Change Linux CentOS console keyboard layout

If you’re working in a virtual server and want to change your Linux CentOS console keyboard layout to match the one you are used to, you can do so by using the command localectl command. This command will change the layout to match your preferred keyboard layout.

To see a full list of possible keymaps, you can also use the command localectl command. This will give you a list of keymaps to choose from, including options for different languages and variations of keyboard layouts. Let’s see how.

Set the keyboard layout

For example, if you wanted to change the keyboard layout to match that of a Swiss French keyboard, you would use the following command:

localectl set-keymap ch

List all keyboard layout options

By using these commands, you can easily change the keyboard layout on your virtual appliance to better suit your needs and improve your productivity. You can list all options with the following command:

localectl list-keymaps

That’s it really.

Worth noting

It’s important to note that the above commands can be used on any Linux machine, not just virtual appliances running CentOS. The localectl command is a useful tool for any Linux user to change their keyboard layout as needed.

Additionally, it’s also possible to change the keyboard layout permanently. This can be done by editing the /etc/vconsole.conf file and adding the following line: KEYMAP=ch (or any other keymap of your choice).

Another way to change the keyboard layout permanently is to use the loadkeys command. For example, to load a Swiss French keyboard layout, you would use the command: loadkeys ch. This command can also be added to your startup script so that the layout is automatically loaded every time you boot your machine.

It’s also worth noting that it is possible to change the layout of the keyboard not only for console but also for graphical interfaces. For this, you can use the command setxkbmap or the graphical settings of your desktop environment.

Conclusion

In conclusion, changing the keyboard layout on your Linux machine is a simple process. Whether you’re working on a virtual appliance or a local machine, using the localectl command or editing configuration files, you can easily change the layout to better suit your needs and improve your productivity. It’s always good to have the knowledge of how to adjust settings to optimize your workflow.

Full list of possible keymaps

 ANSI-dvorak
 al
 al-plisi
 amiga-de
 amiga-us
 applkey
 at
 at-mac
 at-nodeadkeys
 at-sundeadkeys
 atari-de
 atari-se
 atari-uk-falcon
 atari-us
 az
 azerty
 ba
 ba-alternatequotes
 ba-unicode
 ba-unicodeus
 ba-us
 backspace
 bashkir
 be
 be-iso-alternate
 be-latin1
 be-nodeadkeys
 be-oss
 be-oss_latin9
 be-oss_sundeadkeys
 be-sundeadkeys
 be-wang
 bg-cp1251
 bg-cp855
 bg_bds-cp1251
 bg_bds-utf8
 bg_pho-cp1251
 bg_pho-utf8
 br
 br-abnt
 br-abnt2
 br-dvorak
 br-latin1-abnt2
 br-latin1-us
 br-nativo
 br-nativo-epo
 br-nativo-us
 br-nodeadkeys
 br-thinkpad
 by
 by-cp1251
 by-latin
 bywin-cp1251
 ca
 ca-eng
 ca-fr-dvorak
 ca-fr-legacy
 ca-multi
 ca-multix
 carpalx
 carpalx-full
 cf
 ch
 ch-de_mac
 ch-de_nodeadkeys
 ch-de_sundeadkeys
 ch-fr
 ch-fr_mac
 ch-fr_nodeadkeys
 ch-fr_sundeadkeys
 ch-legacy
 cm
 cm-azerty
 cm-dvorak
 cm-french
 cm-mmuock
 cm-qwerty
 cn
 cn-altgr-pinyin
 croat
 ctrl
 cz
 cz-bksl
 cz-cp1250
 cz-dvorak-ucw
 cz-lat2
 cz-lat2-prog
 cz-qwerty
 cz-qwerty-mac
 cz-qwerty_bksl
 cz-rus
 cz-us-qwertz
 de
 de-T3
 de-deadacute
 de-deadgraveacute
 de-deadtilde
 de-dsb
 de-dsb_qwertz
 de-dvorak
 de-latin1
 de-latin1-nodeadkeys
 de-mac
 de-mac_nodeadkeys
 de-mobii
 de-neo
 de-nodeadkeys
 de-qwerty
 de-ro
 de-ro_nodeadkeys
 de-sundeadkeys
 de-tr
 de_CH-latin1
 de_alt_UTF-8
 defkeymap
 defkeymap_V1.0
 dk
 dk-dvorak
 dk-latin1
 dk-mac
 dk-mac_nodeadkeys
 dk-nodeadkeys
 dk-winkeys
 dvorak
 dvorak-ca-fr
 dvorak-es
 dvorak-fr
 dvorak-l
 dvorak-la
 dvorak-programmer
 dvorak-r
 dvorak-ru
 dvorak-sv-a1
 dvorak-sv-a5
 dvorak-uk
 dz
 ee
 ee-dvorak
 ee-nodeadkeys
 ee-us
 emacs
 emacs2
 en-latin9
 epo
 epo-legacy
 es
 es-ast
 es-cat
 es-cp850
 es-deadtilde
 es-dvorak
 es-mac
 es-nodeadkeys
 es-olpc
 es-sundeadkeys
 es-winkeys
 et
 et-nodeadkeys
 euro
 euro1
 euro2
 fi
 fi-classic
 fi-kotoistus
 fi-mac
 fi-nodeadkeys
 fi-smi
 fi-winkeys
 fo
 fo-nodeadkeys
 fr
 fr-afnor
 fr-azerty
 fr-bepo
 fr-bepo-latin9
 fr-bepo_afnor
 fr-bepo_latin9
 fr-bre
 fr-dvorak
 fr-latin0
 fr-latin1
 fr-latin9
 fr-latin9_nodeadkeys
 fr-latin9_sundeadkeys
 fr-mac
 fr-nodeadkeys
 fr-oci
 fr-old
 fr-oss
 fr-oss_latin9
 fr-oss_nodeadkeys
 fr-oss_sundeadkeys
 fr-pc
 fr-sundeadkeys
 fr-us
 fr_CH
 fr_CH-latin1
 gb
 gb-colemak
 gb-dvorak
 gb-dvorakukp
 gb-extd
 gb-intl
 gb-mac
 gb-mac_intl
 gb-pl
 ge
 ge-ergonomic
 ge-mess
 ge-ru
 gh
 gh-akan
 gh-avn
 gh-ewe
 gh-fula
 gh-ga
 gh-generic
 gh-gillbt
 gh-hausa
 gr
 gr-pc
 hr
 hr-alternatequotes
 hr-unicode
 hr-unicodeus
 hr-us
 hu
 hu-101_qwerty_comma_dead
 hu-101_qwerty_comma_nodead
 hu-101_qwerty_dot_dead
 hu-101_qwerty_dot_nodead
 hu-101_qwertz_comma_dead
 hu-101_qwertz_comma_nodead
 hu-101_qwertz_dot_dead
 hu-101_qwertz_dot_nodead
 hu-102_qwerty_comma_dead
 hu-102_qwerty_comma_nodead
 hu-102_qwerty_dot_dead
 hu-102_qwerty_dot_nodead
 hu-102_qwertz_comma_dead
 hu-102_qwertz_comma_nodead
 hu-102_qwertz_dot_dead
 hu-102_qwertz_dot_nodead
 hu-nodeadkeys
 hu-qwerty
 hu-standard
 hu101
 ie
 ie-CloGaelach
 ie-UnicodeExpert
 ie-ogam_is434
 il
 il-heb
 il-phonetic
 in-eng
 iq-ku
 iq-ku_alt
 iq-ku_ara
 iq-ku_f
 ir-ku
 ir-ku_alt
 ir-ku_ara
 ir-ku_f
 is
 is-Sundeadkeys
 is-dvorak
 is-latin1
 is-latin1-us
 is-mac
 is-mac_legacy
 is-nodeadkeys
 it
 it-fur
 it-geo
 it-ibm
 it-intl
 it-mac
 it-nodeadkeys
 it-scn
 it-us
 it-winkeys
 it2
 jp
 jp-OADG109A
 jp-dvorak
 jp-kana86
 jp106
 kazakh
 ke
 ke-kik
 keypad
 kr
 kr-kr104
 ky_alt_sh-UTF-8
 kyrgyz
 kz-latin
 la-latin1
 latam
 latam-colemak
 latam-colemak-gaming
 latam-deadtilde
 latam-dvorak
 latam-nodeadkeys
 latam-sundeadkeys
 lk-us
 lt
 lt-ibm
 lt-lekp
 lt-lekpa
 lt-std
 lt-us
 lt.baltic
 lt.l4
 lv
 lv-adapted
 lv-apostrophe
 lv-ergonomic
 lv-fkey
 lv-modern
 lv-tilde
 ma-french
 mac-be
 mac-de-latin1
 mac-de-latin1-nodeadkeys
 mac-de_CH
 mac-dk-latin1
 mac-dvorak
 mac-es
 mac-euro
 mac-euro2
 mac-fi-latin1
 mac-fr
 mac-fr_CH-latin1
 mac-it
 mac-pl
 mac-pt-latin1
 mac-se
 mac-template
 mac-uk
 mac-us
 md
 md-gag
 me
 me-latinalternatequotes
 me-latinunicode
 me-latinunicodeyz
 me-latinyz
 mk
 mk-cp1251
 mk-utf
 mk0
 ml
 ml-fr-oss
 ml-us-intl
 ml-us-mac
 mm
 mt
 mt-alt-gb
 mt-alt-us
 mt-us
 ng
 ng-hausa
 ng-igbo
 ng-yoruba
 nl
 nl-mac
 nl-std
 nl-sundeadkeys
 nl2
 no
 no-colemak
 no-dvorak
 no-latin1
 no-mac
 no-mac_nodeadkeys
 no-nodeadkeys
 no-smi
 no-smi_nodeadkeys
 no-winkeys
 pc110
 ph
 ph-capewell-dvorak
 ph-capewell-qwerf2k6
 ph-colemak
 ph-dvorak
 pl
 pl-csb
 pl-dvorak
 pl-dvorak_altquotes
 pl-dvorak_quotes
 pl-dvp
 pl-legacy
 pl-qwertz
 pl-szl
 pl1
 pl2
 pl3
 pl4
 pt
 pt-latin1
 pt-latin9
 pt-mac
 pt-mac_nodeadkeys
 pt-mac_sundeadkeys
 pt-nativo
 pt-nativo-epo
 pt-nativo-us
 pt-nodeadkeys
 pt-olpc
 pt-sundeadkeys
 ro
 ro-cedilla
 ro-std
 ro-std_cedilla
 ro-winkeys
 ro_std
 rs-latin
 rs-latinalternatequotes
 rs-latinunicode
 rs-latinunicodeyz
 rs-latinyz
 ru
 ru-cp1251
 ru-cv_latin
 ru-ms
 ru-yawerty
 ru1
 ru2
 ru3
 ru4
 ru_win
 ruwin_alt-CP1251
 ruwin_alt-KOI8-R
 ruwin_alt-UTF-8
 ruwin_alt_sh-UTF-8
 ruwin_cplk-CP1251
 ruwin_cplk-KOI8-R
 ruwin_cplk-UTF-8
 ruwin_ct_sh-CP1251
 ruwin_ct_sh-KOI8-R
 ruwin_ct_sh-UTF-8
 ruwin_ctrl-CP1251
 ruwin_ctrl-KOI8-R
 ruwin_ctrl-UTF-8
 se
 se-dvorak
 se-fi-ir209
 se-fi-lat6
 se-ir209
 se-lat6
 se-latin1
 se-mac
 se-nodeadkeys
 se-smi
 se-svdvorak
 se-us
 se-us_dvorak
 sg
 sg-latin1
 sg-latin1-lk450
 si
 si-alternatequotes
 si-us
 sk
 sk-bksl
 sk-prog-qwerty
 sk-prog-qwertz
 sk-qwerty
 sk-qwerty_bksl
 sk-qwertz
 slovene
 sr-cy
 sun-pl
 sun-pl-altgraph
 sundvorak
 sunkeymap
 sunt4-es
 sunt4-fi-latin1
 sunt4-no-latin1
 sunt5-cz-us
 sunt5-de-latin1
 sunt5-es
 sunt5-fi-latin1
 sunt5-fr-latin1
 sunt5-ru
 sunt5-uk
 sunt5-us-cz
 sunt6-uk
 sv-latin1
 sy-ku
 sy-ku_alt
 sy-ku_f
 tj_alt-UTF8
 tm
 tm-alt
 tr
 tr-alt
 tr-crh
 tr-crh_alt
 tr-crh_f
 tr-f
 tr-intl
 tr-ku
 tr-ku_alt
 tr-ku_f
 tr-sundeadkeys
 tr_f-latin5
 tr_q-latin5
 tralt
 trf
 trf-fgGIod
 trq
 ttwin_alt-UTF-8
 ttwin_cplk-UTF-8
 ttwin_ct_sh-UTF-8
 ttwin_ctrl-UTF-8
 tw
 tw-indigenous
 tw-saisiyat
 ua
 ua-cp1251
 ua-utf
 ua-utf-ws
 ua-ws
 uk
 unicode
 us
 us-acentos
 us-alt-intl
 us-altgr-intl
 us-colemak
 us-dvorak
 us-dvorak-alt-intl
 us-dvorak-classic
 us-dvorak-intl
 us-dvorak-l
 us-dvorak-r
 us-dvp
 us-euro
 us-hbs
 us-intl
 us-mac
 us-norman
 us-olpc2
 us-workman
 us-workman-intl
 uz-latin
 vn
 vn-fr
 vn-us
 wangbe
 wangbe2
 windowkeys

You can find more details about the localectl command here.