Fixing Right Shift Key Not Working on Linux Wayland without xmodmap

Fixing Right Shift Key Not Working on Linux Wayland without xmodmap

If you have recently purchased a new keyboard, but the right shift key is not working on your Linux system with Wayland, it is likely a firmware or software issue rather than a hardware problem. This article will guide you through troubleshooting and fixing the issue without relying on the deprecated xmodmap tool.

Identifying the Problem

First, ensure that the issue is not related to your specific application. Test the right shift key in various applications to verify if the problem persists across all of them. If the issue is consistent, proceed with the following steps.

Checking Keyboard Layout

Check your keyboard layout to ensure it is correctly set up. On most Linux distributions, you can access the keyboard settings by navigating to Settings > Region & Language > Input Sources.

Add your desired layout if it is not already present. Remove any unnecessary layouts that might be causing conflicts. Test the right shift key again after making these changes.

Inspecting Key Mapping

Inspect the key mapping for the right shift key using the xkbcomp tool. If you are using Wayland, switch to an Xorg session (if available) to execute these commands:

$ xkbcomp -xkb $DISPLAY - | grep -A 5 Shift_R

This command will display the key mapping for the right shift key. Ensure that the output matches the expected keycode and symbol.

Modifying Key Mapping

If the key mapping is incorrect, you can modify it by creating a custom XKB configuration file. Create a new file, for example, /home/yourusername/shift_fix.xkb, and add the following content:

partial alphanumeric_keys
xkb_symbols "fix_shift" {
    key  {
        type= "ONE_LEVEL",
        symbols[Group1]= [ Shift_R ]
    };
};

Load the custom configuration by executing the following command:

$ xkbcomp -I$HOME/.local/share/xkb -R$HOME/.local/share/xkb $HOME/shift_fix.xkb $DISPLAY

Test the right shift key again to see if the issue has been resolved.

Making Permanent Changes

To make the changes permanent, you can create a custom XKB directory and symlink the custom configuration file. First, create the custom XKB directory:

$ mkdir -p $HOME/.local/share/xkb/symbols

Then, move the custom configuration file to the new directory:

$ mv $HOME/shift_fix.xkb $HOME/.local/share/xkb/symbols/

Finally, create a symlink for the custom configuration file:

$ ln -s $HOME/.local/share/xkb/symbols/shift_fix.xkb $HOME/.local/share/xkb/symbols/pc

Reboot your system to apply the permanent changes. After rebooting, test the right shift key to ensure it is functioning correctly.

• Identified the problem by testing the right shift key in various applications.
• Checked and adjusted the keyboard layout in the system settings.
• Inspect