xremap is a key remapper for Linux. Unlike xmodmap, it supports app-specific remapping and Wayland.
Fast - Xremap is written in Rust, which is faster than JIT-less interpreters like Python.
Cross-platform - Xremap uses evdev and uinput, which works whether you use X11 or Wayland.
Language-agnostic - The config is JSON-compatible. Generate it from any language, e.g. Ruby, Python.
Download a binary from Releases.
If it doesn't work, please install Rust and run one of the following commands:
```bash
cargo install xremap --features x11
cargo install xremap --features gnome
cargo install xremap --features sway
cargo install xremap ```
Write a config file directly, or generate it with xremap-ruby or xremap-python. Then run:
sudo xremap config.yml
Xremap supports application-specific key remapping.
While Xremap uses evdev and uinput, which is a lower layer than X11 and Wayland,
Xremap also uses X11 or Wayland compositor-specific protocols to support application config.
If you need this feature, make sure you specify the correct binary or --features option,
and follow the following instructions.
You may need to run xhost +SI:localuser:root before starting xremap.
It prints No protocol specified for such cases.
You may also need to install libx11-dev to run the xremap binary for X11.
Before using xremap, update /usr/share/dbus-1/session.conf as follows and reboot your machine
to allow sudo xremap to talk to your user's D-Bus.
diff
<policy context="default">
+ <allow user="root"/>
<!-- Allow everything to be sent -->
<allow send_destination="*" eavesdrop="true"/>
<!-- Allow everything to be received -->
Your config.yml should look like this:
yml
modmap:
- name: Except Chrome
application:
not: Google-chrome
remap:
CapsLock: Esc
keymap:
- name: Emacs binding
application:
only: Slack
remap:
C-b: left
C-f: right
C-p: up
C-n: down
See also: example/config.yml
modmap is for key-to-key remapping like xmodmap.
If you want to remap modifier keys, you need to use modmap.
Note that modmap remapping happens before keymap remapping.
yml
modmap:
- name: Name # Required
remap: # Required
KEY_XXX: KEY_YYY
application: # Optional
not: [Application, ...]
# or
only: [Application, ...]
For KEY_XXX and KEY_YYY, use these names.
You can skip KEY_ and the name is case-insensitive. So KEY_CAPSLOCK, CAPSLOCK, and CapsLock are the same thing.
Some custom aliases like SHIFT_R, CONTROL_L, etc. are provided.
modmap is for remapping a sequence of key combinations to another sequence of key combinations or other actions.
yml
modmap:
- name: Name # Required
remap: # Required
# key press -> key press
MOD1-KEY_XXX: MOD2-KEY_YYY
# sequence (MOD1-KEY_XXX, MOD2-KEY_YYY) -> key press (MOD3-KEY_ZZZ)
MOD1-KEY_XXX:
remap:
MOD2-KEY_YYY: MOD3-KEY_ZZZ
# key press (MOD1-KEY_XXX) -> sequence (MOD2-KEY_YYY, MOD3-KEY_ZZZ)
MOD1-KEY_XXX: [MOD2-KEY_YYY, MOD3-KEY_ZZZ]
application: # Optional
not: [Application, ...]
# or
only: [Application, ...]
For KEY_XXX, use these names.
You can skip KEY_ and the name is case-insensitive. So KEY_CAPSLOCK, CAPSLOCK, and CapsLock are the same thing.
For the MOD1- part, the following prefixes can be used (also case-insensitive):
SHIFT-C-, CTRL-, CONTROL-M-, ALT-SUPER-, WIN-, WINDOWS-You may use multiple prefixes like C-M-Shift-a.
application can be used for both modmap and keymap, which allows you to specify application-specific remapping.
yml
application:
not: Application
# or
not: [Application, ...]
# or
only: Application
# or
only: [Application, ...]
To check the application names, you can use the following commands:
$ wmctrl -x -l
0x0280000a 0 gnome-terminal-server.Gnome-terminal ubuntu-focal Terminal
0x02600001 0 nocturn.Nocturn ubuntu-focal Nocturn
Use the name after . in the third column (WM_CLASS), i.e. Gnome-terminal or Nocturn in the above output.
busctl --user call org.gnome.Shell /org/gnome/Shell org.gnome.Shell Eval s 'global.get_window_actors().map(a => a.get_meta_window().get_wm_class());'
swaymsg -t get_tree
Locate app_id in the output.
The gem is available as open source under the terms of the MIT License.