# Kate's VI mode hides cursor when using HJKL motion **URL:** \ **Category:** Help\ **Tags:** plasma, kate\ **Created:** [November 24, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944 "2024-11-24T02:54:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 2:54am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/1 "2024-11-24T02:54:02Z")
Change the edit mode to VI mode. Black cursor appears on the text editor. Pressing the arrow keys moves the black cursor, but using HJKL keys causes the black cursor to disappear. ![Screencast_20241124_103929](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/uploads/default/original/2X/3/3dd829f6f6dad5800cfbb2a16b4c8a75cda2b5a3.gif) Specs (EDIT with more infos): Kate 24.08.3 Operating System: EndeavourOS KDE Plasma Version: 6.2.3 KDE Frameworks Version: 6.8.0 Qt Version: 6.8.0 Kernel Version: 6.12.1-arch1-1 (64-bit) Graphics Platform: Wayland Processors: 8 × Intel® Core™ i5-10300H CPU @ 2.50GHz Memory: 15.5 GiB of RAM Graphics Processor: Mesa Intel® UHD Graphics Manufacturer: Acer Product Name: Predator PH315-53 System Version: V2.04 ---
**Author:** ![Cieginator](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Cieginator](https://discuss.kde.org/u/Cieginator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 4:55am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/2 "2024-11-24T04:55:34Z")
Does this happen with other Editor Color Themes and Window Color Schemes? ---
**Author:** ![Cieginator](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Cieginator](https://discuss.kde.org/u/Cieginator)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 5:08am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/3 "2024-11-24T05:08:55Z")
I could not recreate this issue with mostly the same specs… Kate Version 24.08.3 Operating System: Fedora Linux 41 KDE Plasma Version: 6.2.3 KDE Frameworks Version: 6.8.0 Qt Version: 6.8.0 Kernel Version: 6.11.8-300.fc41.x86\_64 (64-bit) Graphics Platform: Wayland ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2024, 5:31am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/4 "2024-11-24T05:31:46Z")
In the recording is in the Default Color Scheme in Window Color Scheme, and Breeze Light in Editor Color Themes. Tried other color schemes and editor themes. The cursor still hides. ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2024, 5:16am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/5 "2024-11-25T05:16:30Z")
bumping this thread. ---
**Author:** ![johnandmegh](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/johnandmegh/32/767_2.png) [@johnandmegh](https://discuss.kde.org/u/johnandmegh)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2024, 8:40pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/6 "2024-11-25T20:40:17Z")
Can’t reproduce here either (Fedora 41, Nvidia card). Do you have access to any other hardware, or to a virtual machine on your current device, that you could try it out on to rule out some sort of weird graphical issue? As a side note, this forum provides each visitor with their own personal “where you last visited” mark in the topic list, to make it easier to find topics they haven’t yet read - I don’t think “bumping threads” is necessary. ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 5:22am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/7 "2024-11-26T05:22:45Z")
> [@johnandmegh](#): > > Can’t reproduce here either (Fedora 41, Nvidia card). Do you have access to any other hardware, or to a virtual machine on your current device, that you could try it out on to rule out some sort of weird graphical issue? I have VirtualBox installed, but I’m not running on it. Here’s my `inxi -G` output ```auto System: Host: achlys Kernel: 6.12.1-arch1-1 arch: x86_64 bits: 64 Desktop: KDE Plasma v: 6.2.3 Distro: EndeavourOS Machine: Type: Laptop System: Acer product: Predator PH315-53 v: V2.04 serial: Mobo: CML model: QX50_CMS v: V2.04 serial: UEFI: Insyde v: 2.04 date: 08/20/2021 Battery: ID-1: BAT1 charge: 35.6 Wh (96.7%) condition: 36.8/58.8 Wh (62.7%) CPU: Info: quad core Intel Core i5-10300H [MT MCP] speed (MHz): avg: 2656 min/max: 800/4500 Graphics: Device-1: Intel CometLake-H GT2 [UHD Graphics] driver: i915 v: kernel Device-2: Quanta HD User Facing driver: uvcvideo type: USB Display: wayland server: X.org v: 1.21.1.14 with: Xwayland v: 24.1.4 compositor: kwin_wayland driver: X: loaded: modesetting dri: iris gpu: i915 resolution: 1920x1080 API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: intel mesa v: 24.2.7-arch1.1 renderer: Mesa Intel UHD Graphics (CML GT2) Network: Device-1: Intel Comet Lake PCH CNVi WiFi driver: iwlwifi Device-2: Realtek Killer E2600 GbE driver: r8169 Drives: Local Storage: total: 1.14 TiB used: 367.28 GiB (31.4%) Info: Memory: total: 16 GiB available: 15.45 GiB used: 12.91 GiB (83.5%) Processes: 344 Uptime: 2d 5h 1m Shell: Bash inxi: 3.3.36 ``` > [@johnandmegh](#): > > As a side note, this forum provides each visitor with their own personal “where you last visited” mark in the topic list, to make it easier to find topics they haven’t yet read - I don’t think “bumping threads” is necessary. Glad to know. Was worrying this thread won’t be seen in the home page. ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 5:24am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/8 "2024-11-26T05:24:08Z")
> [@johnandmegh](#): > > Can’t reproduce here either (Fedora 41, Nvidia card). Do you have access to any other hardware, or to a virtual machine on your current device, that you could try it out on to rule out some sort of weird graphical issue? Oh you mean testing on other device. I tested this on my Steam Deck’s Kate, and I couldn’t recreated the bug either. I can move the black cursor with HJKL. ---
**Author:** ![johnandmegh](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/johnandmegh/32/767_2.png) [@johnandmegh](https://discuss.kde.org/u/johnandmegh)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 7:24am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/9 "2024-11-26T07:24:58Z")
Hmm - on the device where you see that behavior, did it work as expected at any point in the past? You could rule out possible packaging issues on the Arch end by trying out the Flatpak version of Kate, perhaps? Also, do you have a kernel before 6.12 (either linux-lts or 6.11, I’d assume, on Arch) you can try out on that device, by chance? I’m asking as I’ve seen folks post a few odd graphical issues on devices with 6.12 so far, possibly related to the kernel’s built-in graphics drivers? Just a guess, though. ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 9:29am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/10 "2024-11-26T09:29:23Z")
> [@johnandmegh](#): > > You could rule out possible packaging issues on the Arch end by trying out the Flatpak version of Kate, perhaps? I installed `org.kde.kate`. The issue is still there. ![kde-flatpak-2-resize](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/uploads/default/original/2X/d/d777b5b93fefb732d512871d9a45892673cdcfea.gif) > [@johnandmegh](#): > > Also, do you have a kernel before 6.12 (either linux-lts or 6.11, I’d assume, on Arch) you can try out on that device, by chance? I’m asking as I’ve seen folks post a few odd graphical issues on devices with 6.12 so far, possibly related to the kernel’s built-in graphics drivers? Just a guess, though. I’ll try that later. ---
**Author:** ![Cieginator](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Cieginator](https://discuss.kde.org/u/Cieginator)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 1:30pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/11 "2024-11-26T13:30:46Z")
Man, issues like this are brain teasers! I know you tried on a steam deck, but I wonder if the issue would remain if you tried this with a live session, like booting from a flash drive on that same hardware. It seems like a conflict between color selection of Kate settings and something else like global colors settings from a theme. Maybe the flatpack attempt is a coincidence here…not sure how that really works out in a situation like this. ---
**Author:** ![Cieginator](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@Cieginator](https://discuss.kde.org/u/Cieginator)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 1:42pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/12 "2024-11-26T13:42:46Z")
I had not run across these options before, but there is a plethra of things that I could break in this section and maybe produce a similar result. But, at least if this is some sort of bug, there might be a temporary solution in finding out what controls that color. A little tedious for sure. ![image](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/uploads/default/original/2X/8/80a99b8f4d604456d4755b721236abae42bb58b1.png) ---
**Author:** ![johnandmegh](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/johnandmegh/32/767_2.png) [@johnandmegh](https://discuss.kde.org/u/johnandmegh)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2024, 8:23pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/13 "2024-11-26T20:23:08Z")
One other classic troubleshooting step to try would be, on the device where you’re experiencing the issue, creating a fresh user account (with all default settings) and seeing if the issue shows up on that one as well. If it doesn’t show up on a new account, then it’s at least narrowed down that it’s something in the user configs, as opposed to a fundamental package+system problem - if it does, then you know it’s not something that was introduced by any other customization you’ve done to your user profile! ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 12:29am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/14 "2024-11-27T00:29:00Z")
> [@johnandmegh](#): > > If it doesn’t show up on a new account, then it’s at least narrowed down that it’s something in the user configs Yep. It’s something in my user configs. I created two accounts for admin and standard types. Both did not have the issue. The black cursor did not hide with HJKL motions. Also, in my current (faulty) account has multiple activities. I set Kate to appear in all activities. I tested it in all activities, and the issue is still there. > [@johnandmegh](#): > > Also, do you have a kernel before 6.12 (either linux-lts or 6.11, I’d assume, on Arch) you can try out on that device, by chance? I’m asking as I’ve seen folks post a few odd graphical issues on devices with 6.12 so far, possibly related to the kernel’s built-in graphics drivers? Just a guess, though. Unfortunately, I don’t have past kernel versions, though I have the fallback kernel. So, I rebooted it in the fallback version. The issue is still there, too. ---
**Author:** ![johnandmegh](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/johnandmegh/32/767_2.png) [@johnandmegh](https://discuss.kde.org/u/johnandmegh)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 4:34am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/15 "2024-11-27T04:34:51Z")
> [@cooodos](#): > > Yep. It’s something in my user configs. I created two accounts for admin and standard types. Both did not have the issue. The black cursor did not hide with HJKL motions. Ah - it might make sense to start small and see if backing up your current `~/.config/katerc` file, then removing it / going back to all defaults helps? (It’d be nice if it was just something funky in the Kate configuration file!) ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2024, 6:12am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/16 "2024-11-27T06:12:04Z")
> [@johnandmegh](#): > > see if backing up your current `~/.config/katerc` file, then removing it I made a backup directory of katerc and deleted `katerc/`. Then I opened Kate from terminal and typed in Vi-Mode. The black cursor still disappears with HJKL motions. Also other Vi keys like 0, ^, w, e, etc. made the black cursor disappear too. > [@johnandmegh](#): > > going back to all defaults helps? Not sure how do I do that. ---
**Author:** ![johnandmegh](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/johnandmegh/32/767_2.png) [@johnandmegh](https://discuss.kde.org/u/johnandmegh)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 4:11am UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/17 "2024-11-28T04:11:52Z")
Deleting `~/.config/katerc` would have functionally reset you to defaults for Kate settings, so…oof, if doing that didn’t help then there’s something…_somewhere_ else in your user profile that is having the bizarre effect of creating this cursor issue. Depending on how determined you are, you might be able to pin it down by taking one of the newly-created users that you made that doesn’t show that behavior, and then one-by-one making each customization to turn it into a copy of your main user, to try to find out which step causes it…depending on how many themes, KWin effects, etc. you have customized, that could be a while though, so it might be a judgment call of whether figuring that out is worth it. ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/18 "2024-11-28T18:38:37Z")
> [@johnandmegh](#): > > one-by-one making each customization to turn it into a copy of your main user, to try to find out which step causes it…depending on how many themes, KWin effects, etc Will do this on my semester break, which is around second week of December, so I’ll come back to this. It’s a very strange bug indeed. ---
**Author:** ![cooodos](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@cooodos](https://discuss.kde.org/u/cooodos)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 6:50pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/19 "2024-11-28T18:50:45Z")
I found the solution! **TLDR; Disable virtual keyboard, in this case Ibus Wayland.** **System Settings → Keyboard → Virtual Keyboard → Select “None” → Click “Apply”** It was caused by Ibus Wayland. I used Ibus Wayland to type in Japanese but I was in Romaji mode when testing it, meaning typing in Latin characters instead of Hiragana, Katakana or Kanji. My Ibus Wayland also has English - Filipino layout, which shouldn’t have an another character layout option like the Japanese keyboard layout with Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji. But when I set Ibus Wayland to English - Filipino layout, the black cursor still disappears. So I disabled Ibus Wayland. The black cursor can now move with HJKL. Didn’t change any theming settings. Though, is this an intended behavior with virtual keyboards? Thinking of filing a bug report to either Kate, Ibus Wayland or virtual keyboard in general? ---
**Author:** ![johnandmegh](https://discuss-cdn.kde.org/user_avatar/discuss.kde.org/johnandmegh/32/767_2.png) [@johnandmegh](https://discuss.kde.org/u/johnandmegh)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://discuss.kde.org/t/kates-vi-mode-hides-cursor-when-using-hjkl-motion/25944/20 "2024-11-28T19:55:55Z")
Ah-hah! That’s awesome that you found it! Without any code knowledge of my own…I would _suspect_ the bug report should go to Kate, based on: 1. Another editor application implementing a fix for its own vim mode in the exact same situation: [vim mode broken when ibus IME is used as KDE virtual keyboard · Issue #12198 · zed-industries/zed · GitHub](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/issues/12198) 2. Kate having an existing bug related to conflicts with Ibus: [479523 – Ctrl+Shift+U conflicts with fcitx5/ibus](https://bugs.kde.org/show_bug.cgi?id=479523)