Disable Dead Keys on macOS

Dead keys wait for second input before outputting. ~ + o outputs õ instead of ~o. Frustrating in terminal and code.

Problem: Norwegian/international keyboards have dead keys for accents (~, `, ^, ¨). They pause typing until next character.

Solution: Create custom keyboard layout with Ukelele that makes these keys output immediately.

Keys to convert:

• Dead ~ to alive ~ (tilde)
• Dead backtick to alive backtick
• Dead ^ to alive ^ (caret)

Essential for:

• Terminal paths (~/dev/project)
• JavaScript template literals
• Markdown code blocks
• Quick text wrapping: highlight text, press backtick once to wrap in backticks (great for JSX)

Setup:

1. Install Ukelele
2. Open existing keyboard layout (Norwegian/your layout)
3. Find dead key definitions
4. Change from "dead" state to direct output
5. Save to ~/Library/Keyboard Layouts/
6. Restart Mac
7. Enable in System Settings → Keyboard → Input Sources

Pro tip: Press 🌐 (fn key) once to quickly switch back to your default keyboard when needed.