Keyboard shortcut upgrade (launch and switch between 18 apps with one hand)

[devgizzo]

Since I have just shared my workflow with the Gnome extension developers of Dash to panel, I thought I'd also share my workflow here to possibly be developed into Waybar for use in Omarchy. I might switch to Omarchy soon, currently on Fedora Gnome.

Launch and switch between apps with one hand

One thing I notice from the Omarchy 2.0 video is that DHH is watching the keyboard a lot and has to remember a lot of shortcuts and then do the gymnastics to actually press them with both hands. I can launch and switch between 18 apps with just my left hand, without looking at the keyboard.
When typing I can switch just as fast as when I am holding the mouse with my right hand. My right hand can move freely, not blocking switching or launching apps.

How?

I have modified the Gnome taskbar to show icons with a letter next to each icon. This works for pinned apps and for miscellaneously opened apps.
The letters are w e r t s d f g c v q w e a s d z x

The same could be done for the Omarchy Waybar!

Remapping keyboard with keyd

Then I use Keyd a systemd keyboard remapping tool to map those keys to two keyboard layers.
Holding a key opens a layer with w e r t s d f g c v keys.
Holding f key opens a layer with q w e a s d z x keys.
So pressing a + w for example opens the first app and so on.
The positions are chosen for ergonomics. It only takes a while to get used to switching to the f layer, which is holding f down and pressing keys starting from q to x. So you either use your pinky or your index finger for holding down any of the layers.
Keyd is necessary to convert the keyboard layer key presses to key combinations that Hyprland or Waybar can work with.

Since all icons have a letter for reference you can quickly see what to press when you look at the Waybar, but after a short while you know most of your pinned apps. And you could also hide the letters or toggle them when you hold one of the layer keys. When you know them all by heart you could also get rid of both the icons and letters. Or put that under a shortcut to toggle. The keyboard layers basically replace the current Omarchy shortcuts to open default apps, they don't even have to show at all, it's just that they are maybe less easy to remember than the current shortcuts.

Other keymappings

Since I am using Keyd already, I also map the app finder (Walker for Omarchy) to a + spacebar.
I have also mapped a + q to quit apps.
And I have doubled a + jikl as arrow keys which is my variant of vim motions keys.

My keyd .conf file

Note: M = Super key and I also make shift and super key stickie with a timeout of 500 ms and I swap left control key with capslock because it is easier on the pinkie. For left handed people I would recommend a mirrored keyboard layout, the idea is that opening, switching and closing apps is handled independently from where the other hand is and all shortcuts are on one hand.

[global]
chord_timeout = 10
oneshot_timeout = 500

[ids]

*

[main]

shift = oneshot(shift)
compose = oneshot(meta)
meta = oneshot(meta)

capslock = layer(control)
leftcontrol = capslock

a = lettermod(layer1, a, 400, 500)
f = lettermod(layer2, f, 400, 500)

[layer1]
w = M-1
e = M-2
r = M-3
t = M-4
s = M-5
d = M-6
f = M-7
g = M-8
c = M-9
v = M-0
q = M-q
space = M-space
j = left
k = down
i = up
l = right

[layer2]
q = M-f1
w = M-f2
e = M-f3
a = M-f4
s = M-f5
d = M-f6
z = M-f7
x = M-f8

[devgizzo]

So I have been test driving Hyprland on my current Fedora install. Setup a custom Waybar with icons to replicate what I created in Gnome on the taskbar. Also looked into Wofi and Walker and into some of the Omarchy config and scripts, but it was just quicker to let Chatgtp generate a GTK4 launcher that shows the icons and the shortcuts that are used by Keyd. Since I am not using workspaces and jump straight to apps everytime I would run Hyprland without any Waybar or taskbar.

To test drive my setup, if anyone is intrigued, I would recommend mapping my keyboard layers to all of the Omarchy default app shortcuts. This then works as alias shortcuts, you could use both. Then for reference of the shortcuts I am thinking about opening a Walker like menu when holding either 'a' or 'f' key for more than one or two seconds. In that case you clearly don't know which binding is the one. In this case the menu would show a list of all of the icons with the key binding next to it for reference. Normal use of the keybindings would skip the menu at all, to prevent flickering or animations. (Which I have turned off on both Gnome and Hyprland by the way)

Now my current Gnome system also works for misc apps, so any app you open from the launcher, it assigns the keybindings to these apps automatically. Those apps could show in a separate vertical row of icons with bindings on the Walker menu for reference. That part of the reference you'll likely need more often because for the default apps you build muscle memory for misc apps you don't. You only know the last keybinding of your default apps, so the next misc app is probably the next letter in line, so you can guess it if its not too many.

It's funny the amount of times I am pressing Keyd binding on Hyprland without them being there. By the way I am working window maximized on most apps this is why I gain only a little bit using Hyprland. In Gnome I just split windows 50/50 using the keyboard too.

[rickdotnet]

This is interesting. I don't have a ton of time now, but I will save this and revisit this if nobody comes up with something similar.

[devgizzo]

I found out a few things, thought I'd share:

Workspaces, I found a use for a single extra workspace just for my 50/50 window splitting, focus one of the windows will focus both.

Holding one of the layer keys to open a key reference menu proved annoying to me, I prefer to use a single key to show the menu and key reference, I now use tilde key which is between tab and esc to open the menu with my pinky. This menu also has time and date so my screen can do without the black bar (panel for gnome, waybar for hyprland). I use the same key to exit the menu if no selection is made. Keyd is able to open a keyboard layer and run a macro to open the menu, but to me it was not the preferred user experience. You either end up waiting for the menu or you set it too fast and it opens when already know the shortcut.

Anyway as I said before, the whole referencing of the shortcuts is a seperate issue, for Omarchy it could be as minimal and thereby stylish as it currently is. The power is in the keyboard layering for single handed operation on launching, focusing and killing apps.

[davzucky]

I did something similar, however for me it was to have the controls key to the main row. This mean I can control all omarchy without having to move my hand, and if some use my keyboard the binding would be same as they know.

I bind on key press the following

shift => j and f
ctrl => k and d
meta (windows) => l and s
alt => a and ;

I setup as well a layer when h is press to have the arrow on the wasd with page up and down

[ids]

*

[main]

#map key held right hand
j = lettermod(shift, j, 100, 150)
k = lettermod(control, k, 100, 150)
l = lettermod(meta, l, 100, 150)
; = lettermod(alt, ;, 100, 150)

#map key held left hand
f = lettermod(shift, f, 100, 150)
d = lettermod(control, d, 100, 150)
s = lettermod(meta, s, 100, 150)
a = lettermod(alt, a, 100, 150)

h = lettermod(arrow, h, 100, 150)

[arrow]

w = up
a = left
s = down
f = right
q = pageup
e = pagedown

[devgizzo]

This is the typical homerow mod. It shines when you keep two hands on the keyboard and your apps are all keyboard based. Any mouse based GUI app breaks this flow. As half of your modifier access is gone at this point.

My solution is about navigating between all applications with one hand. Giving the other freedom of movement.
No matter if the app is tiled, floating, full screen, mouse or keyboard based or on a workspace.

Press and go. All of the Omarchy apps fit under one hand.

[devgizzo]

I have opened up a public repo with my keyd, kanata and karabiner-elements mappings for linux and macos. This also features images of my keyboard layouts. https://github.com/devgizzo/homerow