Better keyboard experience in Linux

I simply recommend using us(intl) keymap as our base keymap. Because this keymap enables us to use AltGr key which will become super beneficial later in this post. To set your keymap to us(intl), do this:

localectl set-x11-keymap 'us(intl)'

You need to restart your X session to get it working or you can simply do this:

setxkbmap 'us(intl)'

While it enables AltGr key, it also turns backtick and apostrope keys into modifier keys that creates accented versions of pressed key. I do not want this behavior, to get the normal behavior add these into your ~/.Xmodemap.

keysym dead_grave = grave asciitilde
keysym dead_acute = apostrophe quotedbl

When you press Shift + [ you get {. As a natural extension to that, I bind AltGr+[ to (. This is simply easier than doing Shift+9, considering parentheses used frequently while coding, this change is a nice touch. Put these into your ~/.Xmodmap:

!! AltGr+[ → (, AltGr+] → )
keysym bracketleft = bracketleft braceleft bracketleft braceleft parenleft
keysym bracketright = bracketright braceright bracketright braceright parenright

Most of the modern programming languages supports using UTF-8 glyphs. For example you can use → instead of -> or ≥ instead of >=. They are more expressive, better-looking and feels right. Also while preparing a document or while having a causal conversation, it's just nicer to utilize these characters. Here is the related part of mine ~/.Xmodmap:

!! Quick access for some unicode chars
!! altgr + b → λ  | altgr + a → →
!! altgr + n → ¬  | altgr + d → ⇒
!! altgr + , → ≤  | altgr + . → ≥
!! altgr + = → ≠  | altgr + shift + = → ≔
!! altgr + / → ÷  | altgr + ; → ∷
!! altgr + 8 → ×  | altgr + t -> ✓
!! altgr + x → ❌ | altgr + f → ∀

keysym b = b B b B U03BB
keysym a = a A a A U2192
keysym x = x X x X U274C
keysym f = f F f F U2200
keysym n = n N n N U00AC
keysym d = d D d D U21D2
keysym t = t T t T U2713
keysym 8 = 8 asterisk 8 asterisk multiply
keysym comma = comma less comma less U2264
keysym period = period greater period greater U2265
keysym equal = equal plus equal plus U2260 U2254
keysym question = slash question slash question division
keysym semicolon = semicolon colon semicolon colon U2237

CapsLock, at least for me, one of the most useless key on the keyboard. Actually it's kinda more useful, when you compare it with the RightCtrl, at least you can press it. But the functionality is not really required, do you really find yourself typing in all caps for long periods of time? Even if so, you can simply write them all in lowercase and convert them to upper case with the help of your favorite text editor. What I like to do is, remap the CapsLock key to a new modifier key, namely Hyper, which enables you to create new shortcuts. You can think Hyper like the Control key but no program uses it and you are free to map anything you want to. Here is the relevant ~/.Xmodmap configuration:

!! Unmap capslock
clear Lock
keycode 66 = Hyper_L
!! Leave mod4 as windows key _only_
remove mod4 = Hyper_L
!! Set mod3 to capslock
add mod3 = Hyper_L

Now we will be able to create shortcuts using this Hyper key. I'll come to this later in this post.

Another thing is that some people like to do is that using CapsLock as ESC and I'm also into that, but I don't want to sacrifice my Hyper key too. For this there is a solution, which involves using another simple tool where you use CapsLock key as the Hyper key when combined with the other keys but when it's pressed alone it acts as the ESC key. I'll come to this later in this post too.

I don't know if anybody uses this key unironically but the only use case I found for it was using it as the ESC key. On my older keyboard I was able to press RightCtrl with my palm and as the ESC key it served me quite well. But it's harder to press RightCtrl with my palm on my new keyboard so I just do not use it anymore. I'm simply using the CapsLock as the ESC as I described above. But here is the configuration for using RightCtrl as the ESC if you want to give it a shot:

keycode 105 = Escape

I do not like to leave the home row of my keyboard, it's just hard to reach for the arrow keys for example. Also when you get used to h,j,k,l keys in vim for directional movement, you just want them everywhere. So I simply remapped AltGr + {h,j,k,l} to {Left, Down, Up, Right} keys respectively. When you press AltGr + j it acts like Down key, anywhere in your system. You do not need configuration per program, you just need to have this in your ~/.Xmodmap:

keysym h = h H h H Left Home
keysym j = j J j J Down Prior
keysym k = k K k K Up Next
keysym l = l L l L Right End

This configuration also binds AltGr + Shift + {h,j,k,l} to Home, Prior, Next, End keys. I have a little issue with this combination though, when you do a AltGr + Shift + h it gets registered as Shift + Home. This makes some programs select the text till the beginning of the line from where your cursor is, but for some programs it does not do that. The programs I use mostly behave in way that I want.

Side note for Emacs users: I generally do not use these bindings in Emacs to make a movement but sometimes I do use them and Emacs does a selection when I press them. You can disable shift selection to get the desired result:

(setq shift-select-mode nil)

As you may have inferred, to create a combination involving AltGr you need to change fifth field of the keysym assignment.

!! AltGr + j → Down
!! I'm not quite sure what the second j J part does but I accepted that as it is
keysym j = j J j J Down

You can use AltGr to create accented characters, this might be a nice alternative for constantly switching between your native keyboard layout and us(intl). If you find any other use cases for this key, let me know! The nice part of utilizing this key is that, like the Alt key, you use your thumb for pressing it and your thumb is the most powerful finger on your hand. So it makes sense to embrace keys like Alt, AltGr.

As I mentioned above, I use hyper as a modifier key when used in combination with some other key. But when I press it by itself, it acts as ESC key. This is achieved through using a simple program called xcape. I start xcape with the arguments below and it gives me this functionality:

xcape -e 'Hyper_L=Escape'

The purpose of xcape is to make a modifier key to be used as another key when it is pressed and released on its own. So in this case, we simply say to xcape that make hyper act as ESC when it's pressed and released by its own. The thing is that, you may experience a slight delay, because ESC is registered right after you release your hyper key.

You can also use shift or ctrl (or any modifier) keys as ESC or any other key when they pressed and released on their own.

xev is a small utility program that may help you during the configuration phase. It simply shows X events, you can press keys or key combinations to get their key codes, key symbols etc.