add the ability to change keyboard layout while sway is running

[vikstrous]

As far as I can tell, right now the only way to change the keyboard layout is to restart sway. It would be nice if there was a way to change it through swaymsg.

[Timidger]

This has been discussed before, and currently is not possible. It might become an option once sway migrates to wlroot.

[ddevault]

Use something to this effect.

export XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=de,us
export XKB_DEFAULT_OPTIONS=grp:alt_shift_toggle
sway

Read the XKB manual.

[tjaartvdwalt]

I use a very customized keyboard layout, and being able to change the keyboard layout at run time would be very handy in a couple of situations:

• A colleague wants to type on my laptop
• I want to plug in an external keyboard that has a different layout

Are there plans to support this with wlroots? Is there a way I can contribute?

[ddevault]

The plan is to support this in wlroots. The best place to help out wouldn't be keyboard related, but on wlroots as a whole (because sway won't switch until every feature is done, so it won't benefit from the features you want until then).

To help, pick something to do from here: swaywm/wlroots#9

We collaborate over IRC in #sway on freenode, be there.

[toger5]

This is now also pissible with the sway configuration. It took me some time to figure it out thats why I am posting it here:

xkb-Layout us,de
xkb_options grp:win_space_toggle

(it is documented in the sway input man page: https://jlk.fjfi.cvut.cz/arch/manpages/man/sway-input.5)

Possible switches:

Option	Description
grp:switch	Right Alt (while pressed)
grp:lswitch	Left Alt (while pressed)
grp:lwin_switch	Left Win (while pressed)
grp:rwin_switch	Right Win (while pressed)
grp:win_switch	Any Win (while pressed)
grp:menu_switch	Menu (while pressed), Shift+Menu for Menu
grp:caps_switch	Caps Lock (while pressed), Alt+Caps Lock for the original Caps Lock action
grp:rctrl_switch	Right Ctrl (while pressed)
grp:toggle	Right Alt
grp:lalt_toggle	Left Alt
grp:caps_toggle	Caps Lock
grp:shift_caps_toggle	Shift+Caps Lock
grp:shift_caps_switch	Caps Lock to first layout; Shift+Caps Lock to last layout
grp:win_menu_switch	Left Win to first layout; Right Win/Menu to last layout
grp:lctrl_rctrl_switch	Left Ctrl to first layout; Right Ctrl to last layout
grp:alt_caps_toggle	Alt+Caps Lock
grp:shifts_toggle	Both Shift together
grp:alts_toggle	Both Alt together
grp:ctrls_toggle	Both Ctrl together
grp:ctrl_shift_toggle	Ctrl+Shift
grp:lctrl_lshift_toggle	Left Ctrl+Left Shift
grp:rctrl_rshift_toggle	Right Ctrl+Right Shift
grp:ctrl_alt_toggle	Alt+Ctrl
grp:alt_shift_toggle	Alt+Shift
grp:lalt_lshift_toggle	Left Alt+Left Shift
grp:alt_space_toggle	Alt+Space
grp:menu_toggle	Menu
grp:lwin_toggle	Left Win
grp:win_space_toggle	Win+Space
grp:rwin_toggle	Right Win
grp:lshift_toggle	Left Shift
grp:rshift_toggle	Right Shift
grp:lctrl_toggle	Left Ctrl
grp:rctrl_toggle	Right Ctrl
grp:sclk_toggle	Scroll Lock
grp:lctrl_lwin_rctrl_menu	Left Ctrl+Left Win to first layout; Right Ctrl+Menu to second layout
grp:lctrl_lwin_toggle	Left Ctrl+Left Win

source: https://jlk.fjfi.cvut.cz/arch/manpages/man/xkeyboard-config.7

[aviau]

Is it now possible to change keyboard layouts with swaymsg? I am not happy with the proposed toggles here and I'd like to use bindsym instead.

[maxmouchet]

This is now also pissible with the sway configuration. It took me some time to figure it out thats why I am posting it here:

xkb-Layout us,de
xkb_options grp:win_space_toggle

It should be xkb_layout instead of xkb-Layout.

Also, to set the variant for each layout:

# Switch between US (international) and US (default).
xkb_layout us,us
xkb_variant intl,
xkb_options grp:win_space_toggle

See https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/197595/setxkbmap-multiple-layouts-with-different-variants.

[deifactor]

Is it now possible to change keyboard layouts with swaymsg? I am not happy with the proposed toggles here and I'd like to use bindsym instead.

Yes, you can do this. It's a bit wonky, I noticed I had to explicitly set xkb_layout us before xkb_variant colemak would take any effect. but it does work.

[chesedo]

I noticed I had to explicitly set xkb_layout us before xkb_variant colemak would take any effect. but it does work.

With the latest update /etc/sway/definitions and /etc/sway/inputs/* went missing for me. This broke my colemak variant, but setting xkb_layout us fixed it too

[emersion]

We never shipped these files. Maybe they were shipped by your distribution.

[chesedo]

Okay, I just filled a bug with my distribution at manjaro-sway/manjaro-sway#112

Is the xkb_variant not working unless xkb_layout is also set a bug though? (Which I can create a separate issue for)