Lock the screen and handle idle

Idle timers live under [idle], the lock screen under [lock]. The full setting lists are in the idle and lock screen references.

Change the timeouts

Each listener runs a command after its timeout in seconds without keyboard or pointer input. Writing listeners for a profile replaces that profile's defaults, so list every listener you want. This blanks the screens after 5 minutes and locks after 10:

[[idle.profiles.ac.listeners]]
timeout = 300
on-idle = "glimpse-dpms off"
on-resume = "glimpse-dpms on"

[[idle.profiles.ac.listeners]]
timeout = 600
on-idle = "loginctl lock-session"

glimpse-dpms turns the screens off and on, and on-resume runs on the next input. The default AC profile blanks at 15 minutes, locks at 30 and suspends at 60. Lock now from a key or a terminal with loginctl lock-session.

Use different timeouts on battery

The battery profile has the same shape under [idle.profiles.battery]. This blanks after 5 minutes and suspends after 15 on battery:

[[idle.profiles.battery.listeners]]
timeout = 300
on-idle = "glimpse-dpms off"
on-resume = "glimpse-dpms on"

[[idle.profiles.battery.listeners]]
timeout = 900
on-idle = "systemctl suspend"

The battery profile applies while UPower reports the machine on battery; without UPower the AC profile always applies. Switching between AC and battery, or changing the active listener set, runs the on-resume commands of listeners that already ran. The replacement timers start from zero.

Hold idle and suspend while presenting

glimpsectl idle inhibit

The hold blocks idle listeners and suspend. End it with Ctrl-C, or give it a limit up front, as in glimpsectl idle inhibit --for 2h. See the idle reference for duration formats and limits.

Without a command, inhibit prints the hold's id, and glimpsectl idle release <id> ends that hold from another terminal. With glimpsectl idle inhibit -- CMD..., the hold lasts only while CMD runs, and glimpsectl exits with the command's status.

Listeners that were held back run as soon as the last hold ends, if you haven't touched the keyboard or pointer since. Video players and calls hold the timers off on their own while respect-inhibitors is on, and glimpsectl idle status shows who is holding what.

Change the lock screen background

Without images of its own, the lock screen uses your wallpaper so it matches the desktop. Give it its own with [lock.background]:

[lock.background]
image = "/home/alex/Pictures/lock-day.jpg"
image-dark = "/home/alex/Pictures/lock-night.jpg"
blur-radius = 24

image-dark shows while the desktop is dark, and blur-radius softens the picture. Adjust fit to change how the picture fills the screen, dim to darken it, and dim-dark for its darkness in the dark scheme. The background settings list the choices and limits.

Choose what the lock screen shows

The clock, the status island (weather, battery, keyboard layout, Bluetooth and network), notifications, media controls and the session buttons each have a table with an enabled switch:

[lock.notifications]
enabled = false

[lock.media]
enabled = false

Only notifications that arrive while the screen is locked appear. "apps", the default, shows one icon with a count for each app; the app's name is the icon's tooltip and accessible name. "count" shows a single icon with the total. Neither mode shows a summary or a body.

The media area shows the track title and artist to anyone, and its pause and next buttons work without a password. Turn off [lock.media] as above to hide it. Turn off [lock.status] to hide the status island; the session button has its own switch under [lock.session].

The session menu offers Suspend..., Restart..., and Power Off..., and every action asks for confirmation. Configuration edits apply live while the screen is locked; only pam-service waits for a restart.

Let the compositor accept a restarted lock screen

If the lock screen crashes or restarts while the screen is locked, the compositor refuses the new lock unless misc:allow_session_lock_restore is on, and the session stays stuck on its lock-dead screen. In the hyprlang config, set misc { allow_session_lock_restore = true }. In the Lua config, set hl.config({ misc = { allow_session_lock_restore = true } }).