Activating numlock on bootup

Console

Using a separate service

Tip: These steps can be automated by installing the systemd-numlockontty^AUR package and enabling the numLockOnTty service.

First create a script to set the numlock on relevant TTYs:

/usr/bin/numlock

#!/bin/bash

for tty in /dev/tty{1..6}
do
    /usr/bin/setleds -D +num < "$tty";
done

Then create and enable a systemd service:

/etc/systemd/system/numlock.service

[Unit]
Description=numlock

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/numlock
StandardInput=tty
RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Extending getty@.service

Warning: This may cause various glitches, including but not limited to crashing, flickering, unresponsiveness, etc.

This is simpler than using a separate service (especially since systemd-198) and does not hardcode the number of VTs in a script. Create a drop-in snippet for getty@.service which are applied on top of the original unit:

# systemctl edit getty\@.service

[Service]
ExecStartPre=/bin/sh -c 'setleds +num < /dev/%I'

Note: If you experience any problems, try replacing "ExecStartPre" with "ExecStartPost", and/or disabling the hint as described below. You may also have to activate the other VTs by running systemctl enable getty@tty{2-5

}

To disable the num-lock activation hint displaying on the login screen, edit getty@tty1.service and add --nohints to agetty options:

# systemctl edit getty@tty1.service

[Service]
ExecStart=
ExecStart=-/sbin/agetty --nohints --noclear %I $TERM

Bash alternative

Add setleds -D +num to ~/.bash_profile. Note that, unlike the other methods, this will not take effect until after you log in.

X.org

Various methods are available.

startx

Install the numlockx package and add it to the ~/.xinitrc file before exec:

#!/bin/sh
#
# ~/.xinitrc
#
# Executed by startx (run your window manager from here)
#

numlockx &

exec window_manager

KDE Plasma Users

Go to System Settings, under the Hardware/Input Devices/Keyboard item you will find an option to select the behavior of NumLock.

GDM

Note: GDM does not execute scripts in /etc/gdm/Init anymore.

Make sure that you have numlockx installed then add the following code to ~/.xprofile:

if [ -x /usr/bin/numlockx ]; then
      /usr/bin/numlockx on
fi

GNOME

When not using the GDM login manager, numlockx can be added to GNOME's start-up applications.

Install the numlockx package. Then, add a start-up command to launch numlockx.

$ gnome-session-properties

The above command opens the Startup Applications Preferences applet. Click Add and enter the following:

Name:	Numlockx
Command:	/usr/bin/numlockx on
Comment:	Turns on numlock.

Note: This is not a system-wide change, repeat these steps for each user wishing to activate NumLock after logging in.

Xfce

In the file ~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/keyboards.xml, make sure the following values are set to true:

<property name="Numlock" type="bool" value="true"/>
<property name="RestoreNumlock" type="bool" value="true"/>

SDDM

In the file /etc/sddm.conf, under the [General] section, set Numlock value to on :

[General]
...
Numlock=on

SLiM

In the file /etc/slim.conf find the line and uncomment it (remove the #):

#numlock             on

OpenBox

In the file ~/.config/openbox/autostart add the line:

numlockx &

And then save the file.

LightDM

See LightDM#NumLock on by default.

LXDM

Set the option in /etc/lxdm/lxdm.conf:

numlock=1

LXQt

Set the option in ~/.config/lxqt/session.conf:

numlock=true