Pastiera

Input method for physical keyboards android devices (e.g. Unihertz Titan 2), designed to make typing faster through shortcuts, gestures, and customization.

Quick overview

• Compact status bar with LED indicators for Shift/SYM/Ctrl/Alt, variants/suggestions bar, and swipe-pad gestures to move the cursor.
• Multiple layouts (QWERTY/AZERTY/QWERTZ, Greek, Cyrillic, Arabic, translit, etc.) fully configurable; JSON import/export directly from the app. A web frontend for editing layouts is available at https://pastierakeyedit.vercel.app/
• SYM pages usable via touch or physical keys (emoji + symbols), reorderable/disableable, with an integrated layout editor.
• Clipboard support with multiple entries and pinnable items.
• Support for dictionary based suggestions/Autocorrections + swipe gestures to accept a suggestion (requires Shizuku)
• Full backup/restore (settings, layouts, variations, dictionaries), UI translated into multiple languages, and built-in GitHub update checks.

Typing and modifiers

• Long press on a key can input Alt+key or Shift+Key (uppercase) timing configurable.
• Shift/Ctrl/Alt in one-shot or lock mode (double tap), option to clear Alt on space.
• Multi-tap support for keys with layout-defined variants (e.g. Cyrillic)
• Standard shortcuts: Ctrl+C/X/V, Ctrl+A, Ctrl+Backspace, Ctrl+E/D/S/F or I/J/K/L for arrows, Ctrl+W/R for selection, Ctrl+T for Tab, Ctrl+Y/H for Page Up/Down, Ctrl+Q for Esc (all customizable in the Customize Nav screen).

QOL features

• Nav Mode: double tap Ctrl outside text fields to use ESDF or IJKL as arrows, and many more useful mappings (everything is customizable in Customize Nav Mode settings)
• Variations bar as swipe pad: drag to move the cursor, with adjustable threshold.
• Launcher shortcuts: in the launcher, press a letter to open/assign an app.
• Power shortcuts: press SYM (5s timeout) then a letter to use the same shortcuts anywhere, even outside the launcher.
• Change language with a tap on language code in the status bar, longpress to enter pastiera settings

Keyboard layouts

• Included layouts: qwerty, azerty, qwertz, greek, arabic, russian/armenian phonetic translit, plus dedicated Alt maps for Titan 2.
• Layout switching: select from the enabled layouts list (configurable).
• Multi-tap support and mapping for complex characters.
• JSON import/export directly from the app, with visual preview and list management (enable/disable, delete).
• Layout maps are stored in files/keyboard_layouts and can also be edited manually. A web frontend for editing layouts is available at https://pastierakeyedit.vercel.app/

Symbols, emoji, and variations

• Two touch-based SYM pages (emoji + symbols): reorderable/enableable, auto-close after input, customizable keycaps.
• In-app SYM editor with emoji grid and Unicode picker.
• Variations bar above the keyboard: shows accents/variants of the last typed letter or static sets (utility/email) when needed.
• Dedicated variations editor to replace/add variants via JSON or Unicode picker; optional static bar.

Suggestions and autocorrection

• Experimental support for dictionary based autocorrection/suggestions
• User dictionary with search and edit abilities.
• Per-language auto substituion editor, quick search, and a global “Pastiera Recipes” set shared across all languages.
• Change language/keymap with a tap on the language code button or ctrl+space

Comfort and extra input

• Double space → period + space + uppercase;
• Swipe left on the keyboard to delete a word (Titan 2).
• Optional Alt+Ctrl shortcut to start Google Voice Typing; microphone always available on the variants bar.
• Compact status bar to minimize vertical space. With on-screen keyboard disabled from the IME selector, it uses even less space (aka Pastierina mode)
• Translated UI (it/en/de/es/fr/pl/ru/hy) and onboarding tutorial.

Backup, updates, and data

• UI-based backup/restore in ZIP format: includes preferences, custom layouts, variations, SYM/Ctrl maps, and user dictionaries.
• Restore merges saved variations with defaults to avoid losing newly added keys.
• Built-in GitHub update check when opening settings (with option to ignore a release).
• Customizable files in files/: variations.json, ctrl_key_mappings.json, sym_key_mappings*.json, keyboard_layouts/*.json, user dictionaries.
• Android autobackup function

Installation

1. Build the APK or install an existing build.
2. Android Settings → System → Languages & input → Virtual keyboard → Manage keyboards.
3. Enable “Pastiera” and select it from the input selector when typing.

Requirements

• Android 10 (API 29) or higher.
• Device with a physical keyboard (profiled on Unihertz Titan 2, adaptable via JSON).