Xorg/Keyboard configuration
This article describes the basics of Xorg keyboard configuration. For advanced topics such as keyboard layout modification or additional key mappings, see X keyboard extension or Extra keyboard keys respectively.
The Xorg server uses the X keyboard extension (XKB) to define keyboard layouts. Optionally, xmodmap can be used to access the internal keymap table directly, although this is not recommended for complex tasks. Also systemd's localectl can be used to define the keyboard layout for both the Xorg server and the virtual console.
Viewing keyboard settings
You can use the following command to see the actual XKB settings:
$ setxkbmap -print -verbose 10
Setting verbose level to 10 locale is C Applied rules from evdev: model: evdev layout: us options: terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp Trying to build keymap using the following components: keycodes: evdev+aliases(qwerty) types: complete compat: complete symbols: pc+us+inet(evdev)+terminate(ctrl_alt_bksp) geometry: pc(pc104) xkb_keymap { xkb_keycodes { include "evdev+aliases(qwerty)" }; xkb_types { include "complete" }; xkb_compat { include "complete" }; xkb_symbols { include "pc+us+inet(evdev)+terminate(ctrl_alt_bksp)" }; xkb_geometry { include "pc(pc104)" }; };
Third party utilities
There are some "unofficial" utilities which allow to print specific information about the currently used keyboard layout.
- xkb-switch-gitAUR:
$ xkb-switch
us
$ xkblayout-state print "%s"
de
Setting keyboard layout
Keyboard layout in Xorg can be set in multiple ways. Here is an explanation of used options:
XkbModel
selects the keyboard model. This has an influence only for some extra keys your keyboard might have. The safe fallback arepc104
(ANSI) orpc105
(ISO). But for instance laptops usually have some extra keys, and sometimes you can make them work by simply setting a proper model.XkbLayout
selects the keyboard layout. Multiple layouts may be specified in a comma-separated list, e.g. if you want to quickly switch between layouts.XkbVariant
selects a specific layout variant available for theXkbLayout
. For instance, the defaultsk
(Slovak) variant isqwertz
, but you can manually specifyqwerty
, etc.XkbOptions
contains some extra options (comma-separated). Used for specifying layout switching, notification LED, compose mode etc. See the #Frequently used XKB options section for examples.
us
layout as primary and the dvorak
variant of us
layout as secondary, specify us,us
as XkbLayout
and ,dvorak
as XkbVariant
.The layout name is usually a 2-letter country code. To see a full list of keyboard models, layouts, variants and options, along with a short description, open /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst
. Alternatively, you may use one of the following commands to see a list without a description:
localectl list-x11-keymap-models
localectl list-x11-keymap-layouts
localectl list-x11-keymap-variants [layout]
localectl list-x11-keymap-options
Examples in the following subsections will have the same effect, they will set pc104
model, cz
as primary layout, us
as secondary layout, dvorak
variant for us
layout and the Win+Space
combination for switching between layouts. See xkeyboard-config(7) for more detailed information.
Keyboard - layout
. See Fcitx#Input methods configuration. IBus users need to enable "Use system keyboard layout" option in Preference -> Advanced if using X configuration files, or manually specify the layout if using setxkbmap.Using setxkbmap
setxkbmap sets the keyboard layout for the current X session only, but can be made persistent in xinitrc or xprofile. This overrides system-wide configuration specified following #Using X configuration files.
The usage is as follows (see setxkbmap(1)):
$ setxkbmap [-model xkb_model] [-layout xkb_layout] [-variant xkb_variant] [-option xkb_options]
-option
flag with an empty argument first.To change just the layout (-layout
is the default flag):
$ setxkbmap xkb_layout
For multiple customizations:
$ setxkbmap -model pc104 -layout cz,us -variant ,dvorak -option grp:win_space_toggle
Using X configuration files
xorg.conf
is parsed by the X server at start-up. To apply changes, restart X.The syntax of X configuration files is explained in Xorg#Configuration. This method creates system-wide configuration which is persistent across reboots.
Here is an example:
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf
Section "InputClass" Identifier "system-keyboard" MatchIsKeyboard "on" Option "XkbLayout" "cz,us" Option "XkbModel" "pc104" Option "XkbVariant" ",dvorak" Option "XkbOptions" "grp:win_space_toggle" EndSection
Using localectl
For convenience, the tool localectl may be used instead of manually editing X configuration files. It will save the configuration in /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf
, this file should not be manually edited, because localectl will overwrite the changes on next start.
The usage is as follows:
# localectl [--no-convert] set-x11-keymap layout [model [variant [options]]]
To set a model, variant or options, all preceding fields need to be specified, but the preceding fields can be skipped by passing an empty string with ""
. Unless the --no-convert
option is passed, the specified keymap is also converted to the closest matching console keymap and applied to the console configuration in vconsole.conf
. See localectl(1) for more information.
To create a /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf
like the above:
# localectl --no-convert set-x11-keymap cz,us pc104 ,dvorak grp:win_space_toggle
/etc/vconsole.conf
using variables XKBLAYOUT
, XKBMODEL
, XKBVARIANT
and XKBOPTIONS
, [1] but the Xorg server does not read them from that file.Frequently used XKB options
Switching between keyboard layouts
To be able to easily switch keyboard layouts, first specify multiple layouts between which you want to switch (the first one is the default). Then specify a key (or key combination), which will be used for switching. For example, to switch between a US and a Swedish layout using the CapsLock
key, use us,se
as an argument of XkbLayout
and grp:caps_toggle
as an argument of XkbOptions
. The number of XkbLayout
s should match that of the XkbVariant
s — if you want to switch solely between different variants, then duplicate the layout accordingly (e.g. de,de
).
The list of available layouts (and variants) can be found in xkeyboard-config(7) § LAYOUTS. The key combinations available for layout switching are listed in xkeyboard-config(7) § Switching to another layout.
Note that the grp:alts_toggle
option is unreliable and unlikely to be fixed; prefer other combinations.
Switch languages using Alt Shift
To set Alt+Shift
as a layout shortcut, use grp:alt_shift_toggle
in XkbOptions
.
However, there is a known issue with XKB that causes other shortcuts of the type Alt+Shift+any_key
to break. Moreover, XKB may set the right Alt
to be AltGr
by default in some keyboard layouts, making RAlt+RShift
not working for layout switching.
As a workaround, sxhkd may be used to switch layouts by adding the following to sxhkdrc
:
Shift_L + Alt_L setxkbmap -query | grep -q 'fr' && setxkbmap us || setxkbmap fr,us Shift_R + Alt_R setxkbmap -query | grep -q 'fr' && setxkbmap us || setxkbmap fr,us
Note that for some reason, Alt
must be pressed before Shift
to be detected by sxhkd.
Terminating Xorg with Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
By default, the key combination Ctrl+Alt+Backspace
is disabled. You can enable it by passing terminate:ctrl_alt_bksp
to XkbOptions
. This can also be done by binding a key to Terminate_Server
in xmodmap
(which undoes any existing XkbOptions
setting).
In order for either method to work, one also needs to have DontZap
set to "off" in ServerFlags
: since 2004 [2] this is the default.
Swapping Caps Lock with Left Control
To swap Caps Lock with Left Control key, add ctrl:swapcaps
to XkbOptions
. Run the following command to see similar options along with their descriptions:
$ grep -E "(ctrl|caps):" /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst
Enabling mouse keys
Mouse keys, not to be confused with the keys of the mouse, is disabled by default and has to be manually enabled by passing keypad:pointerkeys
to XkbOptions
. This will make the Shift+NumLock
shortcut toggle mouse keys.
See also X keyboard extension#Mouse control for advanced configuration.
Configuring AltGr
The AltGr (Alternate Graphic) key can be used to access additional characters and symbols on a keyboard. It functions as a modifier key similar to Shift but provides access to a third level of key mappings. Note that mapping levels work as follows:
- 1st Level: Default layer of keys (no modifier).
- 2nd Level: Accessed by pressing the Shift key, providing secondary characters (e.g. capitalization) or symbols (e.g. @ symbol).
- 3rd Level: Accessed by pressing the AltGr key, allowing access to additional characters or symbols not available on the 1st and 2nd levels.
2nd level characters are usually printed on keyboard keys and are easy to find. On the other hand, to check the characters on additional levels, you can use xmodmap -pk
or look up your keyboard mapping on /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols
.
Configuring compose key
Though typically not on traditional keyboards, a Compose key can be configured to an existent key.
The Compose
key begins a keypress sequence that involves (usually two) additional keypresses. Usage is typically either for entering characters in a language that the keyboard was not designed for, or for other less-used characters that are not covered with the AltGr
modifier. For example, pressing Compose
'
e
produces é
, or Compose
-
-
-
will produce an "em dash": —
.
Though a few more eccentric keyboards feature a Compose
key, its availability is usually through substituting an already existing key to it. For example, to make the Menu
key a Compose
key use the Desktop environment configuration, or pass compose:menu
to XkbOptions
(or setxkbmap: setxkbmap -option compose:menu
). Allowed key substitutions are defined in /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst
:
$ grep "compose:" /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst
If the desired mapping is not found in that file, an alternative is to use xmodmap to map the desired key to the Multi_key
keysym, which acts as a compose key by default (note that xmodmap settings are reset by setxkbmap).
Key combinations
The default combinations for the compose keys depend on the locale configured for the session and are stored in /usr/share/X11/locale/used_locale/Compose
, where used_locale
is for example en_US.UTF-8
.
You can define your own compose key combinations by copying the default file to ~/.XCompose
and editing it. Alternatively, create an empty ~/.XCompose
and include the default one using include "%L"
, for example:
~/.XCompose
include "%L" <Multi_key> <g> <a> : "α" <Multi_key> <g> <b> : "β" <Multi_key> <g> <g> : "γ"
The compose key (denoted as <Multi_key>
in the ~/.XCompose
file) works with any of the thousands of valid Unicode characters, including those outside the Basic Multilingual Plane. Take a look at the Compose(5) man page, it explains the format of the XCompose files.
However, GTK does not use XIM by default and therefore does not follow ~/.XCompose
keys. This can be fixed by forcing GTK to use XIM by configure the graphical environment variables GTK_IM_MODULE=xim
and/or XMODIFIERS="@im=none"
.
Ctrl+Shift+u
combination.Currency sign on other key
Most European keyboards have a Euro sign (€) printed on on the 5
key. For example, to access it with Alt+5
, use the lv3:ralt_switch
and eurosign:5
options.
The Rupee sign (₹) can be used the same way with rupeesign:4
.
Switching state immediately when Caps Lock is pressed
Those who prefer typing capital letters with the Caps Lock key may experience a short delay when Caps Lock state is switched, resulting in two or more capital letters (e.g. THe, ARch LInux). This occurs because Caps Lock is enabled immediately once the Caps Lock key is pressed, but is only disabled upon release of the second key-press. This behaviour stems from typewriters where a Caps Lock function was achieved by physically locking the shifted typebars in place, and the release of a shift key-press was the action that caused the release of the lock.
Some more popular operating systems have removed this behaviour, either voluntarily (as it can be confusing to some) or by mistake, however this is a question of preference. Bug reports have been filed on the Xserver bug tracker, as there is currently no easy way to switch to the behaviour reflected by those other operating systems. For anyone who would like to follow up the issue, bug reports and latest working progress can be found at [3][dead link 2024-10-12 ⓘ] and [4].
Workaround
First, export your keyboard configurations to a file:
$ xkbcomp -xkb $DISPLAY xkbmap
In the file xkbmap, locate the Caps Lock section which begins with key <CAPS>:
key <CAPS> { [ Caps_Lock ] };
and replace whole section with the following code:
key <CAPS> { repeat=no, type[group1]="ALPHABETIC", symbols[group1]=[ Caps_Lock, Caps_Lock], actions[group1]=[ LockMods(modifiers=Lock), Private(type=3,data[0]=1,data[1]=3,data[2]=3)] };
Save and reload keyboard configurations:
$ xkbcomp -w 0 xkbmap $DISPLAY
Consider making it a service launching after X starts, since reloaded configurations do not survive a system reboot.
One-click key functions
To assign an additional one-click function to a modifier key, you can use xcape. For example it is possible to have CapsLock
work as Escape
when pressed alone, and as Control
when used with another key. First set the Control
swapping using setxkbmap as mentioned earlier, and xcape to set the Escape
association:
$ xcape -e 'Caps_Lock=Escape'
You can set multiple associations separated with a semicolon, e.g.: Caps_Lock=Escape;Shift_L=Escape
.
If you hold a key for longer than the timeout value (default 500 ms), xcape will not generate a key event.
Adjusting typematic delay and rate
The typematic delay indicates the amount of time (typically in milliseconds) a key needs to be pressed and held in order for the repeating process to begin. After the repeating process has been triggered, the character will be repeated with a certain frequency (usually given in Hz) specified by the typematic rate. Note that these settings are configured separately for Xorg and for the virtual console.
Using xset
The tool xset, provided by xorg-xset, can be used to set the typematic delay and rate for an active X server, though certain actions during runtime may cause the X server to reset these changes and revert instead to its seat defaults.
Usage:
$ xset r rate delay [rate]
For example to set a typematic delay to 200ms and a typematic rate to 30Hz, use the following command:
$ xset r rate 200 30
Issuing the command without specifying the delay and rate will reset the typematic values to their respective defaults; a delay of 660ms and a rate of 25Hz:
$ xset r rate
Using xautocfg
xautocfgAUR can apply repeat rate settings for newly connected devices automatically. It watches for X11 events and applies repeat rate configuration to newly connected keyboards.
Adjust the configuration:
~/.config/xautocfg.cfg
[keyboard] # repeat delay in ms delay = 200 # repeat rate in Hz rate = 30
If graphical-session.target
is started by your window manager or desktop environment, enable the systemd/User xautocfg.service
. Alternatively, launch xautocfg
manually.
Using AutoRepeat configuration option
To persist the configuration system-wide, change the seat defaults with an Xorg configuration file as described in #Using X configuration files, and add a AutoRepeat
section entry: [5]
The parameters for AutoRepeat
are delay
and interval
in milliseconds. If you like 25 Hz rate
of xset, the corresponding interval
1000 / 25 = 40 milliseconds.
/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf
Section "InputClass" ... Option "AutoRepeat" "200 40" ... EndSection
Using XServer startup options
Another method of persisting the configuration is to pass the desired settings to the X server on its startup using the following options:
-ardelay milliseconds
- sets the autorepeat delay (length of time in milliseconds that a key must be depressed before autorepeat starts).-arinterval milliseconds
- sets the autorepeat interval (length of time in milliseconds that should elapse between autorepeat-generated keystrokes).
See Xserver(1) for a full list of X server options and refer to your display manager for information about how to pass these options.
See also
- Madduck guide on extending XKB (archived at Wayback Machine)
- How to modify a keyboard layout in Linux - Romano Giannetti's blog