ydotool - Man Page
command-line /dev/uinput automation tool
Synopsis
ydotool cmd args [ , cmd args ... ]
ydotool cmd --help
Description
ydotool lets you programmatically (or manually) simulate keyboard input and mouse activity, etc. It does this by writing directly to /dev/uinput so it generally needs to run as root.
It's possible to chain multiple commands together, separated by a comma between two spaces.
Currently implemented command(s):
- type
Type a string
- key
Press keys
- mousemove
Move mouse pointer to absolute position
- click
Click on mouse buttons
- recorder
Record/replay input events
- sleep
sleep for a while
Keyboard Commands
key [--up] [--down] [--next-delay <ms>] [--key-delay <ms>] [--repeat <times>] [--repeat-delay <ms>] <key sequence>
Type a given keystroke. Examples being "alt+r", "ctrl+J", "ctrl+alt+n", "backspace".
Options:
- --up
Only keyup
- --down
Only keydown
- --delay <ms>
Delay before starting to output keystrokes. Default 100ms.
- --key-delay <ms>
Delay time between keystrokes. Default 12ms.
- --repeat <times>
Times to repeat the key sequence.
- --repeat-delay <ms>
Delay time between repetitions. Default 0ms.
Generally, any valid name from /usr/include/linux/input-event-codes.h will work. Multiple keys are separated by '+'.
Each key sequence can be any number of modifiers and keys, separated by plus (+)
For example: alt+r Alt+F4 CTRL+alt+f3 aLT+1+2+3 ctrl+Backspace
Since we are emulating keyboard input, combinations like Shift+# is invalid because typing a `#' involves pressing Shift and 3.
Example: Switch to tty1:
ydotool key ctrl+alt+f1
Example: Close a window in graphical environment:
ydotool key Alt+F4
type [--next-delay <ms>] [--key-delay <ms>] [--texts arg] [--file <filepath>] "texts"
Types text as if you had typed it on the keyboard.
Options:
- --next-delay <ms>
Delay before starting typing. Default 100ms.
- --key-delay <ms>
Delay time between keystrokes. Default 12ms.
- --texts arg
Texts to type
- --file <filepath>
Specify a file, the contents of which will be typed as if passed as an argument. The filepath may also be '-' to read from stdin.
Example: to type 'Hello world!' you would do:
ydotool type 'Hello world!'
Mouse Commands
mousemove <x> <y>
Move the mouse to the specific relative X and Y coordinates on the screen.
Options: --absolute
Use absolute position
Example: to move the cursor to absolute coordinates (100,100):
ydotool mousemove --absolute 100 100
click [--next-delay <ms>] button
Send a click. Buttons are: left, right or middle
Options:
- --next-delay <ms>
Delay before click. Default 100ms.
- --up
Only mouseup
- --down
Only mousedown
- --buttons <arg>
Buttons to press (left, right, middle)
Example: Mouse middle click:
ydotool click middle
recorder [--record <devices>] [--replay <input files>] [--display] [--duration <ms>] [--devices <path>] [--file <path>]
Options:
- --record <devices>
Devices to record from. Default is all, including non-keyboard devices.
- --replay <input files>
The record file can't be replayed on an architecture with different endianness.
- --display
Display
- --duration <ms>
Record duration. Otherwise use SIGINT to stop recording.
- --devices <path>
Devices, separated by comma, to record from. Default is all devices (default: "")
- --file <path>
File to record to / replay from
Author
ydotool was written by ReimuNotMoe.
This man page by bob.hepple@gmail.com
Bugs
When ydotool(1) runs and creates a virtual input device, it will take some time for your graphical environment (eg X11/Wayland) to recognize and enable the virtual input device. (Usually done by udev)
If the delay is too short, the virtual input device may not be recognized & enabled by the graphical environment in time.
In order to solve this problem, there is a persistent background service, ydotoold(1), to hold a persistent virtual device, and accept input from ydotool(1). When ydotoold(1) is unavailable, ydotool(1) will work without it.
Licence
AGPLv3
See Also
Project site: <https://github.com/ReimuNotMoe/ydotool>