awful.input somewm-only

Runtime input device configuration for SomeWM. This API is unique to SomeWM and not available in AwesomeWM.

Usage

local awful = require("awful")

-- Set properties
awful.input.tap_to_click = 1
awful.input.natural_scrolling = 1

-- Get properties
print(awful.input.accel_speed)

Pointer Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
tap_to_click	number (0/1)	0	Enable tap-to-click on touchpads
natural_scrolling	number (0/1)	0	Invert scroll direction (macOS-style)
accel_speed	number	0.0	Pointer acceleration (-1.0 to 1.0)
scroll_button	number	0	Button for scroll-on-button-down
left_handed	number (0/1)	0	Swap left/right mouse buttons
middle_button_emulation	number (0/1)	0	Emulate middle button with left+right
scroll_method	string	nil	Scroll method (see below)
accel_profile	string	nil	Acceleration profile (see below)
tap_and_drag	number (0/1)	1	Enable tap-and-drag
drag_lock	number (0/1)	0	Enable drag lock
tap_3fg_drag	number (0/1)	-1	Three-finger drag (tap 3 fingers, drag with 1)
disable_while_typing	number (0/1)	1	Disable while typing
dwtp	number (0/1)	-1	Disable touchpad while trackpoint in use (ThinkPad)
scroll_button_lock	number (0/1)	-1	Scroll button toggle vs hold (1=toggle, 0=hold)
clickfinger_button_map	string	nil	Button map for clickfinger mode (see below)
tap_button_map	string	nil	Button map for tap-to-click mode (see below)
click_method	string	nil	Click method: "none", "button_areas", "clickfinger"
send_events_mode	string	nil	Send events mode: "enabled", "disabled", "disabled_on_external_mouse"

For Boolean number arguments (0/1) a value of -1 means leave it untouched (i.e., at the device default).

Button Maps

The tap_button_map and clickfinger_button_map settings control which mouse button is triggered by multi-finger taps/clicks:

Value	1 finger	2 fingers	3 fingers
"lrm"	Left	Right	Middle
"lmr"	Left	Middle	Right

Scroll Button

The scroll_button setting specifies which button activates scroll-on-button mode. Common values:

Value	Button
0	Device default
274	Middle mouse button (common for TrackPoints)
8	Back/thumb button

Scroll Methods

Value	Method
nil	Default (device-dependent)
"two_finger"	Two-finger scrolling
"edge"	Edge scrolling
"button"	Button scrolling

Acceleration Profiles

Value	Profile
"adaptive"	Adaptive (accelerates with speed)
"flat"	Flat (constant speed)

Keyboard Properties

Property	Type	Default	Description
xkb_layout	string	"us"	Keyboard layout (e.g., "us", "de", "us,ru")
xkb_variant	string	""	Layout variant (e.g., "dvorak", "colemak")
xkb_options	string	""	XKB options (e.g., "ctrl:nocaps")
xkb_model	string	""	XKB model (e.g., "pc105")
xkb_rules	string	""	XKB rules (e.g., "base")
numlock	boolean	-	Toggle NumLock on/off
keyboard_repeat_rate	number	25	Key repeat rate (keys per second)
keyboard_repeat_delay	number	600	Delay before repeat starts (milliseconds)

Repeat timing vs. the keymap

keyboard_repeat_rate and keyboard_repeat_delay are sent to clients, which perform the repeating themselves. The keymap carries a separate per-key flag deciding whether a key may repeat at all, and a key that defines an explicit action has that flag off. These two properties do not override it. See Key Repeat Is Client-Side.

Common XKB Options

Option	Effect
ctrl:nocaps	Caps Lock acts as Ctrl
ctrl:swapcaps	Swap Caps Lock and Ctrl
compose:ralt	Right Alt is Compose key
grp:alt_shift_toggle	Alt+Shift switches layouts
grp:win_space_toggle	Super+Space switches layouts

Wayland Limitation

grp:* toggle options do not automatically switch layouts on Wayland. Use explicit keybindings instead. See Keyboard Layout Switching for workarounds.

Input Rules

Per-device input configuration using the same { rule, properties } pattern as client rules. Rules let you apply different settings to different devices, for example enabling natural scrolling on your touchpad but not your mouse.

How Rules Work

Each rule has a condition that matches devices and properties to apply. Rules are evaluated in order; later matches override earlier ones per property. Global awful.input.* settings act as defaults when no rule matches.

awful.input.rules = {
    { rule = { type = "touchpad" },
      properties = { natural_scrolling = 1, tap_to_click = 1 } },
    { rule = { type = "pointer" },
      properties = { natural_scrolling = 0, accel_profile = "flat" } },
}

Rule Conditions

Field	Type	Description
type	string	Device type: "touchpad" or "pointer" (mice, trackballs, trackpoints)
name	string	Substring match against the device name (e.g., "Logitech G502")

Both fields are optional. Omitting a field matches all devices. When both are present, both must match.

Device names match the names libinput reports; the Input Devices guide shows how to discover them.

Rule Properties

Rules accept any pointer property listed above. Keyboard properties are not per-device and cannot be used in rules.

Per-Device Override

Target a specific device by name:

awful.input.rules = {
    { rule = { type = "touchpad" },
      properties = { natural_scrolling = 1 } },
    { rule = { name = "Logitech G502" },
      properties = { accel_speed = -0.5, accel_profile = "flat" } },
}

Precedence

1. Start with global defaults (awful.input.* properties)
2. Apply each matching rule in order
3. Last matching rule wins for any given property

-- Global default: natural scrolling on for everything
awful.input.natural_scrolling = 1

-- Override: turn it off for mice only
awful.input.rules = {
    { rule = { type = "pointer" },
      properties = { natural_scrolling = 0 } },
}
-- Result: touchpads get natural scrolling (global), mice don't (rule override)

Clearing Rules

Set to nil to remove all rules and revert to global-only behavior:

awful.input.rules = nil

Example Configuration

-- In rc.lua
local awful = require("awful")

-- Global defaults (apply to all devices unless overridden by rules)
awful.input.disable_while_typing = 1
awful.input.keyboard_repeat_rate = 30
awful.input.keyboard_repeat_delay = 300
awful.input.xkb_layout = "us"
awful.input.xkb_options = "ctrl:nocaps,compose:ralt"

-- Per-device rules
awful.input.rules = {
    { rule = { type = "touchpad" },
      properties = {
          natural_scrolling = 1,
          tap_to_click = 1,
          tap_3fg_drag = 1,
          accel_speed = 0.3,
          dwtp = 1,  -- Disable touchpad while using trackpoint (ThinkPad)
      } },
    { rule = { type = "pointer" },
      properties = {
          natural_scrolling = 0,
          accel_profile = "flat",
      } },
}

See Also

• Input Device Configuration Guide
• Client Rules Guide - Same { rule, properties } pattern for windows
• somewm-client input commands