Colemak keyboard layout
Colemak is a modern alternative to QWERTY released in 2006 that moves 17 keys to put the most common letters on the home row while keeping Z, X, C, V and most punctuation in place.
- Created by
- Shai Coleman
- Tarmak steps by DreymaR
- Year
- 2006
- Built into Windows 11 24H2
- Finger travel
- −44%
- vs QWERTY
- Home row
- 75%
- of letters, QWERTY 37%
The layouts
Colemak itself: 17 keys moved from QWERTY.
Colemak is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard. The original also turns Caps Lock into a second Backspace.
How Colemak measures
Colemak typed on 23,331 words of English and compared with QWERTY.
History
- 2006Shai Coleman releases Colemak on 1 January. Starting from QWERTY, he moves only 17 keys, and only two of them change hands.
- 2014DreymaR, a long-time member of the Colemak forum, publishes Tarmak: four steps from QWERTY to Colemak, a few keys at a time.
- 2024Windows 11 adds Colemak in version 24H2. It already shipped with macOS and Linux.
Design goal: Put the most frequent English letters on the home row while keeping QWERTY’s shortcuts and punctuation where they are.
Pros
- Q, W, A, Z, X, C, V, B, H and M stay where QWERTY has them, so copy, paste, undo and most punctuation do not move.
- About three quarters of letters are typed on the home row.
- Built into macOS, Linux and Windows 11 (24H2 and later), with Tarmak steps for a gradual switch.
Cons
- 17 keys still move, so expect a few weeks of slower typing.
- D and H sit in the centre columns, so the index fingers stretch sideways for common pairs like HE. This is what Colemak-DH fixes.
- Older versions of Windows need an installer.
Colemak compared
Against QWERTY and other established alternatives, ranked by finger travel per 1,000 words.
| Layout | Finger travel | vs QWERTY | Home row | Same finger | Alternation | Left hand |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workman | 70.8 m | −46% | 69% | 2.9% | 54% | 52% |
| Colemak-DH | 72.6 m | −44% | 68% | 1.4% | 56% | 46% |
| ColemakTHIS PAGE | 73.3 m | −44% | 75% | 1.4% | 56% | 46% |
| Dvorak | 74.7 m | −43% | 72% | 2.9% | 67% | 44% |
| Tarmak 4THIS PAGE | 76.2 m | −41% | 74% | 2.9% | 56% | 46% |
| Tarmak 3THIS PAGE | 87.3 m | −33% | 66% | 3.7% | 56% | 45% |
| Tarmak 2THIS PAGE | 88.3 m | −32% | 61% | 4.4% | 56% | 45% |
| Tarmak 1THIS PAGE | 103.6 m | −20% | 55% | 4.8% | 56% | 45% |
| QWERTY | 130.0 m | — | 37% | 6.5% | 55% | 57% |
Questions
SourcesColemak was created by Shai Coleman and released on 1 January 2006. The Tarmak learning steps were added by DreymaR in 2014.
It moves your fingers less. On 23,331 words of English, finger travel was −44% against QWERTY, 75% of letters landed on the home row against QWERTY’s 37%, and same-finger pairs were 1.4% against 6.5%. Less movement does not guarantee more speed, and switching takes weeks of practice.
Colemak is typed with standard touch-typing fingering on any keyboard. The original also turns Caps Lock into a second Backspace.
Yes. Colemak is built into macOS, Linux and ChromeOS, and into Windows 11 from version 24H2. The Tarmak steps are not built in anywhere.
Yes. Choose Colemak as your keyboard layout and the on-screen keyboard and hands show where every key is.