makima

Makima is a daemon for Linux to remap keyboards, mice, controllers and tablets.
It works on both Wayland and X11 as it relies on the evdev kernel interface.

Features

• Translates keys, buttons or combinations to other keys, sequences or shell commands.
• Devices are remapped individually using simple TOML config files.
• Automatically switch layouts based on the active window (only on Hyprland, Sway, Niri and X11 currently).
• Works with keyboards, mice, controllers, tablets and any other device that uses KEY/BTN input events present inside /usr/include/linux/input-event-codes.h.
• Also supports some common ABS and REL events, like analog stick movements and mouse scroll wheels.
• Supports hot plugging to connect and disconnect devices on the fly.
• Works with wired and Bluetooth devices.
• If you connect a supported game controller, you can scroll or move your cursor using analog sticks, with adjustable sensitivity and deadzone.

Index

• Installation
  • Building from source
• Running makima
• Configuration
  • Example config files
  • Config file naming
  • Application-specific bindings
  • Layout hotswapping
  • Change bindings
    • Remap
    • Commands
    • Settings
• Tested controllers
• Troubleshooting and FAQ

Installation

To install Makima, you can either download the executable from the Releases page or you can compile it from source using Cargo.

Building from source

1. Install rustup using your distro's package manager or refer to the official docs if your distro doesn't ship rustup.
2. Run rustup default stable which will automatically install Cargo (Rust's package manager) and the Rust toolchain.
3. Git clone and build with:

git clone https://github.com/cyber-sushi/makima
cd makima
cargo build --release

Once Cargo is done compiling, you should find Makima's executable inside ~/makima/target/release/.
After taking the executable, you can delete Makima's folder.

Running Makima

Make sure that the executable has permissions to run as a program with chmod +x makima or with Right Click > Properties > "allow executing as program" or something like that, depending on your file manager.

There are two recommended ways to execute Makima:

• Run Makima as root with sudo -E makima.
  Navigate into the directory of the executable and use sudo -E ./makima.
  Alternatively, add Makima to a directory that's in PATH, possibly /usr/bin or ~/.local/bin and simply use sudo -E makima from anywhere.

Note

The -E argument is necessary because it allows Makima to inherit your user environment instead of the root environment when running with sudo. You can also add the -b argument (sudo -Eb makima) to detach if from the terminal and make it run in the background.

• Run Makima as a Systemd service.
  Move the executable into /usr/bin.
  Grab makima.service from this repo and edit the User= line with your username.
  Move the file into /etc/systemd/system, then run systemctl daemon-reload.
  After this, you can start and stop Makima with systemctl start/stop makima or you can enable/disable it on startup with systemctl enable/disable makima. If you change the config files and you want the changes to take place, restart Makima with systemctl restart makima.

Note

When running as a systemd service, Makima inherits your systemd user environment, not your shell environment (you can see it with systemctl --user show-environment). If you need to pass env variables to it, do so by adding them to the unit file with Environment=VARIABLE=value.

Configuration

You can find a bunch of example config files on this repo, either pick one of them or create your own from scratch.
Makima's config directory defaults to $HOME/.config/makima but can be changed through the MAKIMA_CONFIG environment variable (if you run Makima as a system service, add it directly to the Systemd unit).

Config file naming

To associate a config file to an input device, the file name should be identical to that of the device, plus .toml at the end. If your device's name includes a /, just omit it.

All config files will be parsed automatically when makima is launched.
Files that don't end with .toml and files that start with . (dotfiles) won't be parsed, so you can add a dot at the beginning of the filename to mask them from Makima.

Tip

Example: you run evtest and see that your Dualshock 4 controller is named Sony Interactive Entertainment Wireless Controller. All you have to do is rename your config file to Sony Interactive Entertainment Wireless Controller.toml.

Application-specific bindings

To apply a config file only to a specific application, just put ::<window_class> at the end of their filename, before .toml.

Tip

Example: you want your DS4 controller to have a specific set of keybindings for Firefox, name that file Sony Interactive Entertainment Wireless Controller::firefox.toml.
To retrieve the window class of a specific application, refer to your compositor's documentation, e.g. on Hyprland type hyprctl clients in your terminal while that application is open.

Important

App-specific bindings are currently only supported on Hyprland, Sway, Niri, Plasma Wayland and all X11 sessions.
Some applications, like Flatpaks for example, will have names like org.mozilla.firefox.
On Wayland, make sure that the XDG_CURRENT_DESKTOP environment variable is set, othewise Makima won't be able to use application-specific bindings.

On Plasma Wayland, Makima uses kdotool (Github repo or AUR package) to retrieve the active window instead of doing so internally, which means that you also need that installed. Sorry about this, but I didn't want to hardcode JavaScript snippets inside of Makima just to communicate with KWin.

Warning

It's been reported that active window retrieval through kdotool on Plasma might introduce performance issues, if you experience problems, remove kdotool's executable from PATH until I figure out how a solution.

Layout hotswapping

To declare multiple layouts, similarly to app-specific bindings, put ::<int> at the end of a config file, where int is an integer value between 0 and 3, representing the layout number. If not specified, Makima will assume 0.
When pressing the key configured in the settings through the LAYOUT_SWITCHER parameter, Makima will automatically cycle through the available layouts. If a layout isn't set, e.g. you're on 0 and you switch to the next layout, but number 1 isn't found, Makima will automatically skip to layout 2 and so on.
You can also combine layouts and per application bindings by simply putting them both in the config file name.

Tip

Example: declare layout 2 in Nautilus by setting Wireless Controller::2::org.gnome.Nautilus.toml or Wireless Controller::org.gnome.Nautilus::2.toml.

Note

Keep in mind that while bindings and commands are read from each config file independently, settings are only read from the main config file, the one with no layout and associated application specified. If such file isn't present, Makima will use the default values.

Bindings and settings

The config file is divided into multiple sections:

• [remap], where you can rebind keys, buttons, combinations and some axis events to other keys, buttons and combinations.
• [commands], where you can rebind keys, buttons, combinations and some axis events to shell commands.
• [settings], where you can configure a few settings.

[remap]

# Remap a key to another key
KEY1 = ["KEY2"]

# Remap a key to a key sequence
KEY1 = ["KEY2", "KEY3", "KEY4"]

# Remap a key sequence to a single key
MODIFIER1-MODIFIER2-MODIFIER3-KEY1 = ["KEY1"]

# Remap a key sequence to another key sequence
MODIFIER1-MODIFIER2-MODIFIER3-KEY1 = ["KEY1", "KEY2", "KEY3"]

[commands]

# Use a key to invoke a shell command
KEY1 = ["command1"]

# Use a key to invoke a list of shell commands
KEY1 = ["command1", "command2", "command3"]

# Use a key sequence to invoke a shell command
MODIFIER1-MODIFIER2-MODIFIER3-KEY1 = ["command1"]

# Use a key sequence to invoke a list of shell commands
MODIFIER1-MODIFIER2-MODIFIER3-KEY1 = ["command1", "command2", "command3"]

Key names:

You can find the KEY names inside /usr/include/linux/input-event-codes.h, or launch evtest to see the events emitted by your devices.
Remember that keys like Ctrl and Alt have names like KEY_LEFTCTRL, KEY_LEFTALT etc. Just using KEY_CTRL and KEY_ALT will throw a parsing error because the key code does not exist.

Axis events:

Axis events such as scroll wheels and analog stick movements are hardcoded, currently you can use the following:

• SCROLL_WHEEL_UP, SCROLL_WHEEL_DOWN - for a mouse's scroll wheel
• BTN_DPAD_UP, BTN_DPAD_DOWN, BTN_DPAD_LEFT, BTN_DPAD_RIGHT - for a game controller's D-Pad
• BTN_TL2, BTN_TR2 - for a game controller's triggers, respectively left and right
• LSTICK_UP, LSTICK_DOWN, LSTICK_LEFT, LSTICK_RIGHT, RSTICK_UP, RSTICK_DOWN, RSTICK_LEFT, RSTICK_RIGHT - for a game controller's analog sticks
• ABS_WHEEL_CW, ABS_WHEEL_CCW - for a tablet's wheel, respectively clockwise and counterclockwise

Refer to the sample config files for more information.

Modifiers and custom modifiers:

You can use as many modifiers as you want when declaring a binding, but the last key has to be a non-modifier key.

Non-modifier keys (e.g. KEY_A) can be set in place of a modifier, automatically changing the behavior of that key: when used in combination with other keys, it will only act as a modifier, but when used alone, it will retain its default functionality, although the input event will be dispatched on key-up instead of key-down.

If you want a non-modifier key to act as a modifier without remapping it for that device (e.g. you need it as a modifier when used in combination with another device), you can add it to the CUSTOM_MODIFIERS setting. Refer to the [settings] section for more info.

Modifiers across multiple devices:

Keep in mind that if you want to use modifiers across multiple devices (e.g. KEY_LEFTCTRL on your keyboard and BTN_RIGHT on your mouse), both devices will have to be read by Makima and thus both will need a config file, even if empty. Having a config file is just a way to tell Makima "Hey, read this device!".

Chained bindings:

When declaring a binding, you can put a dash (-) in front of it (e.g. -KEY_A = ["KEY_B"]) to tell Makima that it's not a standalone binding and it should instead be chained at the end of another sequence.
Example:

# Simulate Alt-Tab: press the buttons in the first binding, then tap the right trigger to advance in the Alt-Tab menu.
BTN_SELECT-BTN_TL2 = ["KEY_LEFTALT"]
-BTN_TR2 = ["KEY_TAB"]

If the key with the dash is pressed alone, its behavior will depend on the CHAIN_ONLY setting: if set to "true" (default) it will ignore the keypress and only fire if pressed together with a combination, if set to "false", it will fire the designated event regardless.
You can declare both a -BTN_TR2 and a BTN_TR2 binding: in this case, the first will fire when chained and the second will fire when used alone (assuming CHAIN_ONLY is set to"true").

[settings]

GRAB_DEVICE

Sets if Makima should have exclusivity over the device.
If "true", no other program will read the original input of the device. If "false", both the original input and the remapped input will be read by applications.

LSTICK and RSTICK

Set the function of the left and right analog sticks, respectively.
"bind" will make them available for rebinding in [remap] and [commands], "cursor" will use them to move your mouse cursor, "scroll" will use them to scroll, "disabled" will disable them.

LSTICK_SENSITIVITY and RSTICK_SENSITIVITY

Set the sensitivity of your left and right analog sticks when using them to scroll or move your cursor.
Lower value is higher sensitivity, minimum "1", suggested "6". If this is set to "0" or if it's not set, cursor movement and scroll will be disabled.

LSTICK_DEADZONE and RSTICK_DEADZONE

Set how much your analog sticks should be tilted before their inputs are detected.
Particularly useful for older devices that suffer from drifting. Use a value between "0" and "128".

INVERT_CURSOR_AXIS and INVERT_SCROLL_AXIS

Invert up/down and left/right on the analog sticks when used for cursor movement or 2D scroll.
Both default to "false".

LSTICK_ACTIVATION_MODIFIERS and RSTICK_ACTIVATION_MODIFIERS

When using analog sticks in cursor or scroll mode, normally, they're always active. However, if you specify a list of keys or modifiers in LSTICK_ACTIVATION_MODIFIERS or RSTICK_ACTIVATION_MODIFIERS, they'll only be active when the modifiers are pressed.
Example:

# Only move the cursor when Select and Start are pressed
LSTICK = "cursor"
LSTICK_ACTIVATION_MODIFIERS = "BTN_SELECT-BTN_START"

16_BIT_AXIS

This is needed if you're using Xbox controllers and Switch Joy-Cons to properly calibrate the analog stick's sensitivity.
Set to "true" if you're using those controllers.

CUSTOM_MODIFIERS

The keys listed in this parameter will change their behavior to act as modifiers.
While pressed, they will act as modifiers without emitting their respective KEY event, possibly changing the behavior of other keys if specified in [remap]. On release, they will emit their default KEY event only if no other keystroke happened while they were pressed.
This is useful if you want to have a key that behaves like a modifier but can still emit its own event if pressed alone.
You can list multiple keys to treat as modifiers with the following syntax:
CUSTOM_MODIFIERS = "KEY_A-KEY_BACKSLASH-KEY_GRAVE"

CHAIN_ONLY

When using a chained binding, you can choose the behavior of the key when pressed alone.
Set to "true" (default) to make it fire the event only if other modifiers are active. Set to "false" to make it fire its designated event regardless.

LAYOUT_SWITCHER

Set a key to cycle through the available remap layouts in the config files.
Defaults to BTN_0, which is the key at the center of a tablet's wheel.

NOTIFY_LAYOUT_SWITCH

If set to "true", send a notification for 0.5 seconds to notify that the layout has been changed, and what it has been changed to.
Defaults to "false".

Tested controllers

• DualShock 2
• DualShock 3
• DualShock 4
• DualSense
• Xbox 360
• Xbox One
• Xbox Elite 2
• Stadia
• Switch Joy-Cons

To add other controllers, please open an issue.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

Q: My device actually shows as three different devices in evtest, do I need to create three different config files, one for each device?
A: Each device will have a certain set of features, e.g. a DS4 controller is recognized as a touchpad, a motion sensor and a controller. A mouse is usually recognized as a mouse and a keyboard (for the additional keys). Just create a config file for the devices/features that you need to remap, and ignore the others.

Q: My controller works when using Bluetooth but not when using wired connection or vice-versa, why?
A: Some devices have a different evdev name when connected through Bluetooth, for example a Sony Interactive Entertainment Wireless Controller is just seen as Wireless Controller when connected via Bluetooth. You'll need to create a copy of the config file with that name.

Q: Will application-specific bindings be implemented for other desktops like Gnome Wayland?
A: Gnome on Wayland requires an extension to retrieve the active window through D-Bus, which is why I haven't implemented window tracking for it. If anyone finds a better solution, I'm all for it. Regarding other compositors, feel free to open an issue and I'll look into it.

Q: Makima says that it's unable to create a virtual device, what do I do?
A: Pick 50-makima.rules from this repo and copy it into /etc/udev/rules.d/, then load the uinput module with sudo modprobe uinput. To load it automatically on boot, create /etc/modules-load.d/uinput.conf and write uinput inside.

Q: SELinux prevents Makima's system service from running, what do I do?
A: Put makima.service inside /usr/lib/systemd/system instead of /etc/systemd/system, then run the following commands:

• sudo semanage fcontext -a -t bin_t "/usr/lib/systemd/system/makima.service"
• sudo restorecon -v /usr/lib/systemd/system/makima.service
• sudo semanage fcontext -a -t bin_t "/usr/bin/makima"
• sudo restorecon -v /usr/bin/makima