tait.tech/blind-linux-configs/index.md

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default	Blind Linux Config Files	/blind-linux-configs/

Here are some configuration files that I have found helpful for blind and visually impaired Linux users:

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Chromium/Electron

To enable accessibility in Chromium and Electron, use the following flags in $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/chromium-flags.conf and $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/electron-flags.conf respectively. $XDG_CONFIG_HOME defaults to $HOME/.config.

--force-renderer-accessibility
--enable-caret-browsing

You will also want to add the following to your ~/.bashrc:

export ENABLE_ACCESSIBILITY=1

Wi-Fi

There are a lot of different ways to connect to the internet on Linux, my favourite is with NetworkManager using nmcli. It can be done as one command like the following (rememnber that $ is just indicating that a command is being run):

$ nmcli dev wifi con "ssid_here" password "password_here" name "saved_name_for_future"

And without a password (open network):

$ nmcli dev wifi con "ssid_here" name "saved_name"

Now that's all well and good, but it's pretty long to remember, so I made a little script in my scripts repository. This has all sorts of nice tools related to making everything easier to use from the command line (which incidently should make it easier for blind peeps as well).

GPG/PGP/pass

By default (on some distributions), when gpg asks for a private key password, it asks for it in a GUI pop-up window. I find this annoying and it is slow on devices like the PinebookPro. To disable this and have a plain prompt in your terminal instead, use the following in your $HOME/.gnupg/gpg-agent.conf:

pinentry-program /usr/bin/pinentry-tty

To activate it, restart gpg-agent by killing it, then attempting to use a private key:

$ killall gpg-agent
# using gpg directly
$ gpg --encrypt ...
# using the pass password manager
$ pass show your/password