screenkey(1)
Display keys pressed on screen in real-time, useful for presentations and screencasts.
Synopsis
screenkey [OPTION]...Description
screenkey is a utility that displays the keys you press on your screen in real-time. It captures keyboard input and shows it as an overlay, making it ideal for demonstrations, tutorials, and screencasts where viewers need to see what keyboard shortcuts or commands you're typing.
The tool creates a small, customizable window that tracks and displays pressed keys with configurable fonts, colors, and positioning. It works with most Linux desktop environments that support X11 or Wayland.
Common options
| Flag | What it does |
|---|---|
-h, --help | show help message and exit |
-t, --timeout SECONDS | time in seconds before key display fades (default: 2) |
-p POSITION | position of the window: bottom-right, bottom-left, top-right, top-left (default: bottom-right) |
-s FONT_SIZE | font size for displayed keys (default: medium) |
--font FONT_NAME | font family to use for key display |
-c, --compose | display the key combinations with modifiers (Ctrl+C instead of just C) |
--bg-color COLOR | background color (e.g., black, white, or hex #RRGGBB) |
--font-color COLOR | font color for displayed text |
-m, --modifiers-only | only show modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Super) |
-k, --show-keys | show all key names including special keys |
Examples
start screenkey with default settings (bottom-right, 2 second timeout)
screenkeydisplay keys in top-left corner with 5 second fade time
screenkey -t 5 -p top-leftuse large monospace font and show key combinations (Ctrl+C, Shift+A)
screenkey -s large --font 'Monospace' -cblack background with white text, only show modifier keys like Ctrl, Shift, Alt
screenkey --bg-color black --font-color white -mcustom styling with hex colors and 10 second timeout in bottom-left
screenkey -t 10 -p bottom-left --bg-color '#2c3e50' --font-color '#ecf0f1'