Getting started

From install to your first snap in about two minutes.

Verify the install

PlasmaZones runs as the plasmazonesd user-session daemon. It also installs a settings KCM under Application Management and registers shortcuts through KGlobalAccel. Install via the package for your distro, then log out and back in so the shortcuts register.

plasmazonesd --version
# PlasmaZones 2.8.7

Enable the PlasmaZones effect in System Settings → Window Management → Desktop Effects — tick PlasmaZones in the list. This step is required: PlasmaZones runs as a KWin effect, so nothing works until it is enabled.

PlasmaZones runs on a KDE Plasma Wayland session. X11 was removed in v1.2.0. XWayland apps still snap, but autotile's drag-insert is flakier there because XWayland emulates input reporting.

Open the zone editor

Press Meta+Shift+E. The editor opens on whatever layout is currently assigned to the focused screen.

Pick a different preset, tweak the gutters, or switch to Custom to draw zones freehand. 26 presets ship: Master+Stack, BSP, 3-column grid, Fibonacci, portrait / ultrawide / super-ultrawide variants, priority grid.

Layouts persist as JSON under ~/.config/plasmazones/ with normalized 0..1 coordinates, so the same layout works at any screen size. Three files live there: config.json for settings, assignments.json for per-screen layouts and quick-layout slots, session.json for ephemeral state.

Your first snap

  1. Grab any window's title bar.
  2. Hold Alt and the zone overlay fades in with the active zones outlined. The modifier can be changed in Settings › Input.
  3. Drop the window inside a zone and release Alt. It resizes to fill the zone.
  4. Hold Ctrl+Alt while dragging across two adjacent zones to snap across both.

Meta+Ctrl+1…Meta+Ctrl+9 snap the focused window to zones 1–9 directly. Alt+Shift+←/→/↑/↓ moves focus between zones. The shortcut reference lists the rest.

Multiple screens and virtual desktops

Each physical monitor has its own layout. You can also subdivide a monitor into up to 10 virtual screens, each with its own layout, autotile state, and settings. Swap between them with Meta+Ctrl+Shift+←/→/↑/↓.

Per-desktop layouts are assigned in System Settings › Application Management › PlasmaZones › Layouts.

Customizing