kitty Configuration

543 2026-08-14 note ♑︎

kitty configuration lives in ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf. The file is reloaded automatically when saved.

Basic Configuration

# Font
font_family Fira Code
font_size 14.0

# Colors
background #1e1e2e
foreground #cdd6f4

# Window padding
window_padding_width 10

# Scrollback
scrollback_lines 10000

# Enable ligatures
enable_ligatures true

Shell Integration

Enable shell integration for better integration with fish or other shells:

# Add to kitty.conf
shell_integration enabled

# Or for specific shells
shell_integration fish

This provides features like:

Themes

kitty supports themes via the kitty-themes plugin:

# Install themes
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/dexpota/kitty-themes.git ~/.config/kitty/kitty-themes

# Apply theme
include current-theme.conf

# List available themes
kitty +kitten themes

Remote Control

kitty can be controlled remotely via the @ kitten:

# Send text to window
kitty @ send-text --match "title:vim" ":w\n"

# Close window
kitty @ close-window --match "title:htop"

# List windows
kitty @ ls

Advanced Configuration

Multiple Profiles

# Define profiles
profile1
  font_size 12
  background #000000

profile2
  font_size 16
  background #1e1e2e

Keyboard Shortcuts

# Custom shortcuts
map ctrl+p new_tab
map ctrl+n close_tab
map ctrl+shift+right next_tab

Startup Sessions

# Launch with layout
launch --location=hsplit --cwd=current
launch --location=vsplit --cwd=current

Performance Tuning

kitty's GPU acceleration can be tuned for performance:

# Repaint delay (lower = more responsive, higher = less CPU)
repaint_delay 10

# Input delay (lower = more responsive)
input_delay 3

# Sync to monitor refresh rate
sync_to_monitor yes

Color Schemes

Define custom color schemes:

# Base colors
foreground #cdd6f4
background #1e1e2e

# Cursor colors
cursor #cdd6f4
cursor_text_color #1e1e2e

# Selection colors
selection_foreground #cdd6f4
selection_background #45475a

# Tab bar colors
active_tab_foreground #1e1e2e
active_tab_background #89b4fa
inactive_tab_foreground #a6adc8
inactive_tab_background #313244

Font Configuration

# Main font
font_family Fira Code
bold_font Fira Code Bold
italic_font Fira Code Italic
bold_italic_font Fira Code Bold Italic

# Font size
font_size 14.0

# Font features
font_features FiraCode +calt +liga +dlig

# Adjust line height
adjust_line_height 1.2

Window Behavior

# Window size
remember_window_size yes
initial_window_width 640
initial_window_height 400

# Window padding
window_padding_width 10
window_margin_width 0

# Window decoration
hide_window_decorations no
show_title_in no

Scrollback Configuration

# Scrollback lines
scrollback_lines 10000
scrollback_pager history

# Scrollback indicator
scrollback_indicator yes

Configuration is simple but powerful, allowing extensive customization of kitty's appearance and behavior.

For kitty keyboard shortcuts, see kitty Shortcuts. For the main kitty overview, see kitty.