---
name: neru-ask
description: "Answer a Neru user's question about what Neru does, which command, flag, or config key does a thing, why something does not work, or what to try next, from the help, man pages, and docs of their installed version rather than from memory. Routes config work to neru-setup-config. Use when a Neru user asks what Neru can do, how to do something with it, which command to run, why hints or a hotkey do nothing, or which skill to use."
---

# Answering questions about Neru

Neru is a keyboard-driven mouse replacement. A daemon watches global hotkeys
and draws overlays, and a CLI sends it commands over a socket. Modes take the
keyboard until a target is picked: hints label clickable elements, grid and
recursive grid divide the screen, scroll moves content, monitor select jumps
between displays. Actions click, scroll, and move the cursor without a mode.
Every answer should come from the installed version, since commands, flags,
and keys change between releases.

## What every install has

Check these before anything remote. The install script, Homebrew, Nix, and a
source build all ship them.

- `neru --help`, then `neru <command> --help`. The help lists the flags and
  accepted values of the installed version.
- `man neru` on macOS and Linux, and one page per subcommand such as
  `man neru-hints`, `man neru-config-set`, and `man neru-action-left_click`.
  `apropos neru` lists them. Windows has no `man`, and `--help` carries the
  same text.
- `neru status` for whether the daemon runs and which mode is open.
- `neru doctor` for config validity, socket health, permissions, and which
  capabilities this platform has. It runs without the daemon.
- `neru query hints` for every element hints would label in the focused
  window, with its role and text, without drawing anything. Run it first
  for any "hints show nothing in app X" report. From a terminal it reports
  the terminal, so run it from a hotkey or as `sleep 3; neru query hints`.
  Versions before it have `neru hints --debug`, which prints a sample.
- `neru config dump` for the config in force, defaults filled in.
- `neru roles --explain` for the clickable roles and how each resolves here.
- `neru docs cli` and `neru docs config` open the two references in a
  browser at the installed version.

For anything the help does not cover, fetch the doc at the installed version:

```bash
tag=$(neru --version | sed -n '1s/^Neru version //p' | cut -d- -f1)
case $tag in v*.*.*) ;; *) tag=main ;; esac
base="https://raw.githubusercontent.com/y3owk1n/neru/$tag/docs"
curl -fsSL "$base/reference/cli.md" || curl -fsSL "$base/CLI.md"
```

A release build prints its tag. A dev build prints `v1.2.3-14-gabcdef`,
which the `cut` maps to the release it was built from. On Windows, where
`sed` and `cut` are usually absent, the same fetch in PowerShell:

```powershell
$tag = (((neru --version)[0] -replace '^Neru version ', '') -split '-')[0]
if ($tag -notmatch '^v\d+\.\d+\.\d+$') { $tag = 'main' }
$base = "https://raw.githubusercontent.com/y3owk1n/neru/$tag/docs"
try { Invoke-RestMethod "$base/reference/cli.md" } catch { Invoke-RestMethod "$base/CLI.md" }
```

Each doc, with the name it had in releases before the docs moved. When the
new path returns 404, the installed release predates the move, so fetch the
old name from the same `docs/` URL:

| Doc | Before the move | What it covers |
| :-- | :-- | :-- |
| `reference/cli.md` | `CLI.md` | every command and flag |
| `guide/scripting.md` | `CLI.md` | driving Neru from scripts and other hotkey tools |
| `reference/ipc.md` | `CLI.md` | the IPC protocol |
| `reference/configuration.md` | `CONFIGURATION.md` | every key with its default and platform column |
| `concepts/bindings.md` | `CONFIGURATION.md` | what a binding can run, and which binding answers a key |
| `concepts/glossary.md` | not in older releases, skip it | the words the docs use |
| `guide/getting-started.md` | `CONFIGURATION.md` | first launch, permissions, first hotkey |
| `guide/using-neru.md` | `CONFIGURATION.md` | how each mode is used, clicks, drag, sticky modifiers |
| `guide/configuring.md` | `CONFIGURATION.md` | config file location, layering, reloading, `config set` |
| `guide/recipes.md` | `TIPS_TRICKS.md` | worked recipes such as Vimium-style click on select, drag with any button, cycling modes on one key, and driving Neru from skhd |
| `guide/troubleshooting.md` | `TROUBLESHOOTING.md` | when something does not work |
| `guide/installation.md` | `INSTALLATION.md` | install methods and login services |
| `reference/platform-support.md` | `CROSS_PLATFORM.md` | what each platform supports |
| `guide/linux.md`, `guide/linux-desktops.md` | `LINUX_SETUP.md`, `LINUX_DESKTOPS.md` | Linux permissions and per-compositor notes |

## What Neru does

| Ask | Answer with |
| --- | --- |
| Click something on screen by keyboard | `neru hints --action left_click`, or `right_click`, `middle_click` |
| Click where hints find nothing | `neru grid`, `neru recursive_grid` or `neru bisect`, or `neru hints --strategy vision` |
| Filter hints by typing | `neru hints --search`, or `/` inside hints |
| Scroll without a mouse | `neru scroll`, or `neru action scroll_down --steps N` |
| Move the cursor to a spot, display, or grid cell | `neru action move_mouse`, `move_monitor`, `move_cell` |
| Nudge the cursor and keep it moving while held | `neru action move_mouse_relative`, glide under `[held_repeat]` |
| Drag | `left_click --state down`, move, `left_click --state up` |
| Jump between monitors | `neru monitor_select` |
| Type text or press keys | `neru action feed` |
| Click without moving the real cursor | `save_cursor_pos`, then the click, then `restore_cursor_pos` |
| Chain steps as one unit | `neru run "..." "..."`, or `[macros]` in config, see `neru-setup-config` |
| Bind a key to any of the above | `[hotkeys]` in config, see `neru-setup-config` |
| Change hint letters, colours, grid size | `neru config set <key> <value>`, see `neru-setup-config` |
| Make one app behave differently | `[[hints.app_configs]]` by bundle id, see `neru-setup-config` |
| Hide overlays while screen sharing | `neru toggle-screen-share` |
| Run Neru at login | `neru services install`, see `neru-setup-config` |
| Pause Neru without quitting | `neru stop`, then `neru start` |

Things a user often does not know:

- **Hints have three strategies.** `axtree` reads the accessibility tree
  and is the default. `vision` recognises text on a screen capture, and on
  macOS rectangles too. `contour` finds edges on every platform. An app
  with a poor tree, such as an Electron app or a game, gets `--strategy
  vision` for one call or a per-app strategy in config.
- **Grid modes need no accessibility tree.** When hints show nothing in an
  app, grid and recursive grid still work, because they divide the screen
  rather than read elements.
- **Hints only label roles in `hints.clickable_roles`.** A missing hint is
  usually a role outside that list. `neru query hints` shows what was
  collected, `neru roles --explain` shows what the platform can name, and
  `neru hints --role` overrides the list for one call.
- **Inside a mode the keys are bindable too.** Each mode has its own
  `[<mode>.hotkeys]` table, so Shift+L for a left click inside hints, Tab to
  cycle, and the arrow keys to nudge are defaults, not fixed.
- **Linux ships no default global hotkeys.** The modes exist but nothing is
  bound until `[hotkeys]` or the compositor binds them. That is by design.
- **One config works on every platform.** A key, flag, or action the current
  platform cannot act on loads with a warning, listed under `platform_support`
  in `neru doctor`. It is not an error.
- **Runtime toggles do not persist.** `toggle-scroll-invert`,
  `toggle-cursor-follow-selection`, and `toggle-screen-share` last until the
  daemon restarts. The lasting form is the config key.
- **The CLI needs the daemon for most things.** Modes, actions, `config set`,
  `config dump`, and `status` all talk to it. `config init`, `config validate`,
  `doctor`, and `roles` run without it.
- **There is no log file by default.** `logging.disable_file_logging` is
  `true` out of the box. Before telling a user to read the log, have them
  set it to `false` and restart, then read `~/Library/Logs/neru/app.log`
  on macOS, `~/.local/state/neru/log/app.log` on Linux, or
  `%LOCALAPPDATA%\neru\log\app.log` on Windows.

## Routing

- Config, hotkeys, macros, modes, per-app overrides, or service work goes to
  `neru-setup-config`.
- A question with a one-command answer gets the command and the help page
  that documents it.
- When something does not work, in this order: `neru status`, `neru doctor`,
  then `neru query hints` for a hints report or `neru config validate` for
  a hotkey report, then the Troubleshooting doc as above, before guessing at
  a cause. Its Permissions and Hotkeys Not Working sections cover most
  reports. On macOS, a hotkey that never fires after an update is usually a
  stale Accessibility grant: remove Neru from the list and add it again.
- A bug or a missing feature goes to a GitHub issue on `y3owk1n/neru`.
  Blank issues are disabled, so use the issue forms, and include
  `neru --version` and `neru doctor` output. Questions and config help
  belong in Discussions.

Do not answer flags or key names from memory. Run `--help` or read the man
page first.