Linux: Set Key Repeat Rate

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

How to set a key repeat rate by command?

Type the following in terminal.

# set key repeat rate. delay 280 milisecond, 40 per sec
xset r rate 280 40
# set key repeat rate to default. 25 per sec, 660 milisecond delay
xset r rate

Copy and paste the above in ~/.xprofile

Create the file if it doesn't exist.

X11 will road it when start up.

LXDE Key Repeat Rate Config File

You can also set lxde specific config file.

[see Linux: LXDE Set Key Repeat Rate]

[see Linux: How to Switch to LXDE, Xfce]

Xfce Key Repeat Rate Config File

If you are using Xfce desktop, you can also set key repeat rate in a config file at

~/.config/xfce4/xfconf/xfce-perchannel-xml/keyboards.xml

Here's sample xfce key repeat rate config file.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>

<channel name="keyboards" version="1.0">
  <property name="Default" type="empty">
    <property name="Numlock" type="bool" value="false"/>
    <property name="KeyRepeat" type="empty">
      <property name="Delay" type="int" value="280"/>
      <property name="Rate" type="int" value="40"/>
    </property>
  </property>
</channel>