dotool

dotool reads commands from stdin and simulates keyboard and mouse events. It works everywhere on Linux, including in X11, Wayland and TTYs.

It takes about half a second to register the virtual device, but it can be kept using the daemon.

Install

Run go build with go (>=1.19) and copy dotool, dotoold and dotoolc into your PATH.

Usage

dotool will usually require root permissions unless you add a udev rule for uinput. You could run these commands to add a rule for yourself and make it effective:

echo KERNEL==\"uinput\", GROUP=\"$USER\", MODE:=\"0660\" | sudo tee /etc/udev/rules.d/99-dotool-$USER.rules
sudo udevadm trigger

This greets the world: echo 'type Sup, Lads!' | dotool

This screams for three seconds: { echo keydown A; sleep 3; echo key H shift+1; } | dotool

This drags the mouse: printf %s\\n 'buttondown left' 'mousemove 0 100' 'buttonup left' | dotool

The daemon and client, dotoold and dotoolc, can used to keep a persistent virtual device for a quicker initial response:

dotoold &
echo 'type super' | dotoolc
echo 'type speedy' | dotoolc

Contact

You can ask a question or send a patch by composing an email to ~geb/public-inbox@lists.sr.ht.