Linux Keyboard Mapping for Legacy MacBooks

Linux_Keyboard_Remapping_on_Legacy_MacBooksmd

# Linux Keyboard Remapping on Legacy MacBooks

> TO BE TESTED: on Ubuntu 22.04 LTS & Tails 5.x (with Dotfiles persistence).

How to get a MacBook’s keyboard behaving correctly under Linux—and make those settings survive reboots (especially in Tails).

## Debian/Ubuntu-based Distros

1. **Reconfigure the keyboard package**  
   
    ```bash
    sudo dpkg-reconfigure keyboard-configuration
    ```  
    - **Model:** Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard  
    - **Layout:** English (US)  
    - **Alt/Win:** Swap Alt and Win  
    - **CapsLock:** Make Caps Lock an additional Ctrl  

2. **Apply immediately**  
   
    ```bash
    sudo systemctl restart keyboard-setup.service
    sudo udevadm trigger --subsystem-match=input --action=change
    ```  

3. **Permanent config** (`/etc/default/keyboard`)  
   
    ```ini
    XKBMODEL="apple"
    XKBLAYOUT="us"
    XKBVARIANT=""
    XKBOPTIONS="altwin:swap_lalt_lwin,ctrl:nocaps"
    ```

---

## Persisting in Tails

By default, Tails boots a fresh, read-only system every time. To keep your keyboard tweaks across reboots:

1. **Enable “Dotfiles” persistence** in the Tails Persistent Storage wizard.

2. **Copy config into persistence**  
   
    ```bash
    mkdir -p ~/Persistent/etc
    sudo cp /etc/default/keyboard ~/Persistent/etc/keyboard
    ```

3. **Create startup script** in persistence  
   
    ```bash
    mkdir -p ~/Persistent/bin
    cat << 'EOF' > ~/Persistent/bin/apply-keyboard.sh
    #!/usr/bin/env bash
    cp ~/Persistent/etc/keyboard /etc/default/keyboard
    systemctl restart keyboard-setup.service
    setxkbmap -model apple -layout us -option altwin:swap_lalt_lwin,ctrl:nocaps
    EOF
    chmod +x ~/Persistent/bin/apply-keyboard.sh
    ```

4. **Autostart the script**  
   
    ```bash
    mkdir -p ~/.config/autostart
    cat << 'EOF' > ~/.config/autostart/apply-keyboard.desktop
    [Desktop Entry]
    Type=Application
    Name=Restore MacBook Keys
    Exec=/home/amnesia/Persistent/bin/apply-keyboard.sh
    X-GNOME-Autostart-enabled=true
    EOF
    ```

## Testing

1. Reboot into your Linux distro or Tails with persistence.  
2. Open a terminal and press CapsLock → Ctrl and Alt → ⌘ to confirm the remaps.  
3. If all works, your keyboard will now “just work” on every boot—even on stateless Tails sessions.