What is weasel?

Weasel is the Windows version of Rime, an open-source Chinese input method engine. An input method is the software layer that lets users type Chinese characters on a keyboard, since the writing system has far more characters than a standard keyboard has keys. Rime is designed to be highly customizable and supports multiple input schemes, making it popular among users who want precise control over how they enter text. The software works on Windows 8.1 through Windows 11. After installation, users switch to Weasel through the system input indicator and can press a keyboard shortcut to bring up a menu for switching between different input modes. Configuration files and personal word dictionaries are stored in a folder under the Windows user profile directory. Changes to the configuration take effect after a redeployment step. Rime supports a wide range of Chinese input schemes. Pinyin, which maps romanized syllables to characters, is the most common method used in mainland China. Zhuyin and Bopomofo are phonetic scripts used in Taiwan. Cangjie and Wubi are shape-based methods where keys correspond to structural components of characters. Cantonese, Shanghainese, Hokkien, and Classical Chinese phonetics are also supported. Several of these additional schemes are no longer bundled in the installer by default and must be downloaded separately using a companion package manager called plum. The same Rime engine is available on other platforms. Linux users can use ibus-rime or fcitx5-rime, and macOS users have a companion app called Squirrel. All versions share the same underlying engine and use the same configuration format. The README is written entirely in Traditional Chinese. The project is licensed under GPLv3. Bug reports go to GitHub Issues, and questions about Rime behavior across all platforms go to the central Rime home repository.