Keyboard layouts and macro
Tools to write Erzya in the new Latin orthography (Nazarenko) on any device. The logic is the same everywhere: diacritic + letter.
Releases and downloads
| Device | OS | Version | Release date | Download |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computer | Windows Keyboard layout | 1.0 | 2026-06-20 | download |
| Computer | macOS Keyboard layout | 1.0 | 2026-06-20 | download |
| Computer | Linux Keyboard layout | 1.0 | 2026-06-20 | download |
| Computer | Windows · macOS · Linux Macro | 1.0 | 2026-06-20 | download |
| Phone / tablet | Android Keyboard (via Keyman) | 1.0 | 2026-06-26 | download |
| Phone / tablet | iOS Keyboard (via Keyman) | 1.0 | 2026-06-26 | download |
Mobile keyboard — Android and iOS
The Erzya keyboard with as-you-type suggestions runs on the phone via the free Keyman app (SIL). You type plain letters — the suggestion offers the word with correct diacritics (melse → meľsë). Three steps to install.
- Install the Keyman app from Google Play (Android) or the App Store (iOS).
- Download both files (on the phone, tap the downloaded file — it opens in Keyman, tap Install):
- Enable the Keyman keyboard in the phone settings and switch to “erzya”. In the Keyman app, turn on suggestions for the Erzya language. Done — type plain
melseand the suggestion showsmeľsë.
Both files are needed: keyboard (letters) and suggestions (dictionary). The keyboard runs inside the Keyman app — no separate app required. The same pair also works on iOS.
How it works
| acute ´ | caron ˇ | diaeresis ¨ | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer — dead key | AltGr+' | AltGr+] | AltGr+[ |
| Macro and phone — postfix | letter+' | letter+= | letter+" |
| Gives | ń ŕ ś ź ć | š č ž ľ ť ď | ä ö ü ë ï |
Plus one-key input: AltGr+a=ä, AltGr+s=š, AltGr+n=ń and so on. The letters ś ź ć are typed only with the dead acute (their base keys are taken by the caron š ž č).
⬇ Download everything as one archive (zip)
Cheat sheet: all 16 letters
| Letter | Type (postfix) | Direct AltGr |
|---|---|---|
| ä Ä | a" | AltGr+a |
| ö Ö | o" | AltGr+o |
| ü Ü | u" | AltGr+u |
| ë Ë | e" | AltGr+e |
| ï Ï | i" | AltGr+i |
| š Š | s= | AltGr+s |
| č Č | c= | AltGr+c |
| ž Ž | z= | AltGr+z |
| ľ Ľ | l= | AltGr+l |
| ť Ť | t= | AltGr+t |
| ď Ď | d= | AltGr+d |
| ń Ń | n' | AltGr+n |
| ŕ Ŕ | r' | AltGr+r |
| ś Ś | s' | — (dead acute) |
| ź Ź | z' | — (dead acute) |
| ć Ć | c' | — (dead acute) |
Windows
Download ⬇ erzya-new.klc, open it in the free Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator → Project → Build DLL and Setup Package → run setup.exe. Then add the “Erzya New Latin” layout in the language settings. AltGr is the right Alt key.
macOS
Download ⬇ Erzya-New.keylayout, place it in ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/, log out and back in, and enable the layout in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources. The ⌥ Option key acts as AltGr.
Linux
Put the XKB file ⬇ erzya in /usr/share/X11/xkb/symbols/ (if needed, ⬇ erzya.compose in ~/.XCompose). Enable: setxkbmap erzya. AltGr — right Alt.
Phone (iOS / Android)
Most letters are available by long-press on the base letter (hold a → pick ä; s → š/ś). For reliable input of all 16 letters set up text replacement: iOS — Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement; Android — personal dictionary. Ready-made pair lists (e.g. s'→ś) are in the archive above, folder mobile/.
Macro (no layout install)
Espanso (Windows / macOS / Linux) — one config for all systems: the package macro/espanso/erzya-new/ from the archive gives the postfix s'→ś, s=→š, a"→ä in any app. For Windows there is ⬇ erzya-new.ahk (AutoHotkey). Also the CLI erznew.py — bulk conversion of Erzya Cyrillic into the new script (a direct heir of the old Notepad++ macro).
What you download and how to verify it
All files are open. Below is what each file does, its version, the date it was checked, and the SHA-256 checksum so you can confirm the file has not been tampered with.
| File | What it does | Size | SHA-256 |
|---|---|---|---|
erzya-keyboard.zip | Full archive: all layouts, macros, Keyman packages, CLI converter and build scripts. | 4.4 МБ | 3aab36d54785d6f88b87cfe2ab474cd9ad48a1f24392071c40bdd273139d89a5 |
erzya-new.klc | Windows: layout source for Microsoft Keyboard Layout Creator — the installer is built from it. | 5 КБ | e4829f96e9e470e413bf8012e1c5c46b90ada82f319ec953421b145ffcffe171 |
Erzya-New.keylayout | macOS: layout file (put it in ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/). | 9 КБ | faf9bfd8165ecd3d5df39bf71baffa69db1a11bade585704fb37317302aec82f |
erzya | Linux: XKB map for the system layout (+ Compose file). | 1 КБ | e8ad1e1867a07e357b4f08dc0750b06fca1097960c72b7f65cd933184a8d628c |
erzya-new.ahk | Windows: AutoHotkey text-replacement — postfixes s'→ś in any app. | 2 КБ | 55d8a74aa882b98c24919726afed4261f5bbb912502df5ab4b7becfb87c02a7d |
erzya.kmp | Phone: keyboard for the Keyman app (Android/iOS). | 5 КБ | e060ea52515aa8926bcb640e8928086d8f4c6dbe29abe2e2f59a40a69820529a |
valks.myv.erzya.model.kmp | Phone: prediction model for Keyman (melse → meľsë). | 1.4 МБ | 7575e50c2f30f6d1a096988eff59787f55b28326bdfe7bf5304d3ae4776d141c |
Version and changes
Current version — 1.0. The date in the releases table = the date it was checked on that platform.
1.0 (desktop 2026-06-20, mobile 2026-06-26) — first public release: Windows / macOS / Linux layouts, macros (Espanso, AutoHotkey, CLI converter), mobile Keyman keyboard with as-you-type suggestions.
How to verify SHA-256
Windows (PowerShell): Get-FileHash <file> -Algorithm SHA256 · macOS / Linux: shasum -a 256 <file>. If it matches the value above, the file is authentic.
Openness
The layouts are produced by scripts that live inside the archive (make_klc.py, make_keylayout.py, build_keyman.py, etc.) — you can inspect them and rebuild the layout yourself. Questions and bug reports: inyazoro@gmail.com.