Configuring Libinput For 4 Finger Swipe

Enabling 4 finger swipe on KDE 5

This is to enable the ability to 4 finger swipe up to expose all windows on the desktop. I have typically enabled this in the past by using hot-corners and this works great, however I like the ability to do it from the touchpad as well. I found a few different links online and ended up getting this to work by following these steps.

Install

Install the prerequisites:

sudo apt install libinput-tools xdotool wmctrl

Clone the GH Repo:

git clone https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures

Change to the directory and install:

sudo make install

-OR-

sudo ./libinput-gestures-setup install

Configure

Edit the libinput-gestures.conf file.

Add the following in the “SWIPE GESTURES” section:

gesture swipe up 4 xdotool key ctrl+F9

This is the entry to enable 4 finger swipe to call xdotool to simulate the ctrl+F9 keypress. You could similarly make entries here to perform other touchpad gestures.

Save and close the file.

The program requires you to be part of the input group:

usermod -aG input <username>

Start the program with the command line:

libinput-gestures-setup start