diff --git a/lyrathorpe/home/sway.nix b/lyrathorpe/home/sway.nix
index 0d0d709..7add6c9 100644
--- a/lyrathorpe/home/sway.nix
+++ b/lyrathorpe/home/sway.nix
@@ -26,7 +26,13 @@
       # Launcher: sway-launcher-desktop running inside a floating foot window.
       menu = "${pkgs.foot}/bin/foot --app-id=launcher ${pkgs.sway-launcher-desktop}/bin/sway-launcher-desktop";
 
-      input."type:keyboard".xkb_layout = "dvorak";
+      # Dvorak is a variant of the "us" layout, not a standalone layout --
+      # `xkb_layout = "dvorak"` fails to compile (no symbols/dvorak) and wlroots
+      # silently falls back to QWERTY. Use the variant.
+      input."type:keyboard" = {
+        xkb_layout = "us";
+        xkb_variant = "dvorak";
+      };
 
       window.commands = [
         {
diff --git a/lyrathorpe/swaywm.nix b/lyrathorpe/swaywm.nix
index 200c91c..b90192c 100644
--- a/lyrathorpe/swaywm.nix
+++ b/lyrathorpe/swaywm.nix
@@ -52,13 +52,17 @@ in
     # features.swayDesktop (e.g. EDaaS) keep plain TTY login.
     programs.regreet.enable = true;
     # cage reads the XKB_* environment at startup, so force the greeter onto the
-    # same Dvorak layout as the console (workstation.nix) and the Sway session
-    # (home/sway.nix) -- otherwise the password field would be QWERTY. This
-    # overrides the greetd command regreet sets with mkDefault.
+    # same Dvorak layout as the Sway session (home/sway.nix) -- otherwise the
+    # password field would be QWERTY. Dvorak is the "us" layout's variant, NOT a
+    # layout of its own: "dvorak" alone has no symbols/ file, so the keymap
+    # fails to compile and the greeter ends up with no keyboard at all (the
+    # greeter has no fallback, unlike a running Sway session). This overrides the
+    # greetd command regreet sets with mkDefault.
     services.greetd.settings.default_session.command =
       let
         greeter = pkgs.writeShellScript "regreet-cage" ''
-          export XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=dvorak
+          export XKB_DEFAULT_LAYOUT=us
+          export XKB_DEFAULT_VARIANT=dvorak
           exec ${pkgs.dbus}/bin/dbus-run-session ${lib.getExe pkgs.cage} -s -- ${lib.getExe config.programs.regreet.package}
         '';
       in