Keymaps & Repeat Rate

Jay uses XKB keymaps for keyboard layout configuration. The default keymap is US QWERTY.

Setting the keymap

There are several ways to define a keymap.

Using RMLVO names (recommended)

The simplest approach is to specify the layout using RMLVO (Rules, Model, Layout, Variants, Options) names:

keymap.rmlvo = { layout = "de" }

You can specify any combination of RMLVO fields:

keymap.rmlvo = {
    layout = "us,de",
    variants = "dvorak,",
    options = "grp:ctrl_space_toggle",
}

All fields are optional. When a field is omitted, Jay checks the corresponding environment variable, then falls back to a default:

Using a raw XKB string

You can provide a complete XKB keymap as a multi-line string. See the ArchWiki XKB guide for background on the format.

keymap = """
  xkb_keymap {
      xkb_keycodes { include "evdev+aliases(qwerty)" };
      xkb_types    { include "complete"              };
      xkb_compat   { include "complete"              };
      xkb_symbols  { include "pc+us+inet(evdev)"     };
  };
  """

Loading from a file

Point to an XKB file. Relative paths are resolved from the config directory (~/.config/jay/):

keymap.path = "./my-keymap.xkb"

Named keymaps

You can define multiple named keymaps and switch between them at runtime. Define them with the [[keymaps]] array, then select the default with keymap.name:

keymap.name = "laptop"

[[keymaps]]
name = "laptop"
rmlvo = { layout = "us" }

[[keymaps]]
name = "external"
rmlvo = { layout = "de", options = "compose:ralt" }

Each entry in [[keymaps]] must have a name and exactly one of map, path, or rmlvo.

Switching keymaps at runtime

Use the set-keymap action to switch between named keymaps:

[shortcuts]
alt-F9  = { type = "set-keymap", keymap.name = "laptop" }
alt-F10 = { type = "set-keymap", keymap.name = "external" }

You can also switch keymaps from the command line:

~$ jay input seat default set-keymap-from-names --layout de

Repeat rate

The repeat rate controls how keys behave when held down. It has two parameters:

• rate – number of key repeats per second
• delay – milliseconds to wait before repeating begins

repeat-rate = { rate = 25, delay = 250 }

Changing repeat rate at runtime

Use the set-repeat-rate action:

[shortcuts]
alt-F11 = {
    type = "set-repeat-rate",
    rate = { rate = 40, delay = 200 },
}

Or from the command line:

~$ jay input seat default set-repeat-rate 40 200

Per-device keymaps

You can override the keymap for specific input devices using the [[inputs]] array. For example, to use a different layout for an external keyboard:

[[inputs]]
match.name = "My External Keyboard"
keymap.rmlvo = { layout = "de" }

See the Input Devices chapter for more on matching and configuring individual devices.