How to Fix Repeating Keys and Keystroke Lag on WayVNC (Debian 12 Bookworm)

When connecting remotely to a WayVNC server on Debian 12 Bookworm (or Raspberry Pi OS) over high-latency or cross-border connections, you may encounter severe repeating keys (for instance, pressing a key once produces a long string like aaaaaaaaaa).

Root Cause

In remote desktop protocols, pressing and releasing a key sends distinct key-down and key-up network packets. If packet loss or network jitter causes the key-release packet to be delayed or dropped, the compositor's auto-repeat timer assumes the key is still physically held down and floods the active application with repeats.

Solution: Disable Compositor Key-Repeat

As documented in the Wayfire Core Options, disabling key repeat entirely on the host side prevents phantom keystrokes over latent links.

Edit the Wayfire configuration file (/etc/wayfire/defaults.ini or user-level ~/.config/wayfire.ini):

sudo nano /etc/wayfire/defaults.ini

Add or set kb_repeat_rate = 0 under the [input] section:

[input]
kb_repeat_rate = 0

Save the file and restart the WayVNC service or reboot the Raspberry Pi to apply the change:

sudo systemctl restart wayvnc
# or:
sudo reboot

Once rebooted, keystrokes will register accurately without runaway repetitions, even across lossy WAN connections.