Colemak
A QWERTY-derived layout optimizing English typing efficiency on the home row.
Colemak is a keyboard layout for languages that use the Latin alphabet, created to make typing in English faster and more comfortable than QWERTY. It achieves this by putting the most common English letters on the home row, while preserving many standard keyboard shortcuts from QWERTY. The layout was introduced on January 1, 2006, and takes its name from its creator, Shai Coleman. Native support for Colemak is built into all major modern operating systems, including Microsoft Windows (starting with version 24H2 of Windows 11), macOS, Linux, Android, ChromeOS, and BSD-based systems. For older Windows versions, a separate installation program is available. On mobile platforms like Android and iOS, the layout can be used through various virtual keyboard apps such as Gboard and SwiftKey, as well as many apps that support physical keyboards directly.
- Release date
- 1 January 2006
- Inventor
- Shai Coleman
- Keys changed from qwerty
- 17
- Home row typing percentage
- 74%
- Home row typing percentage dvorak
- 70%
- Home row typing percentage qwerty
- 32%
Lore & Background
The Colemak layout was designed with the QWERTY layout as a base, changing the positions of 17 keys while retaining the QWERTY positions of most non-alphabetic characters and many popular keyboard shortcuts, supposedly making it easier to learn than the Dvorak layout for people who already type in QWERTY without losing efficiency. It shares several design goals with the Dvorak layout, such as minimizing finger path distance and making heavy use of the home row. The default Colemak layout lacks a Caps Lock key; an additional Backspace key occupies the typical position of Caps Lock on modern keyboards. Coleman states that he designed Colemak to be fun and easy to learn, explaining that Dvorak is hard for QWERTY typists to learn due to it being so different from the QWERTY layout. The layout has attracted media attention as an alternative to Dvorak for improving typing speed and comfort with an alternate keyboard layout.
Reader's Guide
Colemak's significance lies in its design as a practical alternative to both QWERTY and Dvorak, aiming to improve typing efficiency for English while reducing the learning curve for QWERTY users. By retaining many common keyboard shortcuts and most non-alphabetic key positions, it eases transition. The layout's 74% home-row usage surpasses both Dvorak (70%) and QWERTY (32%), reflecting its focus on minimizing finger movement. Its legacy includes native support across all major operating systems and mobile platforms via apps like Gboard and SwiftKey. The community has developed variants such as Colemak-DH to address criticisms of lateral finger stretches for common bigrams like HE, and intermediate Tarmak layouts to ease adoption. The adaptable configuration Miryoku, based on Colemak-DH, extends its use to split ergonomic keyboards with additional layers. Colemak remains a notable entry in the landscape of alternative keyboard layouts, supported by an active user community.
Did You Know?
- Colemak was released on 1 January 2006 and named after its inventor, Shai Coleman.
- 74% of typing on Colemak is done on the home row, compared to 70% for Dvorak and 32% for QWERTY.
- A series of intermediate layouts called Tarmak change only 3–5 keys at a time in 5 steps to ease adoption.
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