Type emojis in LazyVim (in a Kitty terminal)

As I’m learning LazyVim, I ran into a surprisingly tricky problem: how do I type emojis from my keyboard? Here’s how I solved it.

My Setup

• OS: Bazzite (Gnome)
• Terminal Emulator: Kitty

The Problem

When you’re trying to stay keyboard-focused in LazyVim, reaching for the mouse to insert an emoji feels wrong. Gnome has a built-in emoji picker (accessible via mouse), but there has to be a better way.

Solution #1: External Emoji Picker

I use smile (the Flatpak version) combined with switcher to quickly launch an emoji picker and paste the selection. This works, but it still requires switching windows.

Solution #2: Kitty’s Built-in Unicode Input

Kitty has a fantastic built-in Unicode input kitten that lets you search and insert emojis directly from your keyboard. When triggered, it opens a searchable interface right in your terminal.

According to the docs, ctrl+shift+u should activate it. Unfortunately, this keybinding didn’t work for me—likely conflicting with LazyVim or Gnome keybindings.

The Fix: Remap the Keybinding

Edit your ~/.config/kitty/kitty.conf and add a custom keybinding:

#: Unicode input

# Default keybindings (commented out if they don't work)
# map kitty_mod+u    kitten unicode_input
# map ctrl+cmd+space kitten unicode_input

# Custom keybinding - use something that doesn't conflict
map ctrl+alt+u kitten unicode_input

Note: I initially tried ctrl+u, but that conflicts with Vim’s “scroll up half page” command. ctrl+alt+u is a safer choice that won’t interfere with your editing workflow.

How to Use It

1. Press your mapped keybinding (e.g., ctrl+alt+u)
2. A searchable emoji picker appears in your terminal
3. Type to search (e.g., “smile”, “rocket”, “fire”)
4. Use arrow keys to navigate, press Enter to insert

Now go on and smash that 😼