this post was submitted on 07 Feb 2026
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The new Microsoft copilot key is impossible to properly remap. (discuss.tchncs.de)
submitted 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) by attero@discuss.tchncs.de to c/linux@discuss.tchncs.de
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The new Micro~~soft~~slop copilot key always sends the following key-sequence when pressed down:

copilot key down: left-shift-down left-meta-down f23-down f23-up left-meta-up left-shift-up
copilot key up: <null>

This means there's no real key-up event when you release the key --> it can't be used (properly) as a modifier like ctrl or alt.

The workaround is to send a pretend key-up event after a time delay, but then you mustn't be too slow / fast when pressing a shortcut.

tldr: AI took a perfectly working modifier key from you.

--- edit ---
Some keyboards apparently do the "right" thing and don't send the whole sequence at once, you can remap those properly with keyd, see: https://github.com/rvaiya/keyd/issues/1025#issuecomment-2971556563 / https://github.com/rvaiya/keyd/issues/825

copilot key down: left-shift-down left-meta-down f23-down
copilot key up: f23-up left-meta-up left-shift-up

this will still break "left-shift + remapped copilot" and "left-meta + remapped copilot", but "RCtrl + letter key" can work as expected

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[–] prettybunnys@piefed.social 55 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Is the true solution to just not use a keyboard with a copilot key?

[–] GalacticGrapefruit@lemmy.world 51 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Or take apart the keyboard, gently disable the switch, and replace it with a stationary 3D-printed key with a middle-finger texture as a constant reminder that this is why we don't let computers run themselves.

[–] scrion@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

Alright, still lost the modifier key though.

[–] weegee90@lemmy.world 4 points 3 months ago

Gently disable?

[–] SidewaysHighways@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

yassss queen slay

[–] mindbleach@sh.itjust.works 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but that's essentially 'I would simply not have that problem.'

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Not having problems sounds great to me! I'll stick with my trusty old Thinkpad.

[–] vaionko@sopuli.xyz 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

You can't use it forever, and even thinkpads have copilot buttons now.

I'll probably have that problem in 15 years, I just upgraded from my T430

[–] FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I won't live forever either.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 months ago

Not with that attitude.

[–] PotatoesFall@discuss.tchncs.de 49 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I never use Right Ctrl but I will defend it against this abomination at any cost

[–] drcobaltjedi@programming.dev 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

A VM software I've used at work uses right Ctrl as the button to alert the host machine "Hey the user is addressing you now".

Want to take a wild guess who set up a VM on an old intern's laptop after they returned to school and didn't notice there wasn't a right Ctrl key anymore?

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[–] degen@midwest.social 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

There's a Right Ctrl?

[–] ClathrateG@hexbear.net 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Yeah it's right next to other hidden figure of complex macro binding Alt Gr

[–] degen@midwest.social 3 points 3 months ago

Alt Gr

Sounds angry

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[–] JiveTurkey@lemmy.world 25 points 3 months ago

This might as well be a sticker that says "don't buy this shit" at a glance.

[–] Kaiserschmarrn@feddit.org 20 points 3 months ago

My work laptop has this key and I remapped it with Raycast. Now, every time the key is being pressed, confetti flies across my screen. 🎉

[–] ruby@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 3 months ago

as a right ctrl user, fuck you microsoft. a while back i had to get a new laptop since the last one was falling apart and having to decide based on which models don't have a slopilot key so that i can use my system normally is so annoying. and unlike other specs you can't filter by this, only hope that it's mentioned in the product description somewhere.

[–] ramble81@lemmy.zip 15 points 3 months ago (1 children)

So am i to understand that this sequence is built into the firmware of every keyboard with a copilot button? At that point you’d basically have to muck with the firmware. Is there any chance of altering the HID driver for the keyboard class to intercept that pattern?

[–] attero@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Yes that's how I understood it. You can't fix a missing key-up signal on the OS/driver level.
This isn't Microsoft's first offense, btw: https://github.com/Rast1234/copilot_key_on_my_keyboard?tab=readme-ov-file#how-these-keys-work

[–] ramble81@lemmy.zip 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

What about just intercepting F23 since nothing else really uses that? It looks like the key up is in there. Ignore the other modifiers.

[–] attero@discuss.tchncs.de 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

afaik: the complete sequence is triggered when when the copilot key is pressed. You'd intercept the F23-up immediately --> no way to detect when the physical key is released.

[–] ramble81@lemmy.zip 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Oh now I’m following you. So at most you could remap it to an instant trigger. There’s no option for holding the key down.

[–] veniasilente@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 months ago

In the least it would be usable as a key alongside other modifiers. But since those keyboard with copilot key tend to use it instead of R-Control, that's not much of an improvement.

[–] Goretantath@lemmy.world 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

This seems to be on purpose to spite the people who want to remap it

[–] attero@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

nah, they just ran out of options, because they already used the press all modifier keys (HYPER) hack for the physical office key(I'd have to check how it handles key-up events, but I'd bet it does it correctly / distinguishable --> I think I'm on to something https://www.makeuseof.com/remap-caps-lock-to-hyper-key-and-double-shortcuts/ )

Defining a new keycode would've gotten them in trouble with their hardware partners, because that would be hard and break backwards compatibility, so they took the easy / stupid way out to implement this awesome new button, just to appease the marketing / product department. (conjecture)

This is just a result of the banality of evil / incompetence.

[–] Hadriscus@jlai.lu 14 points 3 months ago (4 children)

wtf ? a physical key on laptops that calls AI slop directly ? tell me it's a dream, a vicious dream

[–] ILikeBoobies@lemmy.ca 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's a Microsoft keyboard standard, you'll see it on detached keyboards soon.

Like this one:

https://www.logitech.com/en-ca/products/combos/signature-slim-mk955-for-business-copilot-edition.920-013271.html

[–] cmnybo@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 months ago

Normal keyboards are easy enough to deal with. Buy a mechanical one that uses the QMK firmware. Then you can just remap the key in firmware and replace the key cap.

[–] Goretantath@lemmy.world 5 points 3 months ago

Dreams are good, this is a nightmare.

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[–] ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip 12 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Couldn't they have just remapped RightControl to open Copilot for the same effect without all the downsides?

[–] attero@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Marketing said it has to be a dedicated key, engineers were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

[–] ZoteTheMighty@lemmy.zip 10 points 3 months ago (2 children)

They're "marketing", surely they could just tell them it's a "dedicated key".

[–] lightnsfw@reddthat.com 9 points 3 months ago

Put a sticker over the button and a default mapping in the software and none of them would have known the difference.

[–] degen@midwest.social 3 points 3 months ago

More like dead~~icated~~ key, am I right?

[–] pivot_root@lemmy.world 6 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Pretty easily, even without introducing a new scan code. If the keyboard uses USB, Windows could have just matched against the vendor and product IDs. Or they could have set something in the USB descriptor.

The only reasons I can think of for doing it this way are either out of laziness because it's easier to make a global hotkey than change a driver, or to intentionally make the key useless as a modifier key.

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[–] DickFiasco@sh.itjust.works 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

The Copilot logo is the computer version of aposematism.

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[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 6 points 3 months ago (3 children)

I still miss times when the bottom row was just Ctrl, Alt, Space, Alt, Ctrl.

[–] msage@programming.dev 7 points 3 months ago (8 children)

I like the Meta key.

I use dwm, so that key is my lifeline.

[–] lvxferre@mander.xyz 3 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I use it as a Compose key, but it's just because it's there; I also did something similar with the Scroll Lock key (I repurposed it to signal "turn it off" for certain autoclicking scripts, otherwise it would be completely useless). IMO keyboards are all fucking wrong anyway.

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[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I miss the menu key so much.... It was the way I accessed the spelling corrector. Using a mouse for that is so cursed. The menu key had other uses too as the context is useful.

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[–] schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I'm not old enough to remember those times; but why would you miss that? It's certainly useful to have a meta/super key for desktop environment shortcuts, and I use the menu key as a compose key, though admittedly without the menu key I would probably put that on the right control key. :D

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[–] Sparrow_1029@programming.dev 5 points 3 months ago

I managed to remap the key on my asus vivobook (M5406WA) running fedora 42 to be used as the compose key

[–] Someonelol@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 3 months ago (3 children)

This better be a temporary thing in PCs like when they used to have key locks or turbo buttons.

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[–] Etterra@discuss.online 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They can't stop you from popping the key off, though.

[–] jol@discuss.tchncs.de 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

They can't stop me from not buying these sinful machines either.

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[–] schnurrito@discuss.tchncs.de 4 points 3 months ago

How many keyboards have that key nowadays? I have not bought a new keyboard or laptop very recently.

[–] AI_toothbrush@lemmy.zip 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Ive never used right control before but still what is this bullshit. Theyre gonna take my sweet baby alt gr next... ill commit murder before that happens. As a three and a half lingual person, all of which are european, i cant live without the us intl with altgr dead key layout.

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[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago

i suddenly realize why my old 20 buck keyboard costs 200 now

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