Sometimes I want to run applications that I do not have pinned to the quick-launch bar of my choice’s operating system/desktop environment. To do that, I am used to pressing the Windows/Meta Key, begin typing a few characters, and hit Enter. This is muscle memory and hard to get rid of. Although it does not matter which UI opens, I do not need the full-blown KDE Application Launcher, Gnome Shell, or Windows Start Menu. The amount of UI that pops up and changes while searching for the app is distracting.

Therefore, I wondered whether I could remap the Meta/Windows key from opening the Application Launcher to opening KRunner. And you can, but only on the command line.

Remove the key mapping from the Application Launcher.

kwriteconfig5 --file kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta ""

Open KRunner instead.

kwriteconfig5 --file kwinrc --group ModifierOnlyShortcuts --key Meta "org.kde.krunner,/App,,toggleDisplay"

Apply the changes to the current session.

qdbus org.kde.KWin /KWin reconfigure

I hope this helps you. Thank you for reading.