screenkey

Display keys which are currently being pressed on the screen

$ screenkey

$ screenkey [[-M|--mouse]]

$ screenkey --show-settings

$ screenkey [[-p|--position]] [top|center|bottom|fixed]

$ screenkey --mods-mode [normal|emacs|mac|win|tux]

$ screenkey --bg-color "[#a1b2c3]" [[-f|--font]] [Hack] --font-color [yellow] --opacity [0.8]

$ screenkey [[-p|--position]] fixed [[-g|--geometry]] [$(slop --nodecorations --format '%g')]

screenkey [OPTIONS]

-s, --font-size SIZE
    Sets the font size in points for the displayed keystrokes.

-p, --position POS
    Defines the screen position for the display, e.g., top, bottom, top-left, center.

-t, --timeout SECONDS
    Specifies the number of seconds before displayed keystrokes disappear.

-b, --background-color COLOR
    Sets the background color for the text display (e.g., '#000000', 'black').

-c, --color COLOR
    Sets the foreground (text) color for the displayed keystrokes.

-o, --opacity VALUE
    Adjusts the opacity level of the background, from 0.0 (transparent) to 1.0 (opaque).

-u, --modifier-only
    Displays only modifier keys (e.g., Shift, Ctrl, Alt) and not regular key presses.

-S, --scrub-password
    Replaces password-like input (e.g., characters typed after 'passwd') with asterisks for privacy.

--persist-keys
    Keeps previously pressed keys on screen until new input is received, rather than fading them out after a timeout.

screenkey is a lightweight, open-source utility for Linux that displays your keystrokes and mouse clicks on screen in real-time. It's primarily used during screencasts, tutorials, or live presentations to help viewers understand which keys are being pressed. The displayed text is highly customizable, allowing users to adjust font size, color, background, position, and the duration keys remain visible. It supports displaying modifier keys (like Shift, Ctrl, Alt), special keys (like Enter, Space), and can be configured to hide sensitive input like passwords. Running discreetly in the background, screenkey provides clear visual feedback of user input, enhancing the clarity and comprehensibility of recorded or live demonstrations.

screenkey is primarily designed for X11 display servers and may require an XWayland session to function correctly on Wayland environments. It depends on `python3-xlib` and `xdotool` for capturing and simulating input, which might need separate installation. In some rare cases, it might conflict with specific desktop environments or custom keyboard layouts.

To stop a running screenkey instance, you can usually click its tray icon and select 'Quit'. Alternatively, use the killall screenkey command in your terminal to terminate all running instances. If you started it from a terminal, pressing Ctrl+C in that terminal will also stop it.

screenkey originated as an open-source project to address the common need of screencasters and presenters to visually communicate keyboard input. Its development has focused on simplicity, customizability, and integration with standard Linux desktop environments. It's widely adopted due to its effectiveness in clarifying actions during technical demonstrations, evolving through community contributions to support various display options and input handling features.

xdotool(1), scrot(1), ffmpeg(1), simplescreenrecorder(1)