kcmshell6

Open a single KDE Plasma 6 system settings module

TLDR

List all available KCM modules

$ kcmshell6 --list

Open the display / screen settings module

$ kcmshell6 kcm_kscreen

Open network settings

$ kcmshell6 kcm_networkmanagement

Open several modules in one dialog

$ kcmshell6 kcm_fonts kcm_style

Open a module with a custom window title and icon

$ kcmshell6 kcm_keyboard --caption "[Keyboard]" --icon preferences-desktop-keyboard

Show indicators for settings that differ from defaults

$ kcmshell6 kcm_fonts --highlight

Pass arguments through to a module

$ kcmshell6 kcm_kwinrules --args "[window-class]"

SYNOPSIS

kcmshell6 [--list] [--args arguments] [--icon icon] [--caption caption] [--highlight] module...

kcmshell6 launches one or more KDE Control Modules (KCMs) in a standalone dialog, without opening the full systemsettings application. It is the Plasma 6 successor to kcmshell5, and ships as part of the KCMUtils framework.Modules are discovered as plugins under the usual Plasma KCM namespaces (plasma/kcms, plasma/kcms/systemsettings, plasma/kcms/systemsettings_qwidgets, and plasma/kcms/kinfocenter). Each module presents a focused settings panel (fonts, display, network, power, and so on). When several module IDs are given, they appear together in a multi-page list dialog.Scripts, desktop files, and documentation often invoke kcmshell6 to deep-link into a single settings page. Interactive users typically use systemsettings for browsing and kcmshell6 when they already know the module id.

PARAMETERS

--list

List all discoverable KCM (KDE Control Module) plugin IDs with short descriptions, then exit.

module

One or more configuration modules to open. IDs may be given as the full plugin id (for example kcm_fonts), or as a short name that kcmshell6 expands by trying kcm_name and kcmname. Multiple modules open in a list-style dialog.

--args arguments

Space-separated arguments forwarded to the module (parsed like a shell command line).

--icon icon

Theme icon name for the dialog window. Defaults to the module's own icon.

--caption caption

Custom window title. For a single module without this option, the module name is used.

--highlight

Show visual indicators when a setting has been changed from its default value.

--help

Show command-line help (via KAboutData / QCommandLineParser).

--version

Show version information.

INSTALL

sudo apt install libkf6kcmutils-bin

sudo pacman -S kcmutils

sudo apk add kcmutils

CAVEATS

Requires a running graphical session with Qt/KDE libraries available (normally a Plasma desktop). Module IDs differ between Plasma releases; use kcmshell6 --list on the target machine rather than hard-coding outdated names. Some modules need elevated privileges or PolicyKit for system-wide changes. Unknown module IDs may still open a dialog that only shows an error.

HISTORY

kcmshell originated in KDE as a way to start individual control modules outside the full control center. Plasma 5 used kcmshell5; Plasma 6 renames the binary to kcmshell6 and loads Qt 6 / KF6 KCM plugins (including QML-based modules) through KCMUtils.

RESOURCES

Source code · Homepage