xmodmap configuration files (*.lst) are easier to read and maintain than xkb files, this is the reason most customized keyboard layout configurations are shared as lst files. But loading layouts from xmodmap config files is really slow, and xkb can do the same job almost immediately.

This repository stores the xmodmap and xkb configuration files I made to remap some of the keys on my keyboard to keys near the home row, along with detailed instructions on how to convert from an xmodmap *.lst configuration file to a system-wide xkb layout.

• Vim-like XKB/xmodmap configuration
  • Which keys do I remap?
  • Convert xmodmap to xkb files
  • Create a new custom layout
    • Set the layout as a variant for the base one
    • Make the layout the default one

The following pictures give a good insight of the custom layout I use, the first one shows the default layout and the second one shows the one I use. I basically added vim-like keys (arrows, HomeEnd and Esc:Caps Lock swap), media keys (play/pause, previous/next track) and a numeric pad.

Overridden keys are shown in blue, while hidden keys are shown in red; the hidden keys are accessible by using AltGr as the modifier key.

• Note: If you're already using a Latin American keyboard, you may want to go ahead and test my custom layout by running the following script, will prompt you for your password to save the generated xkb layout into the system (it may take a minute or so):

  ./xmodmap-to-xkb-layout.sh
  

  Keep reading to do this manually or with other base layouts.

Replace each occurrence of latam from all steps with the name of the layout your custom layout is based upon.

You can see the complete list of layouts with:

sed '/^! layout$/, /^ *$/!d; //d' /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/base.lst

1. Restore the default configuration.

   setxkbmap -option && setxkbmap latam

2. Backup the default layout.

   xmodmap -pke > xmodmap/xmodmap_latam_defaults.lst
   xkbcomp -xkb $DISPLAY xkb/latam_defaults.xkb

3. Apply your custom xmodmap file after any extra mappings, for example, I swap Esc with Caps Lock. This may take a minute.

   setxkbmap -option caps:swapescape
   xmodmap xmodmap/xmodmap_latam_customs.lst

4. Get the keymap you just applied but with XKB.

   xkbcomp -xkb $DISPLAY xkb/latam_custom.xkb

5. Restore the default configuration, again.

   setxkbmap -option && setxkbmap latam

6. Test/apply the custom generated xkb file.

   xkbcomp -w0 xkb/latam_custom.xkb $DISPLAY

7. Then you can use the previous command (with absolute path) on a startup script to apply your custom keymap on login.

You can further convert your custom xkb file into an xkb symbols file to let XKB recognize it as a new layout.

1. Get the symbols portion of the complete xkb file.

   sed -n '/^xkb_symbols/, /^xkb_/p' xkb/latam_custom.xkb | head -n-1 > xkb/latam_custom_symbols.xkb

2. Open xkb/latam_custom_symbols.xkb and rearrange the header from:

   xkb_symbols "pc+latam+inet(evdev)" {

   To:

   xkb_symbols "latam_custom" {
       include "pc+latam+inet(evdev)"

3. Create a link to the symbols file into the xkb config folder:

   ln -srf xkb/latam_custom_symbols.xkb /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/latam_custom

4. Then you can run setxkbmap latam_custom to apply the new layout.

You can go even further and convert your custom xkb layout into a variant of the layout it's based on.

• Open /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/latam and add the following snippet to the bottom of the file:

  partial alphanumeric_keys
  xkb_symbols "vimlikekeys" {
      include "latam_custom"
      name[group1]="Spanish (Latin American, Vim-like keys)";
  };

Now you can just run setxkbmap latam vimlikekeys to apply the layout custom, of follow the next step to make the layout available in the Keyboard settings of your Desktop Environment.

• Open /usr/share/X11/xkb/rules/evdev.xml and add the following snippet inside between tags <varianList> of the layout you based your custom layout on, in my case, latam:

  <!-- ... -->
  <layout>
   <configItem>
       <name>latam</name>
       <shortDescription>es</shortDescription>
       <description>Spanish (Latin American)</description>
       <!-- ... -->
   </configItem>
   <variantList>
       <!-- Add this snippet: -->
       <variant>
       <configItem>
           <name>vimlikekeys</name>
           <description>Spanish (Latin American, Vim-like keys)</description>
       </configItem>
       </variant>
       <!-- End of snippet -->
       <!-- ... -->
   </variantList>
  <!-- ... -->
  </layout>

Then you will be able to select the layout it in the keyboard settings of the Desktop Environment, Cinnamon in my case:

You can now apply the custom layout by running either setxkbmap latam_custom or setxkbmap latam vimlikekeys, but newly plugged keyboards, TTYs, Display Managers (logging screens), etc., will fallback to the default layout. Follow the next steps to make the new custom layout the default one.

1. Set the layout and variant of the keyboard in the system-wide configuration file.

   echo -n '
   XKBLAYOUT="latam"
   XKBVARIANT="vimlikekeys"
   ' | sudo tee -a /etc/default/keyboard

2. Reboot to apply the changes system-wide.

Note: This works for debian-based distros.