Linux Input Devices

⌨ Linux Input Devices Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to input devices on Linux, covering Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions including keyboard configuration, mouse setup, and input device troubleshooting.

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Table of Contents

1. Keyboard Configuration
2. Mouse Configuration
3. Input Device Tools
4. Troubleshooting

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⌨ Keyboard Configuration

Set Keyboard Layout

Configure layout:

# Using localectl
sudo localectl set-keymap us

# List layouts
localectl list-keymaps

# Set X11 layout
sudo localectl set-x11-keymap us

X11 Keyboard

Configure X11:

# Edit config
sudo vim /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/00-keyboard.conf

Example:

Section "InputClass"
    Identifier "keyboard"
    MatchIsKeyboard "yes"
    Option "XkbLayout" "us"
    Option "XkbVariant" "dvorak"
EndSection

Keyboard Shortcuts

Configure shortcuts:

# GNOME
gsettings set org.gnome.settings-daemon.plugins.media-keys custom-keybindings "['/org/gnome/settings-daemon/plugins/media-keys/custom-keybindings/custom0/']"

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Mouse Configuration

Mouse Settings

Configure mouse:

# X11 config
sudo vim /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-mouse.conf

Example:

Section "InputClass"
    Identifier "mouse"
    MatchIsPointer "yes"
    Option "AccelerationProfile" "-1"
    Option "AccelerationScheme" "none"
EndSection

Mouse Sensitivity

Adjust sensitivity:

# Using xinput
xinput list

# Set sensitivity
xinput set-prop "Mouse Name" "Device Accel Constant Deceleration" 2.0

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Input Device Tools

xinput

List devices:

# List input devices
xinput list

# List properties
xinput list-props "Device Name"

# Set properties
xinput set-prop "Device Name" "Property" value

libinput

List devices:

# List devices
libinput list-devices

# Debug device
libinput debug-events

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Troubleshooting

Keyboard Not Working

Check keyboard:

# Check if detected
xinput list | grep -i keyboard

# Check kernel messages
dmesg | grep -i keyboard

Mouse Not Working

Check mouse:

# Check if detected
xinput list | grep -i mouse

# Check USB
lsusb | grep -i mouse

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Summary

This guide covered input devices for Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other distributions, including keyboard, mouse, and troubleshooting.

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Next Steps

• Touchpad Configuration - Touchpad setup
• Locale and Language - Keyboard layouts
• ArchWiki Keyboard: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Keyboard_configuration

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This guide covers Arch Linux, CachyOS, and other Linux distributions. For distribution-specific details, refer to your distribution's documentation.