Deprecate Key Mapper GUI Keyboards

[jambl3r]

Have you checked if an issue already exists for this feature request?

• Nobody else has requested this feature before

What feature would you like added?

• All features to be replaced by expert mode / accessibility service
• Remove app listing?
• Tell users there will be no more updates?

App version

No response

Device model and manufacturer

No response

Extra info

• My device is rooted

[sds100]

I think lets keep the app listing for now, and make it clear in the description and repo that it is no longer maintained. The repo can be archived. It doesn't have an awful rating or anything. There are some users ive noticed in the reviews who just use it as a keyboard, not even with key mapper. We no longer mention it at all in 4.0 so hopefully no new users are using it. 4.0 still works with it so old users don't complain.

Lets see how the download numbers trend in the next 18 months, and if it drops a lot then we take down the listing

[jambl3r]

We no longer mention it at all in 4.0

Apart from that one guy in discord today, but if the input text action can be done with expert mode then I think that is everything

[sudomain]

I use it as my daily driver and am sad to see it go, just due to muscle memory. I looked into openboard, but it also is discontinued. Apparently a maintained fork is here: https://github.com/Helium314/HeliBoard . You may want to point users there, though I have not personally tested it myself.

Edit: HeliBoard looks and feels exactly the same after a little tweaking.

[sds100]

Yeah, I checked it out a while ago, and it seems to be the successor. We won't remove support for it, it will still be supported silently in the background but if Android breaks it for whatever reason then we won't fix it.

[GfEW]

Is this deprecation request meant to refer to Key Mapper Hacker's Keyboard? If so, I'd strongly vote for keeping it until a viable alternative is found.

[jambl3r]

@GfEW It applies to all of them. They won't be going away, we just aren't advocating for their use. The Hacker's fork is not on the Play Store anyway so is immune to that aspect already. I really cannot recommend that you use it though, and encourage you to seek out a more secure and up-to-date alternative.

[GfEW]

Thanks for your reply. I don't understand the "all of them" part. To my knowledge, there's just this one supported app, Key Mapper Hacker's Keyboard. Which other proper software keyboards (as opposed to the GUI-less builtin KeyMapper input method) has KeyMapper ever endorsed?

I've been looking for an up-to-date replacement for a long time, so far to no avail - everything I've tried turned out considerably worse with regard to my (admittedly, somewhat special) needs. HeliBoard is one of the more promising candidates due to its tweakability, even if loaded with features I never use.

That aside, has the reason why Key Mapper Hacker's Keyboard once was presented as the only proper software keyboard fully compatible with KeyMapper ceased to exist? Can KeyMapper, as of v4.0.5, be used with any keyboard out there?

[jambl3r]

@GfEW

Which other proper software keyboards (as opposed to the GUI-less builtin KeyMapper input method) has KeyMapper ever endorsed?

It's not so much 'endorsed' but modified to add support for Key Mapper. There are three keyboards with releases on GitHub:

Leanback Keyboard, last updated June 2021
https://github.com/keymapperorg/KeyMapperLeanbackKeyboard

Hacker's Keyboard, last updated July 2021
https://github.com/keymapperorg/KeyMapperHackersKeyboard

OpenBoard, known on Google Play as 'Key Mapper GUI Keyboard', last updated January 2025
https://github.com/keymapperorg/KeyMapperOpenBoard
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=io.github.sds100.keymapper.inputmethod.latin

HeliBoard is one of the more promising candidates due to its tweakability, even if loaded with features I never use.

We planned a HeliBoard fork but I don't think anything happened with it and there are no releases (https://github.com/keymapperorg/KeyMapperHeliBoard)

I'm curious how you discovered the Key Mapper Hacker's Keyboard? I don't know where we ever publically announced its existence

Can KeyMapper, as of v4.0.5, be used with any keyboard out there?

Sort of, this is another reason why we are not supporting these forks anymore. We have keyboard auto-switching options in Key Mapper now so in theory you can use any keyboard you like, and then whenever you trigger a key map, the keyboard switches to and from the built in input method without you noticing.

[GfEW]

It's not so much 'endorsed' but modified to add support for Key Mapper. There are three keyboards with releases on GitHub:

I see. Can't remember having heard of Leanback Keyboard before, nor of a KeyMapper version of Openboard.

I'm curious how you discovered the Key Mapper Hacker's Keyboard? I don't know where we ever publically announced its existence

I was referred to it by some explanation of how KeyMapper could be used with a proper software keyboard, either briefly in KeyMapper's internal setup guidance or on a linked online help page. Hacker's keyboard had been my daily driver before, and switching input methods just to use it along with KeyMapper grew tedious quickly, so I was delighted about the coincidence.

I believe that at the time, there were no other keyboard apps listed as "supported" - or I forgot about them because they disqualified for other reasons.

Can KeyMapper, as of v4.0.5, be used with any keyboard out there?

Sort of, this is another reason why we are not supporting these forks anymore. We have keyboard auto-switching options in Key Mapper now

So auto-switching has become stable, makes sense. I remember when it got introduced as an experimental option, it didn't improve anything for my use case (being fine with Key Mapper Hacker's Keyboard), so I kept it disabled and also didn't track its development.

[jambl3r]

Yeah we improved the auto-switching a lot since it's initial introduction. If you try it out I hope you'll find that it is essentially a set-and-forget kind of option

[GfEW]

Where's that auto-switching option, anyway?
I can't seem to find it in v4.0.5-foss 247.

[jambl3r]

It's near the bottom of settings