KRkragen·Oct 22, 2025
Thank you! I usually use THIN SPACE on each side of my em dashes (Compose Space Minus in https://github.com/kragen/xcompose ), but on HN that gets bashed to a regular space.
In LLMs can get "brain rot"kragen
xcompose
Python2009–2025
kragen / xcompose
xcompose
for sharing .XCompose keybindings
12Distinct people
26Mentions
1Explicit recommenders
378GitHub stars
What to know before exploring
What it is
for sharing .XCompose keybindings
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use was verified in the last source check.
What people are saying
> What input method are you using such that this is even possible? ibus. In my X settings the physical Caps Lock key is turned into Compose, and then I can easily type ‘ with…
eadmund used a recommendation phrase. One indexed comment matches. This is a phrase match, not a verdict.
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Also in these discussions
No other repository is repeatedly linked in the same discussions.
This week on Hacker News
Nov 8–Nov 15 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/15/2026, 6:59:22 PM UTC.
No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.
Mentions over time
HN mentions by year26 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2009-11-27 20:38:30 UTC to 2025-10-22 10:56:39 UTC.
Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.
View mention counts and date ranges
| Period | Start (UTC) | End (exclusive, UTC) | Mentions | Submissions | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 2009-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2010 | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2011-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | 2011-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2012-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2012 | 2012-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2013 | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2014 | 2014-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | 2015-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 5 | 0 | 5 |
What Hacker News says
5 sourcesThere's a Compose key binding for it in https://github.com/kragen/xcompose/blob/master/dotXCompose. Usually a lowercase i is the small-signal current, but some ambiguity is probably unavoidable with short abbreviations.
In CT scans of 1k lithium-ion batteries show quality risks in inexpensive cellsThese work in both X and Wayland, even though they are an X feature. X/Wayland will consult the standard file, but will also consult a file ~/.XCompose. A number of people have created files with extended compose sequences, of which https://github.com/kragen/xcompose is possibly the best-known. If you install or change ~/.XCompose, you must restart your session (log out and back in again) for it to be recognized.
I used to bind the Compose key to Caps Lock, but I've recently decided that Right Alt is a better choice.
Another commenter mentioned WinCompose, which I have used very successfully with Windows 11. On a Mac, you might try https://github.com/Granitosaurus/macos-compose, which is quite usable, provided you install Karabiner Elements for the remapping.
In Linux Compose Key Sequences (2007)Yes, it's a feature of X. The full list is in `/usr/share/X11/locale/*/Compose`, and people who are interested in this should peruse and install <https://github.com/rrthomas/pointless-xcompose> or perhaps <https://github.com/kragen/xcompose>.
In Linux Compose Key Sequences (2007)I have a Compose key binding in https://github.com/kragen/xcompose which maps Compose Space Minus to "—" with two thin spaces on each side of it, because I prefer the spaces. But HN rewrites the thin spaces to regular spaces, so on HN I just use "—" without the spaces, the way ChatGPT does, which is Compose Minus Minus Minus, and is in the standard Compose key bindings (if you map your keyboard to have a Compose key at all).
Examples within the last week include https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44996702, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44989129, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44991769, https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44989444. I typed all of those.
I never use space-hyphen-space instead of an em dash. I do sometimes use TeX's " --- ".
In Researchers find evidence of ChatGPT buzzwords turning up in everyday speech