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.
• Current behavior note: Ctrl used as a physically held shortcut modifier (e.g. hold Ctrl + A) intentionally follows the app shortcut path and is not the same flow as Nav Mode (Ctrl double-tap latch outside text fields). Nav Mode remains a separate implementation/state.
• 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).

Development / Tests

• Run core + routing + service modifier regression tests:
  • ./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.core.ModifierStateControllerTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.inputmethod.InputEventRouterModifierE2ETest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.inputmethod.PhysicalKeyboardInputMethodServiceDeviceBehaviorTest
• Run release/update flavor coverage tests:
  • ./gradlew :app:testStableDebugUnitTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.FlavorBuildConfigTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.update.UpdateCheckerFlavorLogicTest
  • ./gradlew :app:testNightlyDebugUnitTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.FlavorBuildConfigTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.update.UpdateCheckerFlavorLogicTest
• Run the stable F-Droid-path tests:
  • ./gradlew :app:testStableDebugUnitTest -PPASTIERA_FDROID_BUILD=true
• Service-level (device-near) modifier behavior regressions:
  • ./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.inputmethod.PhysicalKeyboardInputMethodServiceDeviceBehaviorTest
• Router-level input pipeline modifier/SYM tests:
  • ./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.inputmethod.InputEventRouterModifierE2ETest
• Core modifier state machine tests:
  • ./gradlew :app:testDebugUnitTest --tests it.palsoftware.pastiera.core.ModifierStateControllerTest
• Build debug APK:
  • ./gradlew :app:assembleDebug

Continuous Integration

• Pushes to main and pull requests run .github/workflows/ci.yml.
• The CI job runs, in order:
  • :app:testStableDebugUnitTest
  • :app:testStableDebugUnitTest -PPASTIERA_FDROID_BUILD=true
  • :app:testNightlyDebugUnitTest

Manual release CI

• The repository includes a manually triggered GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/release.yml.
• Required GitHub Actions secrets:
  • PASTIERA_KEYSTORE_B64
  • PASTIERA_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
  • PASTIERA_KEY_ALIAS
  • PASTIERA_KEY_PASSWORD
• The workflow:
  • runs stable flavor unit tests
  • optionally runs the stable F-Droid-path unit tests
  • builds a signed stable release APK
  • optionally builds an unsigned stable APK for the official F-Droid path
  • verifies APK signing
  • uploads the signed APK and its SHA256 checksum as artifacts
  • uploads the unsigned F-Droid APK and its SHA256 checksum as artifacts
  • optionally creates a GitHub Release
• Release versioning is injected via Gradle properties:
  • -PPASTIERA_VERSION_CODE=...
  • -PPASTIERA_VERSION_NAME=...
• Local release builds can use the same mechanism:
  • ./gradlew :app:assembleStableRelease -PPASTIERA_VERSION_CODE=85 -PPASTIERA_VERSION_NAME=0.85
  • ./scripts/build-release.sh 0.85 85
  • ./scripts/build-fdroid.sh 0.85 85

Manual nightly CI

• The repository includes a manually triggered nightly workflow at .github/workflows/debug.yml.
• Required GitHub Actions secrets:
  • PASTIERA_NIGHTLY_KEYSTORE_B64
  • PASTIERA_NIGHTLY_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD
  • PASTIERA_NIGHTLY_KEY_ALIAS
  • PASTIERA_NIGHTLY_KEY_PASSWORD
• The workflow:
  • runs nightly flavor debug-unit tests
  • builds a nightly release APK signed with the shared nightly key
  • computes a SHA256 checksum
  • uploads the APK and checksum as workflow artifacts
  • automatically turns a base version like 0.85 into a unique nightly version like 0.85-nightly.20260306.195412
  • optionally publishes a GitHub pre-release under the nightly/v* tag scheme using that full nightly version
• The nightly flavor uses a separate application ID so it installs alongside the stable release.
• The nightly flavor is signed with a shared nightly key so local and CI nightly builds remain upgrade-compatible.
• Nightly version names follow the pattern BASE-nightly.YYYYMMDD.HHMMSS, for example 0.85-nightly.20260307.005731.
• GitHub Nightly builds and private F-Droid Nightly builds share the same application ID and signing key, but F-Droid Nightly builds disable GitHub update checks so updates come from the F-Droid repo.
• Nightly pre-release disclaimer text is maintained in .github/release-templates/debug-prerelease.md.
• The same versioning can be generated locally:
  • ./scripts/nightly-version.sh 0.85
  • ./gradlew :app:assembleNightlyRelease -PPASTIERA_VERSION_NAME=0.85 -PPASTIERA_NIGHTLY_VERSION_SUFFIX=-nightly.$(./scripts/nightly-version.sh 0.85 | awk -F= '/^timestamp=/{print $2}')
• Local wrappers are available:
  • ./scripts/build-nightly.sh 0.85
  • ./scripts/build-nightly.sh 0.85 --publish
  • ./scripts/publish-private-fdroid-nightly.sh 0.85
  • ./scripts/publish-private-fdroid-nightly.sh 0.85 ../palsoftware-web/apps/docs/public https://pastiera.eu/fdroid/nightly/repo
  • ./scripts/publish-private-fdroid-nightly.sh 0.85 ../palsoftware-web/apps/docs/public https://pastiera.eu/fdroid/nightly/repo --no-push-pages
  • ./scripts/build-release.sh 0.85 85