Skip to main content

Documentation Index

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/zirconium-dev/zirconium/llms.txt

Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

​
Overview

DankMaterialShell (DMS) is a modern, Material Design-inspired desktop shell built with QuickShell. It provides the user interface layer for Zirconium, including panels, launchers, and the login greeter.
DMS is installed from the avengemedia/dms-git COPR repository and depends on QuickShell from the avengemedia/danklinux repository.

​
Components

DankMaterialShell consists of several integrated components:

​
dms

The main shell component that provides:
  • Desktop panels and taskbar
  • System tray integration
  • Notifications
  • Workspace indicators
  • Media controls
Systemd service: dms.service (user service) 
# Check DMS status
systemctl status --user dms.service

# Restart DMS
systemctl restart --user dms.service

​
dms-cli

Command-line interface for interacting with DMS: 
# General usage
dms <command> [options]

# Sync greeter settings
dms greeter sync

# Check DMS status
dms status

# Reload configuration
dms reload

​
dms-greeter

The login greeter that launches your Niri session. Configuration: /etc/greetd/config.toml 
[general]
service = "greetd-spawn"

[terminal]
vt = 1

[default_session]
command = "dms-greeter --command niri"
user = "greeter"

​
Greeter user and cache

The greeter runs as a dedicated system user (UID 767) with its own cache directory: 
# Greeter user configuration
# /usr/lib/sysusers.d/dms-greeter.conf
g greeter 767
u greeter 767 "Greetd greeter"
Greeter configuration is symlinked from zdots: 
# /usr/lib/tmpfiles.d/99-dms-greeter.conf
L /var/cache/dms-greeter/settings.json - greeter greeter - /usr/share/zirconium/zdots/dot_config/DankMaterialShell/settings.json
L /var/cache/dms-greeter/session.json - greeter greeter - /usr/share/zirconium/zdots/private_dot_local/state/DankMaterialShell/session.json
L /var/cache/dms-greeter/dms-colors.json - greeter greeter - /usr/share/zirconium/zdots/dot_cache/DankMaterialShell/dms-colors.json
L /var/cache/dms-greeter/colors.json - greeter greeter - /usr/share/zirconium/zdots/dot_cache/DankMaterialShell/dms-colors.json

​
Updating greeter configuration

After changing greeter settings: 
zjust update-greeter
# Equivalent to: dms greeter sync

​
dgop

DankGnomeOnlineProfiles - integration component for online accounts.
dgop provides seamless integration with GNOME Online Accounts for cloud services and email.

​
dsearch

Fast application and file search component integrated into the DMS launcher. Features:
  • Application launching
  • File indexing and search
  • Command execution
  • Calculator functionality

​
Configuration files

DMS configuration is managed through chezmoi from zdots:

​
User configuration

  • Settings: ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/settings.json
  • Session state: ~/.local/state/DankMaterialShell/session.json
  • Color cache: ~/.cache/DankMaterialShell/dms-colors.json

​
Managed by zdots

All DMS configuration files are automatically synchronized from: 
/usr/share/zirconium/zdots/dot_config/DankMaterialShell/
Manual changes to DMS configuration files will be overwritten by chezmoi updates unless you disable automatic dotfile synchronization.

​
Configuration options

​
Appearance and theming

DMS uses Material Design principles with color theming generated by matugen:
  • Accent colors: Set system-wide via GNOME settings
  • Color scheme: Automatically generated from wallpaper or accent color
  • Panel styling: Configured in settings.json

​
Setting accent color

zjust set-accent-color
# Interactive picker: blue, teal, green, yellow, orange, red, pink, purple, slate

# Or set directly
gsettings set org.gnome.desktop.interface accent-color "blue"

​
Panel configuration

Customize panel behavior, position, and modules in ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/settings.json.
While specific settings are managed through zdots, you can typically configure:
  • Panel position (top/bottom)
  • Panel height and opacity
  • Module visibility (clock, system tray, workspace indicators)
  • Corner radius and styling
  • Font and icon sizes

​
Launcher settings

dsearch launcher can be customized for:
  • Search behavior and indexing
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Result ordering
  • Category filtering

​
Integration with other components

DMS integrates seamlessly with Zirconium components:

​
Authentication

PAM configuration for fingerprint support: 
# Custom PAM files installed from QuickShell assets
/usr/lib/pam.d/*
# Source: /usr/share/quickshell/dms/assets/pam/*
This fixes long login times when using fingerprint authentication.

​
GNOME Keyring

DMS automatically starts and integrates with GNOME Keyring: 
# Keyring services (enabled by default)
systemctl --user status gnome-keyring-daemon.service
systemctl --user status gnome-keyring-daemon.socket
systemctl --user status gcr-ssh-agent.service
systemctl --user status gcr-ssh-agent.socket
PAM integration is configured in /etc/pam.d/greetd.

​
Input methods

fcitx5 integration for multilingual input: 
# Toggle fcitx5
zjust toggle-fcitx5

# Manual control
systemctl --user status fcitx5.service
Desktop launcher files for fcitx5 are removed to prevent duplicate autostart, as it’s managed via systemd.

​
Systemd services

DMS-related services are managed through systemd presets: 
# User services (from /usr/lib/systemd/user-preset/01-zirconium.preset)
systemctl --user status dms.service
systemctl --user status chezmoi-init.service
systemctl --user status chezmoi-update.timer

# System services
systemctl status greetd.service

​
Automatic updates

Chezmoi automatically updates DMS configuration:
  • On login: chezmoi-init.service (if ~/.config/zirconium/chezmoi doesn’t exist)
  • Periodic: chezmoi-update.timer (scheduled updates)
See the customization guide for managing update behavior.

​
Customizing DMS

​
Temporary changes

Edit configuration files directly: 
$EDITOR ~/.config/DankMaterialShell/settings.json
Reload DMS: 
systemctl restart --user dms.service
These changes will be lost on the next zdots update.

​
Persistent changes

For persistent customization:
  1. Disable automatic dotfile updates: 
    zjust toggle-automatic-dotfiles
  2. Fork zdots and modify DMS configuration there
  3. Point chezmoi to your custom zdots repository
See the customization guide for detailed instructions.

​
Troubleshooting

​
DMS not starting

Check service status and logs: 
systemctl status --user dms.service
journalctl --user -u dms.service -b

​
Greeter issues

Check greetd logs: 
journalctl -u greetd.service -b
Verify greeter configuration: 
cat /etc/greetd/config.toml

​
Sync greeter settings

If greeter appearance doesn’t match your session: 
zjust update-greeter

​
Reset DMS configuration

Reset to zdots defaults: 
zjust zdots-reset ~/.config/DankMaterialShell
Or reset all configuration: 
zjust zdots-override-all

​
Next steps

Niri window manager

Configure the Niri window manager

Customization

Deep dive into theming and dotfiles

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us