey.KDE)
             self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "KDE")
 
-    def test_a_gnome_session_with_no_gsettings_falls_back(self):
+    def test_a_desktop_with_no_registry_is_the_listeners(self):
-        """Nothing to write the binding with, so KDE's file is the only try."""
+        """The bug this replaced: i3 was told KDE, and KWin was not running."""
-        with self.under("GNOME", has_gsettings=False):
+        for desktop in ("i3", "XFCE", "X-Cinnamon", "sway", "MATE", ""):
-            self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "KDE")
+            with self.subTest(desktop=desktop), self.under(desktop):
+                self.assertEqual(hotkey.backend(), hotkey.LISTENER)
+
+    def test_the_desktop_that_has_no_registry_is_called_by_its_own_name(self):
+        with self.under("i3"):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "i3")
+        with self.under("XFCE:GNOME-Flashback", tools=False):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "XFCE")
+        with self.under(""):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "This desktop")
+
+    def test_a_gnome_session_with_no_gsettings_falls_back_to_the_listener(self):
+        """Nothing to write the binding with, and KDE's file is not an answer:
+        KWin is no more running here than it is on i3."""
+        with self.under("GNOME", tools=False):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.backend(), hotkey.LISTENER)
 
     def test_the_desktop_is_matched_loosely(self):
         for desktop in ("GNOME", "ubuntu:GNOME", "gnome"):
             with self.subTest(desktop=desktop), self.under(desktop):
-                self.assertEqual(hotkey.desktop_name(), "GNOME")
+                self.assertEqual(hotkey.backend(), hotkey.GNOME)
+        for desktop in ("KDE", "KDE:plasma", "plasma"):
+            with self.subTest(desktop=desktop), self.under(desktop):
+                self.assertEqual(hotkey.backend(), hotkey.KDE)
+
+    def test_only_a_registry_is_installed_into_and_only_kwin_waits(self):
+        with self.under("KDE"):
+            self.assertTrue(hotkey.installs_shortcuts())
+            self.assertTrue(hotkey.shortcut_needs_restart())
+        with self.under("GNOME"):
+            self.assertTrue(hotkey.installs_shortcuts())
+            self.assertFalse(hotkey.shortcut_needs_restart())
+        with self.under("i3"):
+            self.assertFalse(hotkey.installs_shortcuts())
+            self.assertFalse(hotkey.shortcut_needs_restart())
 
     def test_installing_goes_to_whichever_it_is(self):
         with self.under("GNOME"), \
@@ -220,6 +251,20 @@ class Chooser(DikteTest):
             hotkey.install_shortcut("Ctrl+Space", "dikte toggle")
         kde.assert_called_once()
 
+    def test_a_desktop_with_no_registry_installs_nothing_anywhere(self):
+        with self.under("i3"), \
+                mock.patch.object(hotkey, "install_kde_shortcut") as kde, \
+                mock.patch.object(hotkey, "install_gnome_shortcut") as gnome:
+            ok, message = hotkey.install_shortcut("Ctrl+Space", "dikte toggle")
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.shortcut_status(), "Ctrl+Space")
+            hotkey.remove_shortcut()
+            self.assertIsNone(hotkey.shortcut_status())
+        kde.assert_not_called()
+        gnome.assert_not_called()
+        self.assertTrue(ok)
+        self.assertIn("i3", message)
+        self.assertNotIn("log out", message)
+
     def test_removing_and_reading_back_go_to_the_same_one(self):
         with self.under("GNOME"), \
                 mock.patch.object(hotkey, "remove_gnome_shortcut") as remove, \
@@ -230,6 +275,17 @@ class Chooser(DikteTest):
         remove.assert_called_once()
         status.assert_called_once()
 
+    def test_only_kde_has_a_list_of_conflicts_to_read(self):
+        """A leftover kglobalshortcutsrc from a Plasma the user has since left
+        would otherwise refuse combinations nothing is holding."""
+        rc = self.path("kglobalshortcutsrc")
+        rc.write_text(SHORTCUTS_RC, encoding="utf-8")
+        self.patch_attr(hotkey, "SHORTCUTS_FILE", rc)
+        with self.under("KDE"):
+            self.assertTrue(hotkey.conflicting_shortcuts("Meta+W"))
+        with self.under("i3"):
+            self.assertEqual(hotkey.conflicting_shortcuts("Meta+W"), [])
+
 
 @linux_only
 class GnomeAccelerator(DikteTest):
@@ -372,6 +428,12 @@ class KdeShortcut(DikteTest):
         self.rc = self.path("kglobalshortcutsrc")
         self.patch_attr(hotkey, "APPLICATIONS_DIR", self.apps)
         self.patch_attr(hotkey, "SHORTCUTS_FILE", self.rc)
+        # A Plasma session with kwriteconfig6 on it, whatever the machine
+        # running the suite happens to be logged into.
+        session = mock.patch.dict(os.environ, {"XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP": "KDE"})
+        session.start()
+        self.addCleanup(session.stop)
+        self.patch_attr(hotkey.shutil, "which", lambda _name: "/usr/bin/tool")
 
     def test_installing_writes_a_desktop_file_kwin_will_launch(self):
         with mock.patch.object(subprocess, "run", return_value=FakeCompleted()):

tests/test_ui.py

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ save, so a setting added to one half and not the other is silently reset the
 next time anybody presses Save. That is the failure this catches.
 """
 
+import os
 import sys
 import unittest
 from typing import ClassVar
@@ -107,13 +108,21 @@ class Settings(DikteTest):
     # one. Everything else about the window is the same on both.
     changed = CHANGED
     platform = "linux"
+    # A session with no shortcut registry, which is what most Linux desktops
+    # are. The subclasses below stand on the other two. Pinned rather than
+    # inherited from whatever the machine running the suite is logged into,
+    # since half the shortcut tab is built from the answer.
+    desktop = "i3"
+    tools: ClassVar[tuple] = ()
 
     def setUp(self):
         super().setUp()
         # No pactl, no model lists over the network, and no modal dialogue
         # waiting for somebody to press OK.
         self.enterContext(mock.patch.object(sys, "platform", self.platform))
-        self.enterContext(only_these_tools())
+        self.enterContext(only_these_tools(*self.tools))
+        self.enterContext(mock.patch.dict(
+            os.environ, {"XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP": self.desktop}))
         self.enterContext(mock.patch.object(QMessageBox, "information"))
         self.enterContext(mock.patch.object(settings_ui.SettingsWindow,
                                             "_load_models"))
@@ -254,6 +263,31 @@ class Settings(DikteTest):
         window = self.window(cfg.Config())
         self.assertEqual(set(window._shortcut_rows), set(hotkey.SHORTCUTS))
 
+    def shortcut_tab_text(self, window):
+        """Everything the shortcut tab says, as one string."""
+        return "\n".join(
+            widget.text() for widget in
+            window.findChildren(settings_ui.QLabel)
+            + window.findChildren(settings_ui.QLineEdit)
+            + window.findChildren(settings_ui.QPushButton)
+        )
+
+    def test_the_shortcut_tab_talks_about_this_session_and_no_other(self):
+        """A desktop with no registry is told the truth: nothing is installed
+        anywhere, Dikte is listening, and here is the command to bind if the
+        desktop should own the keys instead. It used to be promised a KWin that
+        was not running."""
+        window = self.window(cfg.Config())
+        text = self.shortcut_tab_text(window)
+        self.assertIn("i3 keeps no shortcut registry", text)
+        self.assertNotIn("KWin", text)
+        self.assertIn("dikte.py toggle", text)
+        # Not a choice to offer where it is the only mechanism there is.
+        self.assertTrue(window.evdev_enabled.isHidden())
+        self.assertFalse([button for button in
+                          window.findChildren(settings_ui.QPushButton)
+                          if "install" in button.text().lower()])
+
     def test_emptying_a_shortcut_turns_it_off_but_not_the_toggle(self):
         """The application is unusable without the toggle, so that one box
         falls back. The rest stay empty, which is how they are switched off.
@@ -415,7 +449,16 @@ class MacSettings(Settings):
     def test_the_listener_is_not_offered_as_a_choice(self):
         """It is the whole mechanism there; turning it off would leave nothing."""
         window = self.window(cfg.Config())
-        self.assertFalse(window.evdev_enabled.isVisible())
+        self.assertTrue(window.evdev_enabled.isHidden())
+
+    def test_the_shortcut_tab_talks_about_this_session_and_no_other(self):
+        """Carbon holds the keys here, so there is no command to bind and no
+        /dev/input to be let into."""
+        window = self.window(cfg.Config())
+        text = self.shortcut_tab_text(window)
+        self.assertIn("Dikte asks macOS for these combinations", text)
+        self.assertNotIn("KWin", text)
+        self.assertNotIn("dikte.py toggle", text)
 
     def test_the_paste_keys_on_offer_are_the_ones_a_mac_uses(self):
         window = self.window(cfg.Config())
@@ -424,6 +467,27 @@ class MacSettings(Settings):
         self.assertEqual(offered, paste.MACOS.shortcuts)
 
 
+class KdeSettings(Settings):
+    """The same window on the one desktop that keeps a registry and makes you
+    wait for it. Nothing here is about KDE: it is the rest of the window,
+    checked on the platform where Install, Remove and the listener's own
+    checkbox are all on screen."""
+
+    desktop = "KDE"
+    tools: ClassVar[tuple] = ("kwriteconfig6",)
+
+    def test_the_shortcut_tab_talks_about_this_session_and_no_other(self):
+        window = self.window(cfg.Config())
+        text = self.shortcut_tab_text(window)
+        self.assertIn("KWin only reads shortcut settings at startup", text)
+        self.assertIn("Install as a KDE shortcut", text)
+        self.assertNotIn("keeps no shortcut registry", text)
+        self.assertNotIn("dikte.py toggle", text)
+        # Here it is a choice: the wait for the next login, or the key press
+        # reaching the focused application as well.
+        self.assertFalse(window.evdev_enabled.isHidden())
+
+
 class Overlay(DikteTest):
     def overlay(self, **kwargs):
         widget = overlay_module.Overlay(**kwargs)

uninstall.sh

@@ -85,17 +85,24 @@ echo "──────────────────"
 
 # 1. Global shortcuts ------------------------------------------------------
 # Handed to Dikte while it can still run, because it is the half that knows
-# whether they went into KDE's kglobalshortcutsrc or GNOME's gsettings. macOS
+# whether they went into KDE's kglobalshortcutsrc, GNOME's gsettings, or
-# keeps no registry: the combinations are held by the running process and are
+# nowhere at all. macOS and the desktops with no registry hold the combinations
-# gone the moment it stops, so there is nothing here to take back.
+# in the running process, where they are gone the moment it stops, so there is
+# nothing there to take back.
 if ((MACOS)); then
   say "Nothing to unregister: macOS shortcuts live only while Dikte runs."
 elif [[ -n "$PY" ]] && "$PY" -c 'import PyQt6.QtWidgets' 2>/dev/null; then
   for which in toggle pause cancel ask meeting; do
     "$PY" "$DIR/dikte.py" shortcut remove "$which" >/dev/null 2>&1 || true
   done
-  ok "Global shortcuts unregistered"
+  case "$("$PY" -c 'import sys; sys.path.insert(0, sys.argv[1]); import hotkey; print(hotkey.backend())' "$DIR" 2>/dev/null)" in
-  say "KWin reads that file at startup, so the keys are free after your next login."
+    kde)
+      ok  "Global shortcuts unregistered"
+      say "KWin reads that file at startup, so the keys are free after your next login."
+      ;;
+    gnome) ok "Global shortcuts unregistered" ;;
+    *) say "Nothing to unregister: Dikte listened for the keys itself, and they stop with it." ;;
+  esac
 else
   warn "PyQt6 is missing, so the shortcuts were left registered."
   say  "Remove them in your desktop's shortcut settings."

update.sh

@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ warn() { printf '  \033[33m!\033[0m %s\n' "$1"; }
 die()  { printf '  \033[31m✗\033[0m %s\n' "$1"; echo; exit 1; }
 
 # The combination stored in the settings, which is where Dikte itself reads it
-# from and the one place that is the same on KDE and on GNOME.
+# from and the one place that is the same whichever mechanism the session has.
 setting() {
   [[ -n "$PY" ]] || return 0
   "$PY" "$DIR/dikte.py" config get "$1" 2>/dev/null || true