WIwithinboredom·Feb 13, 2026
I prefer the linux compose-key style: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In Improving 15 LLMs at Coding in One Afternoon. Only the Harness Changedsamhocevar
wincompose
C#2016–2026
samhocevar / wincompose
wincompose
🔣 Compose Key for Windows
17Distinct people
24Mentions
2Explicit recommenders
3KGitHub stars
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What it is
🔣 Compose Key for Windows
GitHub
Where it is used
No documented product use was verified in the last source check.
What people are saying
For Windows users, I recommend WinCompose: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose I use the Insert key, which would otherwise have no function.
teo_zero used a recommendation phrase. 2 indexed comments match. This is a phrase match, not a verdict.
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This week on Hacker News
Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 3:03:16 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 year24 dated mentions
Observed mentions: 2016-06-11 15:35:05 UTC to 2026-02-13 22:22:02 UTC.
* An incomplete calendar period is marked with an outlined bar. Its count is not directly comparable with a full period.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2017-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 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 | 1 | 2 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 10 | 1 | 9 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| 2026 (partial) | 2026-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 2027-01-01 00:00:00 UTC | 1 | 0 | 1 |
What Hacker News says
24 sourcesFor Windows users, I recommend WinCompose: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
I use the Insert key, which would otherwise have no function.
In Linux Compose Key Sequences (2007)This. Using a Compose key [0] covers a vast range of input use cases and is eminently customizable. For Windows there is WinCompose [1]. For macOS there is [2].
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compose_key
[1] https://github.com/SamHocevar/wincompose
[2] https://github.com/Granitosaurus/macos-compose
In Show HN: Mathpad – Physical keypad for typing math symbolsWinCompose [0] is the spiritual successor to AllChars.
[0] https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In Mathpad: A mathematical keypad for students and professionalsWhat i've been using: Install https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose and you can then press AltGr then three hyphens to insert one. or if you're on Linux just search for "compose key".
In How to Use Em Dashes (–), En Dashes (–), and Hyphens (-)WinCompose covers nicely the lack of *nix compose key in Windows.
https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In Ask HN: What apps have you created for your own use?Julia has made symbol input manageable and lets you define infix operators for many of the Unicode symbols that make sense for that. [1] And JuliaMono was designed to support the symbols that Julia does. [2]
I generally do quite fine with my Compose Key configuration, though (even on Windows, where I use WinCompose). [3]
[1]: https://docs.julialang.org/en/v1/manual/unicode-input/
[2]: https://juliamono.netlify.app/
[3]: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In Victor Mono TypefaceWinCompose offers this. I find it slightly buggy with caps as compose, but it works well enough and it can read an XCompose config file. (It does not honor XCompose includes IIRC, you have to merge everything into one file.)
https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In Writing prettier Haskell with Unicode syntax and VimMake it into a compose key: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In I have no capslock and I must screamThe problem I would have with this and Windows is, that Windows defines [crtl]+[alt] and [alt gr] to be the same thing... So if I wanted to type an ä ([alt gr]+[a]), my keepass global autotype ([ctrl]+[alt]+[a]) would pop up instead -.-'
So I had to settle with WinCompose to do proper non english languages.
https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
Did anybody get this fixed in Windows? If so, please send help! Also if you are inside Microsoft and know the correct team to adress this to, please for gods sake, point them to this issue.
In Show HN: My proposal for a new keyboard layoutRight-Ctrl C ' if you have a compose key (built in on Linux, WinCompose[1] for Windows, no clue for Mac).
[1] https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
In Ć Programming LanguageI almost entirely agree, though I think your third point (typing non-ascii characters) could be less severe with one extra lesson in the typing course most kids are forced to take. When I first took French in 7th grade somehow I learned online you could enter ascii codes (whatever those were) on Windows with alt+numpad, and I still have memorized that alt+130 gives é. Later I moved to Linux where we have a great Compose key system, so I can just type <compose> + e + ' and get é, <compose> + c + , to get ç, and so on, with <compose> mapped to whatever I like (currently right-alt). Supposedly (haven't tried it) this system now has a Windows port: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
Asian languages are harder. But if you're told about IME, then at least if you know what you want to type, how to actually type it isn't a big burden. IME c
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an also help with rarer math symbols like ⋂ (\bigcap) ≅ (\cong) or ⊵ (\unrhd), or is another way to get something like the compose key system.
Fun fact, WinCompose used to be written in AutoHotkey. It's still shown as a branch on GitHub: https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose/tree/autohotkey
In WinCompose – A Compose Key for WindowsWinCompose – A Compose Key for Windows
228 points · Open discussionOn Windows, there's a program Win Compose[1], letting you press Compose e ^ to get ê. On Linux (Xorg/xcompose), that's built in but you may need to map a key to Compose. I use right control.
[1]https://github.com/samhocevar/wincompose
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