Preface: From Almost Giving Up to Finally Being Able to Type
Honestly, this article was written when I was very close to giving up on using an on-screen keyboard under KDE Plasma Wayland.
On Debian 13 with KDE Plasma 6 running on Wayland, the only officially supported virtual keyboard is Maliit.
In practice, however, it comes with a series of nearly deal-breaking problems:
- The keyboard only appears once
- After swiping it down, it can never be summoned again
- Requires restarting KWin or the entire desktop session
- Completely unsuitable for real tablet or 2-in-1 usage
After digging through GitHub issues and KDE Discuss threads, I honestly started to think:
“Maybe choosing KDE Wayland on a touch device is simply a dead end.”
That changed when I found a KDE Discuss thread from 2022:
Plasma 6 and Wayland no on-screen keyboard working - Help - KDE Discuss
In that thread, a user named @INVICTRA mentioned:
I managed to get Onboard working on wayland. Kubuntu 25.04
Edit the shortcut and add
GDK_BACKEND=x11
Set input source to GTK
Set keystroke generator to uinput
The post was short and incomplete, but it revealed something important:
Onboard + X11 backend + uinput might be the real breakthrough.
With that clue, I started experimenting, filling in the missing pieces: kernel modules, permissions, udev rules, and Wayland constraints.
In the end, I successfully achieved a stable, repeatable, non-freezing virtual keyboard on:
Debian 13 + KDE Plasma 6 + Wayland
This article is the fully documented result of that process.
1. Why This Is Necessary (Background)
- As of late 2025, KDE Plasma Wayland officially supports only Maliit
- Maliit currently suffers from severe bugs on Plasma (cannot be re-opened after hiding)
- Wayland intentionally forbids synthetic input (fake keyboard/mouse events)
- Onboard can create a real input device via the Linux kernel uinput subsystem
- uinput devices are kernel-level input devices and are not blocked by Wayland
In short:
Wayland does not allow you to fake keystrokes,
but uinput lets you attach a real virtual keyboard.
Under Debian + KDE Plasma Wayland today,
this is practically the only solution that actually works.
2. System Requirements
- Debian GNU/Linux 13
- KDE Plasma 6
- Wayland session
- XWayland installed (usually installed by default)
- User has sudo privileges
3. Install Required Packages
sudo apt update
sudo apt install onboard xwayland4. Enable the Kernel uinput Module
1. Check if uinput is loaded
lsmod | grep uinputIf there is no output, load it manually:
sudo modprobe uinput2. Enable uinput at boot
echo uinput | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/uinput.conf5. Configure uinput Permissions (Critical Step)
1. Create the group
sudo groupadd -f uinput2. Add your user to the group (example: hln)
sudo usermod -aG uinput hlnImportant: You must log out or reboot after this step.
3. Create a udev rule
sudo nano /etc/udev/rules.d/99-uinput.rulesContents:
KERNEL=="uinput", MODE="0660", GROUP="uinput"Reload rules:
sudo udevadm control --reload
sudo udevadm trigger4. Verify After Reboot
ls -l /dev/uinputExpected output:
crw-rw---- 1 root uinput /dev/uinputConfirm group membership:
groupsYou should see uinput.
6. Launch Onboard Using the X11 Backend (Very Important)
Under Wayland, Onboard must be forced to use the X11 backend:
GDK_BACKEND=x11 onboardIt is recommended to test this first in a terminal.
7. Required Onboard Settings
Open Onboard → Preferences → Keyboard → Advanced
Set the following:
-
Input Options
- Input event source: GTK
-
Keystroke Generation
- Key-stroke generator: uinput
If you previously tried uinput and it did not work,
you must re-test after completing the permission setup.
8. Verification
- Open a text-input application (Kate / Firefox / Konsole)
- Focus a text field
- Click keys on Onboard
Successful behavior:
- Text appears in the application
- Keyboard can be shown and hidden repeatedly
- No need to restart KWin
- No freezing or dead state
- Completely avoids Maliit bugs
9. Create a Desktop Launcher (Recommended)
nano ~/.local/share/applications/onboard-x11.desktopContents:
[Desktop Entry]
Name=Onboard (Wayland Safe)
Exec=env GDK_BACKEND=x11 onboard
Type=Application
Icon=onboard
Categories=Utility;Accessibility;You can now:
- Pin it to the KDE panel
- Place it on the desktop
- Use it as a one-click virtual keyboard launcher
10. Limitations and Notes
Known Limitations
- Does not work on the SDDM login screen
- Not Wayland-native (runs via XWayland)
- Elevated input permissions (recommended for personal devices only)
Advantages
- No swipe-down freeze issue
- Full Ctrl / Alt / Function key support
- Works with Fcitx5 (Chewing / Zhuyin)
- Compatible with Synergy / KVM
- Stable for long-term use
11. Reverting the Setup (Optional)
sudo rm /etc/udev/rules.d/99-uinput.rules
sudo gpasswd -d hln uinput
sudo reboot12. Conclusion
On Debian 13 with KDE Plasma Wayland:
Onboard + uinput is currently the only virtual keyboard solution that truly works.
It is not an official or perfect solution,
but KDE is a volunteer-driven community, and expectations should remain realistic.
What matters most is that the problem is solved:
I can now use a keyboard-less tablet to type Taiwanese Mandarin with Zhuyin or English and actually get work done.