**Debian Jessie** To enable the touchpad tapping permanently , copy the `50-synaptics.conf` file to `/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d` then edit it by adding `Option "TapButton1" "1"` cp /usr/share/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-synaptics.conf /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-synaptics.conf The `/etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/50-synaptics.conf` should be: Section "InputClass" Identifier "touchpad catchall" Driver "synaptics" MatchIsTouchpad "on" Option "TapButton1" "1" Option "TapButton2" "3" Reboot your system **Debian Stretch** (updated) Remove the `xserver-xorg-input-synaptics` package. **(important)** # apt remove xserver-xorg-input-synaptics Install `xserver-xorg-input-libinput`: # apt install xserver-xorg-input-libinput >In most cases, make sure you have the `xserver-xorg-input-libinput` package installed, and not the `xserver-xorg-input-synaptics` package. Create the `40-libinput.conf` file: # echo 'Section "InputClass" Identifier "libinput touchpad catchall" MatchIsTouchpad "on" MatchDevicePath "/dev/input/event*" Driver "libinput" Option "Tapping" "on" EndSection' > /etc/X11/xorg.conf.d/40-libinput.conf restart your DM; e,g: # systemctl restart lightdm or # systemctl restart gdm3 Debian wiki : [Enable tapping on touchpad][1] [1]: https://wiki.debian.org/SynapticsTouchpad#Debian_9_.22Stretch.22