Schnelle Umlaute

The PowerToys Quick Accent experience, native on Linux.
Hold a key, press Space — get ä, ö, ü, ß, é, ñ instantly.
No clipboard. No root. No compromises.

bash — ~/schnelle-umlaute
How the timing works

Hold a key, then press Space (or your configured leader key) while the window is open to get the accent. The width of the window is exactly how long you have. Drag the handles to resize it.

o
hold
before press
Space → ö
o
misses
accent window: 600 ms
Features

Built different.
Works everywhere.

Six reasons why Schnelle Umlaute is the right choice for Linux power users.

Accent Cycling

Press the leader key repeatedly to step through all variants of a character. One gesture, every accent.

No Clipboard

Direct insertion via commitString(). Clipboard stays yours.

Text Snippets

One key. Any command.

h → Hello
p → sudo pacman -Syu
t → Tschüss!

Emoji, Symbols & Braille

Map any Unicode — if it exists, you can type it.

∞π√ ΣΩΔ ⠁⠃⠉ →≠≈

X11 + Wayland

Native on both display protocols. No root needed.

Arch Linux Ubuntu Debian Linux Mint Fedora openSUSE

Fully Configurable

Unlimited mappings · adjustable delay · Space, Arrow, Alt, or custom leader keys · per-app blacklist & whitelist.

a→ä
o→ö, ô, ó
e→é, è, ê
s→ß
p→π
g→git push…
How it works

Four steps.
Under one second.

Hold Letter

Press and hold a o u s

Press Space

Within 400ms, tap Space

Get Umlaut

ä ö ü ß — instantly

Cycle (Optional)

Press again: á → à → â

Users

What people say

This is EXACTLY what I was looking for and unlike all other solutions I tried it works easy and like a charm! Thank you so much for your work!"

@Martin-Eckleben
Passionate programmer and general techie

Your tool is getting reliable for daily use, now even with other languages than German!"

@ungaul
GitHub User

Congratulations on this excellent add-on!"

@RandomAndroidDev
GitHub User

MonkeyType typing test typed at speed with Schnelle Umlaute accents

I can be happy as well to have perfectly equivalent Quick Accent on Linux thanks to you."

@Gamesnic
GitHub User

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is Schnelle Umlaute?

A native Fcitx5 addon for Linux. Type German umlauts, French accents, or any Unicode character using the same hold + space gesture as Windows PowerToys Quick Accent. System-wide, lightweight, no root needed.

Does it work on Wayland?

Yes. Natively on both X11 and Wayland, no extra configuration. It integrates directly with Fcitx5.

Does it touch the clipboard?

Never. Unlike xdotool-based workarounds, Schnelle Umlaute uses Fcitx5's commitString() API — direct insertion, clipboard untouched.

What characters can I type?

German umlauts by default (ä ö ü ß Ä Ö Ü). With unlimited configurable mappings: French accents, Spanish, Portuguese, Braille Unicode, emojis, math symbols, full text snippets.

Which distros are supported?

Supported on Arch Linux, Ubuntu/Debian, Linux Mint, Fedora, and openSUSE. Works on any distro with Fcitx5.

Can I adjust the timing?

Yes, via fcitx5-config-qt. Default: 400ms lowercase, 700ms uppercase. Adjustable from 50ms to 2000ms to match your typing speed.

Can I use it for text snippets?

Yes. Map any key to a full phrase — e.g. hold m + Space to insert your email address, g for a Vim command like ggVGy (select all + yank), or u for sudo apt update. Works with any length of text.

What leader keys are available?

Space (default), Arrow keys, Alt/AltGr, or up to two custom keys of your choice. Multiple leader keys can be active at the same time. Custom leaders support dual hand-split mode for ergonomic typing.

Can I disable it in specific apps?

Yes. The App Filter lets you set a blacklist (disable in listed apps) or a whitelist (enable only in listed apps). Useful for games, password managers, IP/number-only fields, or apps with conflicting shortcuts.

Open Source · Free forever

Built with passion,
free for everyone.

Schnelle Umlaute will always be free and open source. If it makes your daily typing a little better, support the project on GitHub: star it, report issues, or spread the word.

Support the project on GitHub

Stop reaching for
the number pad.

Free. Open source. Two minutes to install.

Install Now View on GitHub