makima

Makima is a daemon for Linux to remap keyboards, mice, controllers and tablets.
It works on Wayland, X11 and even tty, as it relies on the evdev kernel interface.
Previously only a controller daemon, its scope has now been expanded because I had nothing better to do.

Features

• Remap keys, buttons or entire combinations to other keys, sequences or shell commands using simple TOML config files, one for each different device.
• Works with keyboards, mice, controllers and any other device that uses KEY input events present inside /usr/include/linux/input-event-codes.h, and also supports common ABS and REL events.
• Hotplug to connect and disconnect your devices whenever you want.
• Supports wired and Bluetooth connections.
• If you connect a supported game controller, you can move your cursor or scroll through pages using analog sticks, with adjustable sensitivity and deadzone.
• You can have multiple sets of key bindings that automatically switch based on the active window (only on Hyprland, Sway and X11 currently).

Index

• Installation
  • Building from source
• Running makima
• Configuration
  • Example config files
  • Config file naming
  • Application-specific bindings
  • Change bindings
    • Remap
    • Commands
    • Settings
• Desktop integration
• 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

Executable permissions

Make sure that the executable has permissions to be executed 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.

Evdev permissions

In order to work properly, Makima needs access to the evdev kernel module which contains event devices.
To do so, you can do one of the following:

• Use sudo usermod -aG input username and reboot, then run Makima
  Note: some users might not like this one because it makes all applications potentially able to read your inputs.

  OR

• Run Makima as root with sudo -E makima.
  Note: the -E argument is necessary because it allows Makima to inherit your user environment instead of the root environment.

Usage

To run Makima, you can cd to its directory and use ./makima (or sudo -E ./makima).
If you need a more comfortable way to run Makima, you can take a look at the Desktop integration section.

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 ~/.config/makima but can be changed through the MAKIMA_CONFIG environment variable.

Config file naming

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

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.

Application-specific bindings

Hyprland, Sway and X11 only.
To apply a config file only to a specific application, just put ::<window_class> at the end of their filename, before .toml.
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. Note that Flatpaks will have names like org.mozilla.firefox.

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.

Note: on Sway, make sure that the XDG_DESKTOP_SESSION=sway environment variable is set, or Makima won't be able to use application-specific bindings.

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.

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!".

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
• LSTICK_UP, LSTICK_DOWN, LSTICK_LEFT, LSTICK_RIGHT, RSTICK_UP, RSTICK_DOWN, RSTICK_LEFT, RSTICK_RIGHT - for a game controller's analog sticks

Refer to the sample config files for more information.

[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".

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"

Refer to the sample config files for more information.

Desktop integration

There are multiple ways of running Makima and integrating it with your desktop experience, I'll give some examples.

• Launch it directly from your file manager or create a link on your desktop or somewhere else.
  This will generally just launch Makima in the background without root permissions.
• Launch it from terminal by cding to the directory of the executable, then using ./makima or sudo -E ./makima.
  Useful because you get a lot of diagnostics in case something doesn't work.
• Move the executable to a directory that's in PATH, then launch it using rofi, dmenu, wofi or whatever launcher you use.
  Most people add ~/.local/share/bin to PATH and put all their executable files there.
• Create a .desktop file for Makima and put it inside ~/.local/share/applications.
  This will add Makima to your DE's app drawer or app menu, and will make it visible in rofi, dmenu, wofi etc when used in drun mode.
• Autostart it from your window manager's config file.
  Most window managers and Wayland compositors have a way to start applications from their config file, like exec /path/to/makima (Sway) or exec-once = /path/to/makima (Hyprland).
• Create a systemd user service for Makima.
  This will let you start/stop Makima using systemctl --user start/stop makima and enable/disable on startup using systemctl --user enable/disable makima.
  Note: if you use a systemd user service and you need to set a custom directory for Makima's config file, put the MAKIMA_CONFIG env variable directly into your unit file.
  If you use a system service instead of a user service to grant Makima root permissions, it won't inherit your user environment so you'll have to set some additional variables yourself in the unit file, like XDG_DESKTOP_SESSION, XDG_CURRENT_SESSION, SUDO_USER and DBUS_SESSION_BUS_ADDRESS to have all of Makima's features available. The first two are for app specific keybindings and the last two are for running shell commands.

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 desktops other than Hyprland, Sway and X11?
A: If someone requests it, I might look into it.

Q: Makima gives me a "Permission Denied" error when launching, what do I do?
A: If you're certain that you've correctly added your user to the input group through sudo usermod -aG input yourusername and rebooted (you can verify it by running groups and see if it returns input), then maybe the uinput kernel module isn't loaded. You can load it with sudo modprobe uinput. To make it permanent, create /etc/modules-load.d/uinput.conf and write uinput inside.