Tutorial

First, install settingsctl.

settingsctl lets you change settings across different desktop environments.

A variety of settings can be changed with settingsctl.

Getting

You can get the value set of a setting through the get command.

$ settingsctl get appearance.desktop.wallpaper
/path/to/wallpaper
			

This should return the wallpaper (or more than one, if multi-monitor) you set.

Getting info

You can get information about a setting through the info command. There may be further explanation on the next line.

$ settingsctl info appearance.desktop.wallpaper
string

Description: The current desktop wallpaper

Data: file path to the wallpaper

$ settingsctl info power.screen-lock.timeout
integer

Description: The timeout till the screen locks itself

Data: timeout in seconds

$ settingsctl info power.screen-lock.is-enabled
boolean

Description: Is the screen lock enabled?

Data: whether it is enabled
			

Setting

You can set a setting through the set command.

$ settingsctl set appearance.desktop.wallpaper /path/to/new/wallpaper 1
			

This should change your wallpaper on monitor 1 to /path/to/new/wallpaper.

Listing possibilites

You can list all possibilites or options of a setting through the list-all command.

$ settingsctl list-all desktop-environment
xfce
kde
gnome
…
			

Listing

You can get a list of subsettings through the list command.

$ settingsctl list
appearance/
power/
…

$ settingsctl list appearance
desktop/
theme
…
			

Tree of settings

You can get a tree of the settings through the tree command.

$ settingsctl tree
appearance/
	desktop/
		wallpaper
…
		

Monitor a setting for changes

See monitor a setting.