eclipse-theia/theia

Allow `meta` on linux

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#8,932 opened on Jan 9, 2021

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enhancementhelp wantedkeybindings

Description

the keymaps package says "You can use shift, ctrl, alt, meta, option (alt), command (meta), cmd (meta) as modifiers. Note that if you defined a custom shortcut with cmd, command or meta, the same keymaps file won't work on a Windows/Linux machine as this key doesn't have an equivalent."

but, linux does have an equivalent key. super.

i use super extensively in my emacs and vscode keybindings, have for years. would you be open for a PR adding a super alias for meta and making it available on Linux?

i'd imagine ctrlCmd would continue to map to ctrl on linux and meta/super would be an additional option for bindings under Linux and macOS.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
frontend
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
2
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
under 1 hour
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
TypeScriptKeybinding concepts
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
75
Research direction
Look into the keymaps package in the Theia repository, specifically the handling of modifier keys. Find where 'meta' is defined and add 'super' as an alias on Linux, similar to how 'cmd' is aliased on Mac. Update any existing tests for keybindings and check documentation for references. A good starting file is 'packages/keymaps/src/browser/keybinding context.ts'.