The best keyboard layouts, according to hackers
7 keyboard layouts recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
All keyboard layouts
- Dvorak keyboard layoutPeople recommend Dvorak for comfort, less wrist strain and a more balanced hand load compared with QWERTY, and many have used it for decades. Some note that learning it takes time and that keys like ls -l fall to the right pinky.11recommend
- Colemak keyboard layoutRecommended for reducing wrist strain and improving ergonomics over QWERTY. Critics say the switch is often not worth it and some find awkward finger motions.7recommend
- EurKEY keyboard layoutPeople recommend EurKEY as a free layout for typing special characters in several languages alongside English, including German and Italian. The one caveat raised is that it has no support for Slavic languages.7recommend
- Clearflow keyboard layoutA free keyboard layout built for swipe typing that some find produces fewer misinterpretations and corrections. Critics say symbols, repeated characters and some common words are hard to enter consistently.6recommend
- Engram keyboard layoutPeople recommend Engram for its thoughtful layers, home row mods and timings, and for reduced finger travel that feels more natural on the arms.5recommend
- US International keyboard layoutLets you write code and many natural languages on a QWERTY keyboard, with dead keys for accents. Main caveat: it can clash with keyboard shortcuts.5recommend
- Miryoku keyboard layoutFree, well-maintained layout optimized for small keyboards and liked for being easy to modify. Critics call it arbitrary and dislike its one-hand navigation layer.5recommend