Using Keyd to Bypass Dead Keys on Linux

TL;DR:

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Keyd is a powerful system wide key remapping daemon. If a key on your keyboard is physically broken (a “dead key” in hardware terms), you can easily remap a rarely used key (like Caps Lock) to perform its function using Keyd.

Hardware fails. It’s an unfortunate reality of technology. On a laptop, a broken keyboard key can be a nightmare replacing the entire top case is often expensive or difficult.

Recently, the Esc key on my keyboard stopped working. As a frequent Vim user, this was catastrophic. The Esc key is essential for switching modes.

My solution? Keyd.

Keyd is a key remapping daemon for Linux that works at the kernel level (using uinput). This means your remappings work everywhere: in the terminal (TTY), in X11, and in Wayland, making it the perfect tool for bypassing broken keys.

Installation

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Here is how you can install Keyd on the most popular Linux distributions.

Arch Linux (Pacman)

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Keyd is available in the official repositories (extra).

sudo pacman -S keyd

Ubuntu / Debian (APT)

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For Ubuntu 24.04 and newer, you can often find it in the repositories. For a more streamlined experience or older versions, you can use the official PPA.

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:keyd-team/ppa
sudo apt update
sudo apt install keyd

Fedora (RPM)

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Fedora users can install Keyd via a COPR repository.

sudo dnf copr enable alternateved/keyd
sudo dnf install keyd

Configuration

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After installation, the configuration is handled in a single file: /etc/keyd/default.conf. You will likely need to create this file and the directory if they don’t exist.

Identifying Keys

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Before configuring, it’s helpful to know how Keyd sees your keyboard input. You can use the monitor tool to identify key names:

sudo keyd monitor

Press any key to see its identifier. Press Ctrl+C to exit.

Remapping Caps Lock to Esc

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In my case, the Esc key is physically dead. I chose to sacrifice the Caps Lock key to take its place.

Why Caps Lock?

1. It is located on the “home row” (next to ‘A’), making it very ergonomic.
2. I rarely use Caps Lock intentionally (Shift is sufficient for capitalization).

Here is how to configure it:

1. Open or create the config file:

   sudo vim /etc/keyd/default.conf

2. Paste the following configuration:

   [ids]
   *
   
   [main]
   # Remap the physical Caps Lock key to function as Escape
   capslock = esc

   Explanation:

   • [ids] *: Tells Keyd to apply these rules to all connected keyboards.
   • [main]: The default layer.
   • capslock = esc: When you press the physical Caps Lock key, the system receives an Esc signal.

Applying Changes

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Once you have saved your configuration file, you need to enable and start the service to apply the remapping.

sudo systemctl enable keyd --now

If you modify the configuration file later, simply reload Keyd to apply the changes instantly without rebooting:

sudo keyd reload

With this setup, a broken key is no longer a productivity blocker. Your muscle memory might take a day or two to adjust, but having a functional “Esc” key back in an even better position is well worth it.

References

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• Keyd GitHub Repository