Enable num-lock at boot Raspberry Pi

Question

I am trying to toggle num-lock on my Raspberry Pi 2 running Raspbian jessie, I need it to run during the initial CLI boot up (before <hostname> login: or startx), I have tried numlockx and setleds but none work until logged in. I already have a script that runs during boot and was hoping to incorporate it into the existing script.

In case you were wondering it is so I can have num-lock for my password.

http://unix.stackexchange.com/search?q=numlock – Ghanima Nov 30 '15 at 14:09 — Ghanima, Nov 30 '15 at 14:09

score 7 · Accepted Answer · answered Dec 06 '15 at 12:05

7

Yup. There's a way.

Open up /etc/kbd/config with your favorite editor.
Search for a line that says LEDS=+num. It should be on line 67 if I'm not mistaken.
Uncomment it. I assume you know how to uncomment since I think you know scripting.
Profit.

answered Dec 06 '15 at 12:05

Aloha

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thanks I will try it now and get back to you in a few minutes – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 12:09
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It worked a charm! Now I just have to get used to not pressing numlock – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 12:13
@TrentFitzpatrick I also have to get used to it, since I got used to pressing numlock on my laptop every boot. – Aloha Dec 06 '15 at 13:49
http://imgur.com/OYOi1JB now if only I had a faster way to code..... – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 13:53
@TrentFitzpatrick Try not doing it on the pi. Maybe mount a folder on the pi as a network drive on Windows, then do the actual coding on Windows (using sublime or notepad++). – Aloha Dec 06 '15 at 14:48
@TrentFitzpatrick Or maybe get a comfy chair and place the keyboard on your lap. – Aloha Dec 06 '15 at 14:48
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I have my comfy chair but I need the pi because I'm live testing – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 14:49
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http://imgur.com/W3kEJgr – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 14:50
My boot script is here I am making it for my school's Pi: – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 15:01
http://pastebin.com/tQc5Mf9i – absenthecon Dec 06 '15 at 15:01
@TrentFitzpatrick Interesting script. – Aloha Dec 06 '15 at 16:21
@PandaLion98 does it work on Rpi B+ with Jessie? I've just tried it and it didn't work – VMMF Jun 23 '16 at 01:27
@VMMF Tested it with all of my Pis (Pi Zero - Pi 3). Works. – Aloha Jul 24 '16 at 17:05
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I don't have any file at /etc/kbd/config. I tried sudo touch /etc/kbd/config, but it complained that there was "No such file or directory". – Michael Innes Nov 16 '17 at 22:28
@Eptin Are you using Raspbian? – Aloha Nov 17 '17 at 09:19
@pandalion98, yes, the latest version of Raspbian Stretch with desktop – Michael Innes Nov 17 '17 at 23:24
@Eptin Let me check. – Aloha Nov 18 '17 at 12:00

score 7 · Answer 2 · edited May 28 '18 at 07:43

7

While this isn't directly answering the Raspbian Jessie question, for those other Googler's who run Raspbian Stretch, which doesn't have /etc/kbd/config, here's the solution:

Install numlockx: sudo apt-get install numlockx
Edit this file: sudo nano /usr/share/lightdm/lightdm.conf.d/01_debian.conf
At the end of that file, add this line: greeter-setup-script=/usr/bin/numlockx on
Save the file and reboot, and you NumLock key should still be on

Sources:

https://www.raspberrypi.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=192383

which in turn cites:

https://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/375920/numlock-on-startup-on-linux-mint-18-2

edited May 28 '18 at 07:43

SDsolar

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answered May 27 '18 at 17:45

kevinmicke

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Good to know there is a solution for X. But sadly that does not help in Raspbian Light. :( – kwasmich May 28 '18 at 09:03
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Note also this will not work, as per the question, "before login: or startx". It will also not work at all unless you are using lightdm (the GUI login). – goldilocks May 28 '18 at 12:25

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Oct 25 '18 at 04:18

/etc/kbd/config has been removed in Raspbian Stretch, but you can set the numlock state using /usr/bin/setleds instead.

For example, to enable numlock in all VTs:

#!/bin/bash
# Turn Numlock on for the TTYs:
for tty in /dev/tty[1-6]; do
    /usr/bin/setleds -D +num < "$tty";
done

You put this script in /usr/local/bin/numlock, and invoke it at boot time, for example using a systemd service (/etc/systemd/system/numlock.service):

[Unit]
Description=numlock

[Service]
ExecStart=/usr/bin/numlock
StandardInput=tty
RemainAfterExit=yes

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target

Enable the service with systemctl enable numlock.service.

Source: http://forums.debian.net/viewtopic.php?t=134006#p650222

Note that this will only work for CLI. It does not work on Stretch on the UI boot. — aaronburro, Mar 22 '19 at 16:25

score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 08 '21 at 01:19

On Raspbian 10 (Buster), there's a slightly easier way. In a terminal:

sudo apt install numlockx

In the default text editor, vim.tiny, or nano save the following text into the file ~/.config/autostart/NumLock.desktop:

[Desktop Entry]
Type=Application
Name=Numlock on
Comment=Set numlock to on at logon
NoDisplay=true
Exec=numlockx on
NotShowIn=GNOME;KDE;XFCE;

That's it. This is based on how the system already configures keyboard and mouse settings.

score -4 · Answer 5 · edited Apr 20 '16 at 21:46

-4

Command line:

sed -i 's/#LEDS=+num/LEDS=+num/' '/etc/kbd/config'

edited Apr 20 '16 at 21:46

Jacobm001

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answered Apr 20 '16 at 21:22

Kevin Bougé

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How exactly does this work? How would the OP get this to run before setting the hostname and before startx? – Steve Robillard Apr 20 '16 at 22:28
You just run it once, it modifies the file forever. It is the programmatic equivalent to the manual steps up there. – Kevin Bougé Apr 21 '16 at 13:53
Most sysadmins like to know how the programs/scripts in their systems work. Serious ones audit everything that needs to run in a mission-critical environment. People also like to make sure that random scripts/commands they get online are not malicious. This is why we want to know what this does, not for us, but for the laypeople. – Aloha Nov 18 '17 at 11:59

Enable num-lock at boot Raspberry Pi

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