How to Change the Keyboard Layout on Linux

Pressed a key and it came out all wrong on the screen? Fancy using a Mac’s known key layout on your now Linux laptop? Looking to type French, Turkish and Greek like a native? Find out here how to change the keyboard layout on Linux (Gnome and KDE).

First, Muphry’s Low

What if you spot an error in a manuscript and set out to correct it (with an explanation to the original author to boot)? What if you write about editing or grammar in general?

If Murphy’s Law kicks in (as is its wont), you shall produce an example of the application of Muphry’s Law: “If you write anything criticizing editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written.”

Editor John Bangsund, the law’s originator, gives more possible applications and examples; I, of course, will blame any mistakes on the wrong keyboard layout:

How to Change the Keyboard Layout on Linux

Using Gnome

Another way to enter special characters: How to Enable and Set the “Compose” Key on Linux

Add or Remove a Keyboard Layout

To edit the list of available keyboard layouts in Gnome:

1. Open Gnome Settings.
   Here’s how: You can open the quick settings menu, for example, in the menu bar, then click the settings gear icon.
2. Select Keyboard.
3. Click Add input source… and choose the desired keyboard layout to add a new layout.
   Delete: To remove a layout, click its three dots menu item, then choose Remove.
   

Using Windows? How to Add the U.S.-International Keyboard Layout in Windows

Switch Keyboard Layouts in KDE Linux

To select a keyboard layout for input on the KDE Plasma desktop:

1. Click on the current keyboard layout in the system tray with the right mouse button.
   Left click: Click with the left mouse button instead to cycle through layouts.
2. Select the layout you want to use from the list.
   KDE keyboard shortcut: Press Super Alt K to cycle through the list of keyboard layouts.
   

Add a Keyboard Layout to KDE Linux

To edit the list of available keyboard layouts in KDE Linux:

1. Open KDE System Settings.
   Here’s how: Select Settings | System Settings in the KDE Application Launcher menu, for example.
2. Go to Input Devices | Keyboard.
3. Switch to the Layouts tab.
4. Click Add under Configure layouts and select the desired layout to add a new input language or keyboard layout.
   Subtract: Highlight a keyboard layout and click Remove to delete it from the list.
5. Now click Apply.

How to Change the Keyboard Layout on Linux: FAQ

Can I set the keyboard layout without Gnome or KDE?

Yes.

You can usually set the keyboard layout using the “localectl” command:

• localectl set-keymap us in a console or terminal window will set the keyboard layout to US-English, for example.
  What’s possible: Use localectl list-keymaps to see a list of keyboard layouts available.
  Just now: The loadkeys command will load the keyboard layout for the current session (e.g., loadkeys gr for a Greek keyboard layout).

Most desktop environments, distributions and window managers will include an option to change the keyboard layout.

(How to change the keyboard layout on Linux tested with Gnome 46 and KDE Plasma 6.1; first published September 2024)