Installing and Setting Up Fcitx5 Quick-Classic on EndeavourOS

Here's a complete guide to install and configure Fcitx5 input method framework on EndeavourOS.

Install Core Packages

Fcitx5 requires several packages for full functionality. Run in terminal:

sudo pacman -S fcitx5 fcitx5-gtk fcitx5-qt

sudo pacman -S fcitx5-configtool

sudo pacman -S fcitx5-chinese-addons

sudo pacman -S fcitx5-table-extra

sudo pacman -S noto-fonts noto-fonts-cjk


Note:

fcitx5 -- Main input framework

fcitx5-gtk -- GTK3/GTK4 app compatibility (Firefox, GIMP, etc.)

fcitx5-qt -- Qt5/Qt6 app compatibility (KDE apps, VLC, Chromium)

fcitx5-configtool -- GUI settings panel

fcitx5-chinese-addons -- Built-in Pinyin, Shuangpin, Zongma etc.

Noto-fonts-cjk -- Display Chinese characters correctly

fcitx5-table-extra -- for Cangjie/Quick input

Set Environment Variables (Critical Step)

- Wayland (Sway/KDE Plasma/Weston/GNOME)

Create/edit user profile for session env vars:

sudo nano /etc/environment

Add these lines:

GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx 

QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx 

XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx 

INPUT_METHOD=fcitx 

SDL_IM_MODULE=fcitx

Important: The value is fcitx, NOT fcitx5. This is a very common mistake!

Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

Also add to ~/.xprofile (for display manager sessions)

nano ~/.xprofile 

export GTK_IM_MODULE=fcitx 

export QT_IM_MODULE=fcitx 

export XMODIFIERS=@im=fcitx 

export INPUT_METHOD=fcitx 

export SDL_IM_MODULE=fcitx

Save and exit (Ctrl+O, Enter, Ctrl+X).

Reboot

Configure Input Methods

KDE Plasma Wayland extra setup

1. Open System Settings → Virtual Keyboard
2. Select “Fcitx5 Wayland Launcher”
3. Log out & log back in

Add Input Method

1. In System Settings, go to Input Method (under Keyboard section)
2. Under "Input Method," click Add Input Method (bottom right corner)
3. Select Quick-Classic

To increase the font size of the candidate words in Fcitx5's Quick Classic input method, you need to adjust the settings for the Classic User Interface (UI), as the candidate window font size is controlled there

Using the Graphical Configuration Tool

System Setting → Input Method → Configure addons → Classic User Interface

Adjust the font sizes to the desired sizes → Apply

Restart Fcitx5 to take effect:

fcitx5-remote -r