im-config

im-config [OPTION]...
im-config -h | --help
im-config --version

-l, --list
    List all available input method frameworks.

-L, --list-default
    Display the current default input method.

-n, --no-auto
    Disable automatic IM configuration at X startup.

-c, --check
    Check if input method is properly configured.

-a, --append
    Append new settings to ~/.xinputrc without overwriting.

-s imname, --set-default=imname
    Set imname (e.g., ibus) as the default input method.

-e editor, --editor=editor
    Edit ~/.xinputrc using specified editor (e.g., nano).

--gui-dialog
    Launch GUI dialog to select input method.

--gui-config
    Launch GUI for detailed configuration.

--gui-defaults
    Launch GUI to reset to defaults.

-h, --help
    Show help summary.

--version
    Display version information.

im-config is a user-friendly tool for managing input method (IM) configurations on Linux systems using X11. It enables selection of default IM frameworks like ibus, fcitx, fcitx5, scim, or m17n, crucial for multilingual input in languages such as Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and others.

The tool updates ~/.xinputrc, which sets environment variables (e.g., GTK_IM_MODULE=ibus, QT_IM_MODULE=ibus, XMODIFIERS=@im=ibus) loaded during X session startup via scripts in /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/. This ensures consistent IM behavior across GTK, Qt, and console applications.

Without arguments, it launches a GUI dialog (using zenity or kdialog) for interactive selection. Command-line options allow listing frameworks, setting defaults, or editing configs. It's commonly used post-IM package installation via apt install ibus followed by im-config.

im-config handles XIM server restarts and prevents conflicts by managing one primary IM per user.

Primarily for X11; Wayland requires IM-specific setup (e.g., ibus-daemon --xim). Per-user only; system-wide needs packaging tools. GUI needs zenity/kdialog.

~/.xinputrc stores settings like run_im=ibus. Sourced by 40-im-config script in /etc/X11/xinit/xinitrc.d/.

After apt install ibus, run im-config to select and im-config -n to disable auto-restart if needed.

Developed by Debian's Input Method Maintainers (e.g., YunQiang Su) for unified IM setup. Introduced in Debian 6 (Squeeze) as im-switch successor, matured in Wheezy (2013). Widely adopted in Ubuntu, Fedora derivatives.

ibus(1), fcitx(1), fcitx5(1), scim(1), m17n-input(1), im-switch(1)