CachyOS Touchpad Configuration - ryzendew/Linux-Tips-and-Tricks GitHub Wiki

CachyOS Touchpad Configuration Guide

Complete beginner-friendly guide to configuring touchpads on CachyOS, including gestures, sensitivity, and multi-touch settings.

Table of Contents

  1. Understanding Touchpads
  2. Basic Touchpad Configuration
  3. GNOME Touchpad Settings
  4. KDE Plasma Touchpad Settings
  5. XFCE Touchpad Settings
  6. Advanced Configuration
  7. Troubleshooting

Understanding Touchpads

What is a Touchpad?

Touchpad is a pointing device on laptops.

What it does:

  • Cursor movement: Moves mouse cursor
  • Clicking: Left/right click
  • Scrolling: Vertical/horizontal scrolling
  • Gestures: Multi-touch gestures

Why configure:

  • Comfort: Adjust to your preference
  • Gestures: Enable useful gestures
  • Sensitivity: Adjust touch sensitivity
  • Functionality: Enable/disable features

Basic Touchpad Configuration

Check Touchpad

List input devices:

xinput list

What this does:

  • Lists input devices
  • Shows touchpad
  • Helps identify touchpad

Check touchpad:

xinput list | grep -i touchpad

What this does:

  • Finds touchpad device
  • Shows touchpad ID
  • Verifies touchpad detected

Basic Settings

Check current settings:

xinput list-props "Touchpad Name"

What this does:

  • Shows touchpad properties
  • Lists current settings
  • Helps configure

Enable/disable touchpad:

# Disable
xinput disable "Touchpad Name"

# Enable
xinput enable "Touchpad Name"

What this does:

  • Toggles touchpad on/off
  • Useful for troubleshooting
  • Quick enable/disable

GNOME Touchpad Settings

GNOME Settings

Open Settings:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to "Mouse & Touchpad"
  3. Configure touchpad

Settings available:

  • Tap to click: Enable tap to click
  • Natural scrolling: Reverse scroll direction
  • Two-finger scrolling: Enable two-finger scroll
  • Speed: Adjust pointer speed

GNOME Tweaks

Install GNOME Tweaks:

sudo pacman -S gnome-tweaks

Touchpad settings:

  1. Open GNOME Tweaks
  2. Go to "Keyboard & Mouse"
  3. Configure touchpad gestures
  4. Adjust settings

KDE Plasma Touchpad Settings

KDE Settings

Open Settings:

  1. Open System Settings
  2. Go to "Input Devices"
  3. Select "Touchpad"
  4. Configure settings

Settings available:

  • Enable/disable: Toggle touchpad
  • Tap to click: Enable tap clicking
  • Scrolling: Configure scrolling
  • Gestures: Multi-touch gestures
  • Sensitivity: Adjust sensitivity

Gesture Configuration

Configure gestures:

  1. System Settings → Input Devices → Touchpad
  2. Go to "Gestures" tab
  3. Enable desired gestures
  4. Configure gesture actions

Available gestures:

  • Two-finger scroll: Vertical/horizontal scrolling
  • Three-finger swipe: Switch workspaces
  • Pinch zoom: Zoom in/out
  • Tap gestures: Various tap actions

XFCE Touchpad Settings

XFCE Settings

Open Settings:

  1. Open Settings
  2. Go to "Mouse and Touchpad"
  3. Configure touchpad

Settings available:

  • Enable/disable: Toggle touchpad
  • Tap to click: Enable tap clicking
  • Scrolling: Configure scrolling
  • Edge scrolling: Enable edge scrolling
  • Sensitivity: Adjust sensitivity

libinput Configuration

XFCE uses libinput:

  • Modern input handling
  • Better gesture support
  • Configurable

Edit libinput config:

nano ~/.config/libinput-gestures.conf

Configure gestures:

  • Add gesture configurations
  • Customize gesture actions
  • Enable desired gestures

Advanced Configuration

libinput Configuration

Install libinput:

sudo pacman -S libinput

Configure libinput:

sudo nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/40-libinput.conf

Add configuration:

Section "InputClass"
    Identifier "libinput touchpad catchall"
    MatchIsTouchpad "on"
    MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*"
    Driver "libinput"
    Option "Tapping" "on"
    Option "TappingDrag" "on"
    Option "NaturalScrolling" "true"
    Option "ScrollMethod" "twofinger"
EndSection

What this does:

  • Tapping "on": Enable tap to click
  • TappingDrag "on": Enable tap and drag
  • NaturalScrolling "true": Natural scrolling
  • ScrollMethod "twofinger": Two-finger scrolling

Restart X server (or log out/in) for changes.

Gesture Configuration

Install libinput-gestures:

yay -S libinput-gestures

Configure gestures:

libinput-gestures-setup autostart
nano ~/.config/libinput-gestures.conf

Example gestures:

gesture swipe up 3    xdotool key super+Page_Up
gesture swipe down 3  xdotool key super+Page_Down
gesture pinch in      xdotool key ctrl+minus
gesture pinch out     xdotool key ctrl+plus

What this does:

  • Three-finger swipe: Switch workspaces
  • Pinch: Zoom in/out
  • Customizable actions

Troubleshooting

Touchpad Not Working

Check if detected:

xinput list

What this does:

  • Lists input devices
  • Verifies touchpad detection
  • Helps troubleshoot

Check kernel messages:

dmesg | grep -i touchpad

What this does:

  • Shows touchpad detection
  • Helps identify issues
  • Troubleshooting information

Enable touchpad:

xinput enable "Touchpad Name"

What this does:

  • Enables touchpad
  • May fix disabled touchpad
  • Restores functionality

Touchpad Too Sensitive

Adjust sensitivity:

  • GNOME: Settings → Mouse & Touchpad → Speed
  • KDE: System Settings → Input Devices → Touchpad → Sensitivity
  • XFCE: Settings → Mouse and Touchpad → Sensitivity

Or via xinput:

xinput set-prop "Touchpad Name" "libinput Accel Speed" -0.5

What this does:

  • Adjusts sensitivity
  • -0.5: Slower (less sensitive)
  • 0.5: Faster (more sensitive)

Gestures Not Working

Check libinput:

libinput list-devices

What this does:

  • Lists libinput devices
  • Shows gesture support
  • Verifies configuration

Enable gestures:

  • Check desktop environment settings
  • Enable in touchpad configuration
  • Verify gesture support

Additional Resources

Summary

This guide covered:

  1. Understanding touchpads - What touchpads are
  2. Basic configuration - Command-line configuration
  3. GNOME settings - GNOME touchpad configuration
  4. KDE Plasma settings - KDE touchpad configuration
  5. XFCE settings - XFCE touchpad configuration
  6. Advanced configuration - libinput and gestures
  7. Troubleshooting - Common touchpad issues

Key Takeaways:

  • Use desktop environment settings for easy configuration
  • libinput provides modern touchpad support
  • Enable gestures for better productivity
  • Adjust sensitivity to your preference
  • Check xinput for troubleshooting
  • Gestures require proper configuration

This guide is based on the CachyOS Wiki and Arch Linux Wiki and expanded with detailed explanations for beginners. For the most up-to-date touchpad information, always refer to the official documentation.