Hacker's Keyboard alternatives?

[ghost]

Is there a modern Android keyboard app (supporting the current APIs) with feature-parity?

Only the function keys (F1-F12, for SSH access) is a feature I can cope without, provided that they can't be natively implemented.

---

from the readme:

WARNING: This is a rather ancient project that was originally developed back in 2011 based on the Android 2.3 (Gingerbread) AOSP keyboard. While it still works as-is for many users, it would need some major rewrites to work with newer APIs, and some features such as language switching or popup keys don't work right on modern Android systems. I'm not currently planning on significant updates, and it's possible that it will stop working on modern devices or will no longer be updateable via the Google Play store due to minimum API level requirements. Play Store requires targeting API level 29 (Android 10), while the code was written for API level 9 (Android 2.3) from 2011.

[klausw]

I'm not aware of a direct replacement with feature parity, but please make suggestions in this bug if anyone knows a good candidate.

Personally, I'm often just using Gboard (the default Google keyboard) along with ConnectBot. You can configure Gboard's preferences to make it a bit more command line friendly:

• Number row: enabled
• Keyboard height: short
• Popup on keypress: off
• Long press for symbols: enabled
• Key long press delay: 200ms

ConnectBot provides the scrollable top 6th row with CTRL, ESC etc., that includes F1-F12 further to the right (not shown in the screenshot).

Gboard also has a "PC" layout which adds [ ] etc, but I think that's too cramped and I find the long-press symbols easier to access.

[TPS]

Oddly, as old as HK is, its compatibility seems to improve w/ Android versions. In my experience, it's much better under Android 11 than 10 or 8.

@07416 Why do you need to leave it?

[klausw]

@TPS, I think it is a good idea to look around for alternatives. As I mentioned in the README, there's a chance that the app might become un-updatable on Play Store due to not meeting minimum API level requirements, and it might even be delisted from the store at some point if requirements change further. It'll still be possible to sideload it (assuming it still works on a given Android version), but that's not an option for everyone.

[TPS]

@klausw I don't disagree with any of that (though I'd be remiss not to mention F-Droid is likely to carry HK indefinitely).

I was mostly trying to get a bit more clarity on what features @07416 is most after, since it was mentioned the function keys are least necessary.

[TPS]

@klausw Also, @ what point would you consider just archiving this repo? It seems like you might be heading that direction.…

[ghost]

I was mostly trying to get a bit more clarity on what features @07416 is most after, since it was mentioned the function keys are least necessary.

Mainly maintained English and Finnish dictionaries (for the latter it seems that also the Google's offering lacks grammatical cases and compounds), preferably some way to reorder keys and disable unwanted ones or characters.

My intent was creating a general thread about the HN alternatives, I'll try the @klausw's promising-sounding suggestion.

EDIT: The AOSP keyboard sadly seems to lack any "number row" option.

[ghost]

ConnectBot provides the scrollable top 6th row with CTRL, ESC etc., that includes F1-F12 further to the right (not shown in the screenshot).

Is it possible to enable the CB row without adding a 'host' in the app? Is this row enabled globally, permanently in all apps?

[tinkerpunktheprol]

...and it might even be delisted from the store at some point if requirements change further. It'll still be possible to sideload it (assuming it still works on a given Android version), but that's not an option for everyone.

There are decade+ old apps on F-Droid and most people can gain access to that, right? Also, does any modern Android not allow for installing packages from downloaded APKs?

While I would love an alternative for some more modern features, your keyboard has proven to be a useful tool in many situations, despite the last update being over two years ago. Thank you for building this thing.

[ghost]

Installed this today as I wanted an alternative to Petal Keyboard (a recent alternative to Gboard) and this keyboard looks great with transparency mode enabled running under EMUI 11. If I take an alternative to this keyboard I certainly wouldn't be downgrading to use more surveillance—I'd be looking for something with a copyleft license.

[ghost]

Released a week ago. Copyleft and available on F-Droid https://github.com/Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard

[Jaloou]

Hello.
Therefore, I want to publishe here an opposite opinion.
I use Hacker's keyboard app mostly for its feature to occupy only a small amount of RAM (about 10MB or less) while the app has many useful settings. So, alternatives such as GBoard, which occupies sometimes 40MB of RAM, are not feasible for me. Other alternatives have also its cons.
Thus, I think I do not need alternative keyboards.
Instead I think the development of this app should be continued - may slowly, may rare but continued - and primarily in a way of easy fixing most simple, most fussing issues in it such as an unwanted tab key appearance between the space bar and the dot key on a small smartphone screen when typing on almost any internet page. This ussue is very fussing when the pressing the space bar or the dot key on the keyboard of Hacker's Keyboard app.
I think it is easy to add an option to the app settings to remove a tab key.
Please, do it.

[TPS]

@Jaloou This project is licensed Apache-2.0. You're welcome to fork & update anyway you choose, & sharing such an update w/ the community would be widely appreciated! 🙇🏾‍♂️

[BAProductions]

I’m trying to add those feature into A10 Keyboard in my Custom ROM based on LOS-17.1 if we based the keyboard A10 source but add all the feature with out using anything extra frameworks the Custom ROM like mine could adopt it as the a replace for tue stock A10 keyboard also showing the arrow keys on smaller tablet make it hard to type fast as the tend to get in the way why not add the hankers keyboard as a layout in the stock android keyboard instead.

[Jaloou]

@Jaloou This project is licensed Apache-2.0. You're welcome to fork & update anyway you choose, & sharing such an update w/ the community would be widely appreciated! 🙇🏾‍♂️

I'm not an IT specialist. I'm just the app user. So, I'm unable to fix issues in the app. But I repeating again that from my point of view (the view point the current app user) the app development should be continued primarily in a way of fixing current most fussing issues such as unwanted appearance of the violating tab key between the space bar and the dot key. The things like the app adoption to new versions of Android OS and new functions are much less needful if the most fussing issue persist violating to all app using.

[tinkerpunktheprol]

@Jaloou

You are missing the point. The developer is no longer maintaining this app and has expressed their disinterest in doing so in this comment thread, so that "bug" is unlikely to be resolved unless someone forks the project. That's why the orginal poster was asking for alternatives. Unless you want to learn how to code, I highly recommend using one of the alternatives recommended here or just dealing with the bug. Complaining here is going to lead nowhere.

[Jaloou]

My messages is not off-topic here because:

The word 'alternatives' does not point only to other apps.

Instead the word 'alternatives' can point out also that the original app developer can and should change his opinion to 'alternative' continue developing his useful to people app and fixing the issues in it (at least the most fussing and easy fixable issues).
So, a new better version of Hacker's Keyboard should become as 'alternative' to current one.

For example, may we can successfully solve the question of this topic by offering some bounty to the original app developer for continuation of his app development and it will be a better 'alternative' way for all of us?

[klausw]

@Jaloou - please don't derail this issue with unrelated feature requests. If you want, you can file a separate issue for your feature request. I'm going to be deleting the sidetracked discussion from this issue, but will wait a bit before doing that to give you a chance to copy what you typed first. (Fair warning, I don't currently have plans to work on this.)

Sorry, but a bounty wouldn't solve this issue, I'm not doing this project for money. It would be possible to start off a forked project where someone else works on it who would be interested in doing so, but that still leaves the challenges noted in the top post about the old and fragile code base.

[ghost]

Earlier I mentioned Unexpected Keyboard (F-Droid) which I love using with Termux. As a daily driver I've quickly fallen in love with FlorisBoard after someone mentioned it supports glide gestures in one if the AuroraOSS telegram chat groups. Check it out:

FlorisBoard (An open-source keyboard which respects your privacy. Currently in early-beta.) - https://f-droid.org/packages/dev.patrickgold.florisboard

[5bentz]

I've used HK a bit before moving to AnySoftKeyboard a few years ago.
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.menny.android.anysoftkeyboard/
Many tweaks, many language packs.
However the SSH language pack was last released in 2013...

[alexbodn]

i'm using the HK on/off since 2013, and sadly found this thread.
frankly, although the measurements of unexpected keyboard and the swipe ideas are quite impressive, and the seemingly wider language support in anysoftkeyboard, they don't that match HK.
the coloured popups, the reasonable completeness of the main region, the solid Fn region, the extension row e.t.c. are, in my opinion, quite ahead of the before mentioned competition.
so, while i never wrote an app, i'm for keeping HK working and relevant for future android versions. at least applying all HK commits to a newer aosp.
thank you very much, Klaus!

[Cyslin123]

How to download ECS apps

[asl97]

I tried implementing hacker keyboard layout in AnySoftKeyboard, it wasn't that hard but of course any hacker keyboard specific features aren't included and alt key seem broken.

I probably wouldn't upload an apk since I don't wish to encourage 'risky' behavior and I don't yet understand how to make it a standalone addon for fdroid, let alone getting it added to f-droid.

I might upload the code only if I get around to adding the other three layout: small, large and Fn. but don't hold your breath for it, I think I am somewhat infamous for not completing projects.

beside AnySoftKeyboard doesn't seem to support function keys?

[asl97]

Bah Spammer, oh well whatever, at least it remind me to actually do this:

Probably not going to do the functions page anytime soon since there seem to be a total of three separate version, one for each keyboard, it probably wouldn't take long but I personally don't need it or those two other layout

https://github.com/asl97/AnySoftKeyboard/tree/Hacker_Keyboard_Pack

https://github.com/asl97/AnySoftKeyboard/commit/b8064717e35d7c96641d94efac2b47ff16f307bc.patch

Assuming I didn't miss any required file, everything needed to build an apk is in that patch/branch

[learningBASh]

I checked out the Hacker layout, looks the same.

Do any of these alternatives have Font selection for keys? It looks like there was interest wayback https://stackoverflow.com/questions/31302666/can-you-change-the-android-keyboard-text-font-programmatically/34355265#34355265 Asked 8 years, 8 months ago and still no support by July 28, 2020 https://support.google.com/android/thread/61398362?hl=en&msgid=61449207.
I'm working on a Courier 10 document template for printing, and what I have in mind is a keyboard font exactly WYSIWYG for printing. I can calibrate the displayed keys to match exactly what is printed from there I can judge how any font will look when printed based on comparing it to the screen resolution calibrated Courier 10 font face displayed on my keyboard. A language overlay with AnySoft could work but I would need to calibrate 10 point font on my screen to match 10 Pt printing. Calibri 8 is another option.

[TPS]

https://github.com/SeventhM/hackerskeyboard is a fork that's being updated.

[netllama]

@asl97 how do I install that layout? is there an apk that I can install somehow? Using Android15 if that matters. Thanks!

[netllama]

@TPS but that's not the Hacker_Keyboard_Pack that @asl97 referenced ?

[TPS]

@netllama I'm sorry, I completely misunderstood what you were requesting.

[asl97]

@asl97 how do I install that layout? is there an apk that I can install somehow? Using Android15 if that matters. Thanks!

It's already on the play store as mention on the upstream issue.

AnySoftKeyboard/AnySoftKeyboard#3740 (comment)

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.anysoftkeyboard.languagepack.hackerkeyboardlayout

[netllama]

@asl97 thanks, I installed it!

Only issue is that its always showing upper case letters, and the layout doesn't seem to match what you posted back in June:

How do I get the version from your image?

[asl97]

@asl97 thanks, I installed it!

Only issue is that its always showing upper case letters, and the layout doesn't seem to match what you posted back in June

It doesn't match because everything is capitalized for you for some reason.

you can try to find the AnySoftKeyboard app in the app list and try to force close it to restart it. If that doesn't stop the capitalization, maybe try a full restart or a reinstall of AnySoftKeyboard.

If that still doesn't work, you might have better luck asking on AnySoftKeyboard side than here.

[netllama]

@asl97 thanks. I tried all of your suggestions, but none of them helped. I created AnySoftKeyboard/AnySoftKeyboard#4098 to report this problem.

[ketas]

apparently all other keyboards are as if hellbent to not put backspace on top. i want to have this layout option. i find it better. unsure why the bottom is better for most. it's 6.8" screen here. always portrait. if i would finger on the bottom end with two hands, phone would fall down or so. hence wtf. the discontinuation of hk is sad. i can't seem to find exact alternative? btw i need estonian layout too. finnish is so-so. so yeah. have used this since 2016 when i got my first note 2 android phone

[TPS]

@ketas Your best bet is probably developing exactly what you want via precisely following https://github.com/Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard-layouts. Estonian just got added via Julow/Unexpected-Keyboard@0d5954c, & it shouldn't be too hard to move Backspace from there.

[ketas]

i'll try. i'm unsure how i could replicate it all? i mean hacker's keyboard layout sucks too but. there you can't hold for extra char, you need to swipe in 4 directions. then it crashed. and probably biggest wtf was when i switched to connectbot and keyboard refused to appear