Enhancing productivity with additional hotkeys can be a game-changer, especially when using underutilized parts of your keyboard, like the numpad. This post explores how to transform your numpad into a dynamic hotkey pad, functioning as both a number pad and a hotkey pad based on its status.
The challenge lies in the fact that the numpad shares keycodes in both states, making it hard to distinguish between them. After some research, I found keyd, which introduces the concept of layers, though it lacks programmable keys. The solution? Kmonad, a tool allowing for key programmability. As its name implies, Kmonad dives into Lisp territory, and it’s written in Haskell.
Installation
On Arch Linux, install Kmonad from the AUR using yay -S kmonad-bin. Add your user to the input group to use it without root privileges: sudo usermod -aG input $USER, and then relog.
Configuration
Kmonad’s tutorial is an excellent starting point. My configuration is simple as I only remap the numpad:
(defcfg
input (device-file "/dev/input/by-id/usb-Logitech_USB_Keyboard-event-kbd")
output (uinput-sink "My KMonad output")
cmp-seq ralt
cmp-seq-delay 5
fallthrough true
allow-cmd true
)
;; 100 % Keyboard
(defsrc
esc f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 f10 f11 f12 ssrq slck pause
grv 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 - = bspc ins home pgup nlck kp/ kp* kp-
tab q w e r t y u i o p [ ] ret del end pgdn kp7 kp8 kp9 kp+
caps a s d f g h j k l ; ' \ kp4 kp5 kp6
lsft 102d z x c v b n m , . / rsft up kp1 kp2 kp3 kprt
lctl lmet lalt spc ralt rmet cmp rctl left down rght kp0 kp.
)
#|
(deflayer template
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
)
|#
(defalias
mcr (layer-switch macros)
main (layer-switch main )
)
(deflayer main
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ @mcr / * -
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 7 8 9 +
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4 5 6
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1 2 3 kprt
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 0 .
)
(defalias
code (cmd-button "code")
)
(deflayer macros
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ @main _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ @code _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
)
In this configuration, defsrc declares your source keyboard. Use deflayer to define layers, and switch between them with layer-switch. defalias sets aliases for keys, useful for creating macros with cmd-button. You can also use cmd-seq for a sequence of keys.
With this setup, I toggle between layers using the NumLock key. However, note that the LED indicator doesn’t change state—a known issue pending a Pull Request fix. Haskell experts, your contributions are welcome!
Advanced Configuration
For multiple keyboards, you’ll need separate configurations for each, identifiable through /dev/input/by-id/. Use lsusb or ls -l /dev/input/by-id/ to find the device file. Here’s a script to start Kmonad with the correct configuration:
#!/bin/bash
# Directory containing keyboard devices
keyboard_device_dir="/dev/input/by-id/"
# Directory containing kmonad configurations
kmonad_config_dir="${HOME}/.config/kmonad/"
flash_numlock() {
for i in {1..6}; do
xdotool key Num_Lock
xdotool key Caps_Lock
sleep 0.2
done
}
# Loop through each keyboard device
for keyboard_device in "${keyboard_device_dir}"*kbd; do
# Extract the keyboard name
keyboard_name=$(basename "$keyboard_device")
# Corresponding kmonad configuration file
kmonad_config="${kmonad_config_dir}${keyboard_name}.kbd"
# Check if the kmonad configuration file exists
if [[ -f "$kmonad_config" ]]; then
# Run kmonad for this keyboard
kmonad "$kmonad_config" &
echo "Started kmonad for ${keyboard_name}"
flash_numlock
else
echo "No kmonad configuration found for ${keyboard_name} and ${kmonad_config}"
fi
done
# Inform the user that the script has finished
echo "All keyboards processed."
Conclusion
The final setup is quite satisfying, despite the lack of a visual layer-change indicator. I’m hopeful for a fix to the pull request. For any queries or suggestions, feel free to reach out.
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