7.6. Configuring the Linux Console
This section discusses how to configure the systemd-vconsole-setup system service, which configures the virtual console font and console keymap.
The systemd-vconsole-setup service
reads the /etc/vconsole.conf file for
configuration information. Decide which keymap and screen font will
be used. Various language-specific HOWTOs can also help with this,
see http://www.tldp.org/HOWTO/HOWTO-INDEX/other-lang.html.
Examine localectl
list-keymaps output for a list of valid console
keymaps. Look in /usr/share/consolefonts directory for valid screen
fonts.
The /etc/vconsole.conf file should
contain lines of the form: VARIABLE="value". The following variables
are recognized:
- KEYMAP
-
This variable specifies the key mapping table for the keyboard. If unset, it defaults to
us. - KEYMAP_TOGGLE
-
This variable can be used to configure a second toggle keymap and is unset by default.
- FONT
-
This variable specifies the font used by the virtual console.
- FONT_MAP
-
This variable specifies the console map to be used.
- FONT_UNIMAP
-
This variable specifies the Unicode font map.
An example for a German keyboard and console is given below:
cat > /etc/vconsole.conf << "EOF"
KEYMAP=de-latin1
FONT=Lat2-Terminus16
EOF
You can change KEYMAP value at runtime by using the localectl utility:
localectl set-keymap MAP
![[Note]](../images/note.png)
Note
Please note that the localectl command can be used only on a system booted with systemd.
You can also use localectl utility with the corresponding parameters to change X11 keyboard layout, model, variant and options:
localectl set-x11-keymap LAYOUT [MODEL] [VARIANT] [OPTIONS]
To list possible values for localectl set-x11-keymap parameters, run localectl with parameters listed below:
- list-x11-keymap-models
-
Show known X11 keyboard mapping models.
- list-x11-keymap-layouts
-
Show known X11 keyboard mapping layouts.
- list-x11-keymap-variants
-
Show known X11 keyboard mapping variants.
- list-x11-keymap-options
-
Show known X11 keyboard mapping options.
Note
Using any of the parameters listed above requires the XKeyboard Config package from BLFS.