Setup
Run the Bridge, pair it with Sharkord, and bind keys for muting, deafening, and push to talk.
Setting up hotkeys takes three steps: run the Bridge, pair it, then choose your keys.
1. Run the Bridge
Download the latest Bridge for Windows or Linux from GitHub Releases. It is a single executable that you can keep anywhere. If you would rather compile it yourself, see Build From Source.
Start it. It appears as an icon in your system tray and nothing else. On first run it creates a pairing token and stores it in your config directory:
| System | Token file |
|---|---|
| Linux | ~/.config/sharkord-bridge/token |
| Windows | %APPDATA%\sharkord-bridge\token |
Left click the tray icon to open the Bridge window. It shows your token with a Copy button, and the Sharkord servers currently connected. The tray menu also has Open, Copy pairing token, and Quit.
Some desktops, GNOME without an extension for example, do not show tray icons. The Bridge still runs. Read the token from the file above, or start it from a terminal where it prints the token.
Start With Your Computer
Tick Run on system startup at the bottom of the Bridge window and it starts, as a tray icon, every time you log in. Untick it to stop. It needs no administrator rights.
| System | What it changes |
|---|---|
| Linux | Adds ~/.config/autostart/dev.sharkord.Bridge.desktop. |
| Windows | Adds a SharkordBridge value under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run. |
Both entries point at the executable you ran, so if you move or replace it, open the window and tick the box again. The box shows as unticked when the entry points somewhere else.
2. Pair It With Sharkord
- In Sharkord, open User Settings → Hotkeys.
- Turn on Enable hotkeys.
- Paste the pairing token into Pairing token.
- Click Save Changes.
The status next to the token changes from Not running to Connected within a few seconds. Hotkeys are off by default, and while they are off Sharkord never tries to reach the Bridge.
If the Bridge is not running, Sharkord tries up to 10 times over about a minute and then stops, so a Bridge you never installed is not asked for forever. The status then reads Not found, stopped trying. Start the Bridge and press Try to connect to ask again. Saving the page tries again too, which is what you want after pasting a new token.
The token is stored in your browser. You paste it once per browser, and it works for every Sharkord server you use from that browser.
3. Bind Your Keys
With hotkeys enabled, the Hotkeys page lists the actions you can bind. Click an action, press the keys you want, then Save Changes.
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Toggle microphone | Mutes and unmutes your microphone. |
| Toggle deafen | Silences incoming audio, and mutes your microphone with it. |
| Push to talk | Holds your microphone open while the key is down. Only listed when mic mode is set to push to talk. |
Plugins can add their own actions, listed in a group named after the plugin, for example a soundboard with one key per sound.
You can bind any keyboard key, with or without modifiers (Ctrl+Alt+M). Press Escape to cancel while recording, and use the × button to clear a bind.
On Windows and X11, a bound key still reaches the window in front, so pressing
Ctrl+L would also focus your browser's address bar. Combinations like
Ctrl+Alt+M, the F-keys, or the numpad avoid that. On
Wayland the desktop keeps the key for itself. See Platforms.
Keys That Are Refused
Some combinations belong to the browser or the operating system, and a web page cannot reliably take them. Sharkord refuses these and tells you why:
- Anything with the Meta key (Windows or Super).
- Browser window and tab keys such as
Ctrl+W,Ctrl+T,Ctrl+N,Ctrl+Tab, andAlt+F4. Alt+Tab,Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and similar system combinations.
A key can only be bound to one action. If another action already uses it, Sharkord names that action and keeps your bind unchanged.
Push to Talk
Push to talk keeps your microphone muted until you hold a key.
- Make sure hotkeys are enabled and the Bridge is connected.
- Open User Settings → Devices.
- Set Microphone mode to Push to talk.
- Bind a key under it, and save.
In push to talk mode your microphone is muted whenever you are in a call, and unmutes only while the key is held. Toggle microphone does nothing while it is on, so the two cannot fight over the mic. If the Bridge disconnects while you are holding the key, Sharkord releases it so the microphone cannot stay open.
Push to talk needs the Bridge to report when a key is released. The Bridge on Windows and X11 does. If the connected Bridge cannot, the option is disabled and says why.
Turning hotkeys off sets the microphone mode back to Open microphone, so you are never left muted with no way to unmute.
Binding From the Devices Page
User Settings → Devices also shows the key for your current microphone mode, and one for toggling deafen next to your output device. They are the same binds as on the Hotkeys page. Unlike the Hotkeys page, changes made there apply immediately and are not held until Save Changes.
Several Servers and Several Tabs
- A key bound to the same action on two servers fires on both, so one press mutes you everywhere.
- If you open the same server in two browser tabs, the newest tab takes over the Bridge and the older one stops receiving keys, rather than both reacting.
- Keys are saved per browser, not per server and not on the server. A new browser or profile starts with no binds.
Turning It Off
Switch off Enable hotkeys and save. Sharkord stops contacting the Bridge. You can leave the Bridge running, or quit it from the tray.