Why won't my xmodmap command run on startup/login?

Question

I want to run this command every time I log in (or every time I start up, if that doesn't work): xmodmap -e 'keysym Delete = Menu' -e 'keysym Menu = Delete'

I've tried many things. I put the command in System > Preferences > Startup Applications. I put it in a .sh file, marked it chmod +x and put that file in System > Preferences > Startup Applications. I put the script in /etc/init.d. I put the commands in ~/.profile. Nothing seems to work.

Finally, I put this in my ~/.profile:

touch test1
xmodmap -e 'keysym Delete = Menu' -e 'keysym Menu = Delete'
touch test2

Both test1 and test2 get created, but the keys are still not remapped. If I just copy/paste the command and run it manually, it works fine. But it won't run on login. Any ideas?

don't post the same question on multiple Stack Exchange sites (unless the question is on-topic on both sites and you've waited a long time and not had any good answer on the first site; but then include a link to the original question). — Gilles 'SO- stop being evil', Sep 06 '10 at 21:32
@Gilles: Is that the official policy? It seems like if it is on-topic on both sites, then both sites can benefit from it. But if this has already been discussed and decided, I will be careful in the future. — Matthew, Sep 18 '10 at 19:48
I thought there was an official FAQ entry about this, but I can't find it. I've asked on meta. — Gilles 'SO- stop being evil', Sep 19 '10 at 13:19

score 6 · Answer 1 · answered Jan 14 '12 at 09:03

6

Put it in ~/.Xmodmap. Some distro look for ~/.Xmodmap instead of ~/.xmodmaprc. It works for me on Fedora 16.

answered Jan 14 '12 at 09:03

Bank Qian

61

This is the best solution on debian – unloco Mar 04 '18 at 17:40

maxschlepzig · Accepted Answer · 2018-03-04T20:23:52.527

5

Depending on your distribution the ~/.xsession file is executed (a shell script) when logging into X. And/or the ~/.Xmodmap file is sourced by an xmodmap process.

The ~/.profile file is only executed by a login shell (with or without X), thus it is not the right place

edited Mar 04 '18 at 20:23

answered Sep 06 '10 at 18:59

maxschlepzig

57,532

score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Sep 06 '10 at 19:00

1

Put it in ~/.xsessionrc and make sure that /etc/X11/Xsession.options contains allow-user-xsession.

answered Sep 06 '10 at 19:00

Peter Eisentraut

2,172

Why won't my xmodmap command run on startup/login?

3 Answers3

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