WASD-Pad: The Ambidextrous KWin Task Switcher

A WASD-key enabled thumbnail grid task switcher for KDE Plasma 6.

Easily traverse large thumbnail grids in 2D with the left hand (assumes QWERTY layout).

Coming v2: hands-free, telekinetic operation 😎.

Features

• WASD Navigation: Navigate the grid using W/A/S/D keys
  • W (or Up): Move up
  • A (or Left): Move left
  • S (or Down): Move down
  • D (or Right): Move right
• Compatible with Alt+Tab: Works with the default Plasma task switcher shortcut
• Compatible with Arrow Keys: Traditional arrow key navigation is still available

Installation

# Get the source code.
git clone https://github.com/boborrob/wasd-pad

# Go to the local repo. Make sure you're there.
cd wasd-pad
echo $PWD

# Create a custom tabbox directory where KWin expects to find it.
mkdir -p ~/.local/share/kwin/tabbox/wasd-pad/contents/ui

# Copy the files of interest from the local repo to the custom directory.
cp ./metadata.json ~/.local/share/kwin/tabbox/wasd-pad/
cp -r ./contents ~/.local/share/kwin/tabbox/wasd-pad/

Activation

1. Open System Settings → Window Management → Task Switcher
2. Under "Visualization", select "WASD-Pad"
3. Click Apply

Usage

1. Press Alt+Tab (or your configured task switcher shortcut)
2. Use W/A/S/D to navigate through the thumbnail grid
3. Press Tab to cycle forward, Shift+Tab to cycle backward

Requirements

• KDE Plasma 6.x
• KWin (the KDE window manager)

Files

wasd-pad/
├── metadata.json      # Package metadata
└── contents/
    └── ui/
        └── main.qml   # Main switcher UI

License

GPL-3.0 license