US keyboard setup instructions for fCC backend workshops

keyboard-setup.md

Keyboard & Language Setup Guide for International Users

For the freeCodeCamp Learn Bash Course on GitHub Codespaces

To complete the Learn Bash course successfully, you must be able to type certain characters exactly as Bash and PostgreSQL expect them. Because these characters vary across international keyboards, all learners should temporarily switch to the English (US) keyboard layout for the duration of the course.

Using the US layout ensures:

• Commands behave consistently
• Symbols appear where the curriculum expects
• You avoid errors caused by “dead keys” or remapped characters
• You can follow instructions exactly as written

---

1. Set your keyboard layout to English (US) on your local machine

GitHub Codespaces uses your local keyboard layout.
You must change the layout on your computer itself.

Windows

1. Open Settings → Time & Language → Language & Region
2. If “English (United States)” is not listed, click Add a language
3. Add English (United States)
4. Under Keyboards, select US
5. Remove other layouts or move US to the top of the list

macOS

1. Open System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources
2. Click + and add English → U.S.
3. Remove other layouts or disable automatic switching
4. Ensure U.S. is the active layout

Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Mint, etc.)

GUI method:

1. Open Settings → Keyboard
2. Add English (US)
3. Move it to the top of the list
4. Remove other layouts if possible

Command‑line method (X11): Check your current layout:

setxkbmap -query

Switch to US:

setxkbmap us

---

2. Verify that the US layout is active

Open any text box and type the following characters:

- _ / \ | ' " : ; $ ( ) [ ] { }

If all characters appear exactly as shown, your layout is correct.

If any character:

• appears as an accented letter
• requires unusual key combinations
• does not match the symbol shown above

then your layout is not set to US.

---

3. Test inside GitHub Codespaces

Open your Codespace terminal and type:

- _ / \ | ' " : ;

If the characters match exactly, you are ready to begin the course.

If not, your local machine is still using a non‑US layout.

---

4. Why the US layout is required

Many international layouts (AZERTY, QWERTZ, Latin American, etc.) change:

• the location of /, \, |, ', "
• how to type $, {}, [], ()
• whether ' and " are “dead keys”
• how Bash interprets commands
• how PostgreSQL interprets backslash commands such as \dt or \c

Using English (US) avoids these problems and ensures your commands match the course instructions exactly.

---

5. Final checklist

Before starting the course, confirm the following:

• My computer is set to English (US) keyboard layout
• I can type all required Bash symbols correctly
• No dead keys interfere with quotes
• Codespaces shows the correct characters
• Other layouts are removed or disabled to avoid accidental switching