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The Problem

You have Quickshell installed. Now you need to write QML code. Unlike some languages where you need a full IDE, QML development can be done in any text editor — but some tools make it dramatically better.

The Minimum Setup

At minimum, you need:

1. A text editor — VS Code, Neovim, Helix, Emacs, or any editor you're comfortable with
2. A terminal — for running Quickshell and viewing output
3. Quickshell — installed from the previous chapter

That's enough to write and run QML files. The feedback loop is:

# Edit your shell.qml
vim ~/.config/quickshell/my-shell/shell.qml

# Run it
quickshell ~/.config/quickshell/my-shell/

With Hot Reload

Quickshell's hot reload feature means you can edit QML files and see changes instantly without restarting. When you save a file, Quickshell detects the change and reloads only the modified components. This shaves seconds off every iteration and makes tuning visuals feel immediate.

There's nothing to enable — it works out of the box. Just run quickshell on your config directory and edit files.

Recommended Tools

VS Code

Install the official Qt QML Support extension for syntax highlighting and qmlls integration.

Enable the qt-qml.qmlls.useQmlImportPathEnvVar setting for correct module resolution.

Neovim

Neovim has built-in QML syntax highlighting. For better highlighting, install the qmljs tree-sitter grammar:

:TSInstall qmljs

For LSP support, configure qmlls:

require("lspconfig").qmlls.setup {}

Helix

Helix has built-in QML syntax highlighting and qmlls support. No configuration needed beyond ensuring qmlls is on your PATH.

Emacs

Install tree-sitter-qmljs grammar and the qml-ts-mode Emacs mode. Use lsp-mode or eglot for LSP.

The .qmlls.ini File

To enable QML language server features (completions, diagnostics), create an empty file named .qmlls.ini in the root of your config directory (next to shell.qml). Quickshell will automatically fill it with the correct settings on next launch.

Add .qmlls.ini to your .gitignore — its contents are machine-specific.

Terminal Setup for Quickshell

When running Quickshell from a terminal, you'll see QML warnings and errors printed to stdout/stderr. Keep a terminal visible while developing:

quickshell ./my-config/

Errors from invalid QML syntax or missing imports will appear here as you work.

Project Structure

As you follow along with this book, you'll create files in two locations:

• ~/.config/quickshell/ — where your actual shell configs live
• examples/ — inside the book's repository, one folder per chapter

For now, create a sandbox directory to experiment with:

mkdir -p ~/quickshell-playground
cd ~/quickshell-playground

This is where you'll write the examples from Part I.

✅What You've Learned

• Any text editor works for QML development
• Hot reload is built in — save files to see changes instantly
• Install qmlls and configure your editor for syntax checking
• Keep a terminal visible for runtime errors and warnings
• Create a sandbox directory for Part I examples