How to remap keys in Linux

Note#3

notes
Published

2022-07-13

Use xev to find out which key you want to remap. Then create ~/.Xmodmap.

Here’s an example of to remap a key:

keycode xx = new_key

Add the following line to your .bashrc or .zshrc to make it permanent:

xmodmap ~/.Xmodmap

Remap <Caps_Lock> to <Escape>

clear Lock
keycode 66 = Nosymbol Nosymbol Nosymbol 
keycode 66 = Escape

When using GNOME

If you’re using GNOME, you can remap the <Caps_Lock> key by following these steps:

  1. install gnome-tweaks;
  2. go to Keyboard and Mouse;
  3. go to Additional Layout Options;
  4. click on Caps Lock behavior;
  5. click on Make Caps Lock an additional Esc.

Note that this method may not work in Hyper-V, but it should work in VMware.

When using i3

If you’re using i3, add this to the end of your i3 configuration file ~/.config/i3/config:

exec --no-startup-id setxkbmap -option caps:escape

To take effect, you have to restart i3. You can do this by logging out and logging back.