Static Hands for Linux

CapsLock navigation layer for Linux - Keep hands on home row. Available in Basic and Advanced editions.

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📺 Video Review

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🚀 Quick Start

Choose your edition:

Basic Edition (19 shortcuts)

cd Basic/
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

Advanced Edition (30 shortcuts)

cd Advanced/
chmod +x install_advanced.sh
./install_advanced.sh

Then log out and log back in (or reboot).

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📊 Which Edition?

Feature	Basic	Advanced
Arrow navigation	✅	✅
Home/End/PgUp/PgDn	✅	✅
Modifier modes (Ctrl/Shift/Alt/Super)	✅	✅
Speed navigation (×5/×6)	✅	✅
Text editing (Copy/Paste/Cut/Undo)	❌	✅
Select All / Bold	❌	✅
Special keys (Esc/F2/Tab)	❌	✅
Total shortcuts	19	30

Recommendation: Start with Basic, upgrade to Advanced later if needed.

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🖼️ Wallpaper Pack

Keep the keyboard layout always visible on your desktop!

Download 4k Wallpaper Pack

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⌨️ Available Commands

Navigation Keys (Both Editions)

Key	Function
Caps + I	↑ Up
Caps + K	↓ Down
Caps + J	← Left
Caps + L	→ Right
Caps + U	Home (start of line)
Caps + O	End (end of line)
Caps + Y	Page Up
Caps + N	Page Down
Caps + H	Delete (forward)
Caps + ;	Backspace
Caps + P	Insert

Modifier Keys (Both Editions - hold)

Key	Function	Example
Caps + F	Ctrl	Caps+F+L = Ctrl+Right (jump word)
Caps + D	Shift	Caps+D+L = Shift+Right (select)
Caps + S	Alt	Caps+S+Tab = Alt+Tab
Caps + W	Super	Caps+W+L = Super+L (lock screen)

Speed Navigation ⚡ (Both Editions)

Key	Function
`Caps + 8$	\text{Up} \times 5 \text{lines}
$Caps + ,$	\text{Down} \times 5 \text{lines}
$Caps + M$	\text{Left} \times 6 \text{words}
$Caps + .$	\text{Right} \times 6 \text{words}

\text{Text} \text{Editing} (\text{Advanced} \text{Only})

\text{Key}	\text{Function}
$Caps + A`	Select All (Ctrl+A)
Caps + Z	Undo (Ctrl+Z)
Caps + X	Cut (Ctrl+X)
Caps + C	Copy (Ctrl+C)
Caps + V	Paste (Ctrl+V)
Caps + B	Bold (Ctrl+B)

Special Keys (Advanced Only)

Key	Function
Caps + Q	Escape
Caps + R	Rename (F2)
Caps + T	Select line
Caps + 7	Tab
Caps + Backstick	Close window
Caps + F7	Enter

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💡 Features

The strength of these keybindings is no hand movement.

Before: Arrow keys → Move hand from home row
After: Caps + IJKL → Navigate without moving hands

Learning curve:

• Week 1: Focus on I/K/J/L navigation
• Week 2: Add modifiers (F/D/S/W)
• Week 3: Speed navigation and text editing

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⚙️ System Requirements

• Linux (any distribution with systemd)
• X11 or Wayland
• 5-10 MB disk space
• No additional dependencies

Tested on: Fedora 43, Ubuntu 22.04+, Arch Linux, Debian 12+, Pop!_OS
Desktop Environments: GNOME, KDE, XFCE, i3, sway

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🆘 Troubleshooting

Kanata won't start:

journalctl --user -u kanata.service -n 50

Permission errors:

sudo chmod 0666 /dev/uinput
systemctl --user restart kanata.service

Keys not working:

1. Check service is running: systemctl --user status kanata.service
2. Check config loaded: cat ~/.config/kanata/config.kbd
3. See detailed guides in Basic/ or Advanced/ folders

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⚠️ Known Limitations

Not Implemented (Advanced edition)

• Case transformation (Caps+9/0/-) - Requires recompiling Kanata
• Always On Top (Caps+=) - Use your window manager instead
• Help Window - Use CHEATSHEET_ADVANCED.md
• Google Search - Use browser extensions

See Advanced/COMPARISON_ADVANCED.md for workarounds.

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📚 Documentation

Each edition has detailed docs:

Basic:

• Basic/README.md - Installation and usage
• Basic/INSTALL.md - Troubleshooting

Advanced:

• Advanced/README_ADVANCED.md - Installation and usage
• Advanced/INSTALL_ADVANCED.md - Troubleshooting
• Advanced/COMPARISON_ADVANCED.md - Feature comparison
• Advanced/CHEATSHEET_ADVANCED.md - Printable reference

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🔄 Upgrading from Basic to Advanced

1. Stop Basic service:

   systemctl --user stop kanata.service
   

2. Install Advanced:

   cd Advanced/
   ./install_advanced.sh
   

3. Restart:

   systemctl --user restart kanata.service
   

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Credits & License

Based on: Static Hands by Almog Tavor

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