XDOTOOL(1) | XDOTOOL(1) |
NAME¶
xdotool - command-line X11 automation toolSYNOPSIS¶
xdotool cmd args...DESCRIPTION¶
xdotool lets you programatically (or manually) simulate keyboard input and mouse activity, move and resize windows, etc. It does this using X11's XTEST extension and other Xlib functions. There is some support for Extended Window Manager Hints (aka EWMH or NetWM). See the "EXTENDED WINDOW MANAGER HINTS" section for more information.KEYBOARD COMMANDS¶
- key [options] keystroke [keystroke ...]
- Options:
- --window window
- Send keystrokes to a specific window id. . You can use
"WINDOW STACK" references like "%1" and "%@"
here. If there is a window stack, then "%1" is the default,
otherwise the current window is used.
- --clearmodifiers
- Clear modifiers before sending keystrokes. See CLEARMODIFIERS below.
- --delay milliseconds
- Delay between keystrokes. Default is 12ms.
xdotool key F2
xdotool key Aacute
xdotool key ctrl+l BackSpace
xdotool search --name gdb key ctrl+c
- keydown [options] keystroke
- Same as above, except only keydown events are sent.
- keyup keystroke
- Same as above, except only keyup events are sent.
- type [options] something to type
- Options:
- --window windowid
- Send keystrokes to a specific window id. See "SENDEVENT NOTES" below. The default, if no window is given, depends on the window stack. If the window stack is empty the current window is typed at using XTEST. Otherwise, the default is "%1" (see "WINDOW STACK").
- --delay milliseconds
- Delay between keystrokes. Default is 12ms.
- --clearmodifiers
- Clear modifiers before sending keystrokes. See CLEARMODIFIERS below.
xdotool type 'Hello world!'
MOUSE COMMANDS¶
- mousemove [options] x y
- Move the mouse to the specific X and Y coordinates on the screen.
- --window WINDOW
- Specify a window to move relative to. Coordinates 0,0 are
at the top left of the window you choose.
- --screen SCREEN
- Move the mouse to the specified screen to move to. This is
only useful if you have multiple screens and ARE NOT using Xinerama.
- --polar
- Use polar coordinates. This makes 'x' an angle (in degrees,
0-360, etc) and 'y' the distance.
- --clearmodifiers
- See CLEARMODIFIERS
- --sync
- After sending the mouse move request, wait until the mouse
is actually moved. If no movement is necessary, we will not wait. This is
useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving
on.
- mousemove_relative [options] x y
- Move the mouse x,y pixels relative to the current position of the mouse cursor.
- --polar
- Use polar coordinates. This makes 'x' an angle (in degrees,
0-360, etc) and 'y' the distance.
- --sync
- After sending the mouse move request, wait until the mouse
is actually moved. If no movement is necessary, we will not wait. This is
useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving
on.
- --clearmodifiers
- See CLEARMODIFIERS
- click [options] button
- Send a click, that is, a mousedown followed by mouseup for
the given button with a short delay between the two (currently 12ms).
- --clearmodifiers
- Clear modifiers before clicking. See CLEARMODIFIERS below.
- --window WINDOW
- Specify a window to send a click to. See "SENDEVENT
NOTES" below for caveats. Uses the current mouse position when
generating the event.
- mousedown [options] button
- Same as click, except only a mouse down is sent.
- mouseup [options] button
- Same as click, except only a mouse up is sent.
- getmouselocation [--shell]
- Outputs the x, y, and screen location of the mouse cursor. Screen numbers will be nonzero if you have multiple monitors and are not using Xinerama.
- --shell
- This makes getmouselocation output shell data you can eval.
Example:
% xdotool getmouselocation --shell X=880 Y=443 SCREEN=0 % eval $(xdotool getmouselocation --shell) % echo $X,$Y 714,324
WINDOW COMMANDS¶
- search [options] pattern
- Search for windows with titles, names, or classes with a
regular expression pattern. The output is line-delimited list of X window
identifiers. If you are using "COMMAND CHAINING", the search
command will only write window ids to stdout if it is the last (or only)
command in the chain; otherwise, it is silent.
- --class
- Match against the window class.
- --classname
- Match against the window classname.
- --maxdepth N
- Set recursion/child search depth. Default is -1, meaning infinite. 0 means no depth, aka no results. If you only want toplevel windows, set maxdepth of 1.
- --name
- Match against the window name. This is the same string that is displayed in the window titlebar.
- --onlyvisible
- Show only visible windows in the results. This means ones with map state IsViewable.
- --pid PID
- Match windows that belong to a specific process id. This may not work for some X applications that do not set this metadata on its windows.
- --screen N
- Select windows only on a specific screen. Default is to search all screens. Only meaningful if you have multiple displays and are not using Xinerama.
- --title
- DEPRECATED. See --name.
- --all
- Require that all conditions be met. For example:
xdotool search --all --pid 1424 --name "Hello World"
- --any
- Match windows that match any condition (logically, 'or').
This is on by default. For example:
xdotool search --any --pid 1424 --name "Hello World"
- getwindowpid [window=%1]
- Output the PID owning a given window. This requires effort
from the application owning a window and may not work for all windows.
This uses _NET_WM_PID property of the window. See "EXTENDED WINDOW
MANAGER HINTS" below for more information.
xdotool search --class xterm getwindowpid %@
- getwindowfocus [-f]
- Prints the window id of the currently focused window. Saves
the result to the window stack. See "WINDOW STACK" for more
details.
- windowsize [options] [window=%1] width height
- Set the window size of the given window. If no window is
given, %1 is the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND
CHAINING" for more details.
- --usehints
- Use window sizing hints (when available) to set width and height. This is useful on terminals for setting the size based on row/column of text rather than pixels.
- --sync
- After sending the window size request, wait until the
window is actually resized. If no change is necessary, we will not wait.
This is useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before
moving on.
xdotool windowsize --usehints some_windowid 80 24
- windowmove [options] [window=%1] x y
- Move the window to the given position. If no window is given, %1 is the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more details.
- --sync
- After sending the window move request, wait until the window is actually moved. If no movement is necessary, we will not wait. This is useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving on.
- windowfocus [options] [window=%1]
- Focus a window. If no window is given, %1 is the default.
See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more
details.
- --sync
- After sending the window focus request, wait until the window is actually focused. This is useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving on.
- windowmap [options] [window=%1]
- Map a window. In X11 terminology, mapping a window means making it visible on the screen. If no window is given, %1 is the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more details.
- --sync
- After requesting the window map, wait until the window is actually mapped (visible). This is useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving on.
- windowraise [window_id=%1]
- Raise the window to the top of the stack. This may not work on all window managers. If no window is given, %1 is the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more details.
- windowunmap [options] [window_id=%1]
- Unmap a window, making it no longer appear on your screen. If no window is given, %1 is the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more details.
- --sync
- After requesting the window unmap, wait until the window is actually unmapped (hidden). This is useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving on.
- set_window [options] [windowid=%1]
- Set properties about a window. If no window is given, %1 is
the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING"
for more details.
- --name newname
- Set window WM_NAME (the window title, usually)
- --icon-name newiconname
- Set window WM_ICON_NAME (the window title when minimized, usually)
- --role newrole
- Set window WM_WINDOW_ROLE
- --classname newclassname
- Set window class name (not to be confused with window class)
- --class newclass
- Set window class (not to be confused with window class name)
DESKTOP AND WINDOW COMMANDS¶
These commands follow the EWMH standard. See the section "EXTENDED WINDOW MANAGER HINTS" for more information.- windowactivate [options] [window=%1]
- Activate the window. This command is different from
windowfocus: if the window is on another desktop, we will switch to that
desktop. It also uses a different method for bringing the window up. I
recommend trying this command before using windowfocus, as it will work on
more window managers.
- --sync
- After sending the window activation, wait until the window is actually activated. This is useful for scripts that depend on actions being completed before moving on.
- getactivewindow
- Output the current active window. This command is often more reliable than getwindowfocus. The result is saved to the window stack. See "WINDOW STACK" for more details.
- set_num_desktops number
- Changes the number of desktops or workspaces.
- get_num_desktops
- Output the current number of desktops.
- set_desktop desktop_number
- Change the current view to the specified desktop.
- get_desktop
- Output the current desktop in view.
- set_desktop_for_window [window=%1] desktop_number
- Move a window to a different desktop. If no window is given, %1 is the default. See "WINDOW STACK" and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more details.
- get_desktop_for_window [window=%1]
- Output the desktop currently containing the given window. Move a window to a different desktop. If no window is given, %1 is the default. See WINDOW STACK and "COMMAND CHAINING" for more details.
SCRIPTS¶
xdotool can read a list of commands via stdin or a file if you want. A script will fail when any command fails. Truthfully, 'script' mode isn't very well fleshed out and may fall below your expectations. If you have suggestions, please email the list or file a bug (See CONTACT)- •
- Read commands from a file:
xdotool filename
- •
- Read commands from stdin:
xdotool -
- •
- Read commands from a redirected file
xdotool - < myfile
#!/usr/local/bin/xdotool windowactivate $WINDOWID mousemove -window $WINDOWID 50 50 click 1 click 1All commands are run as if you had typed 'xdotool <line>' via /bin/sh. This means any shell magic should work here, too, including the use of environment variables. For above, here's how you'd set the value of WINDOWID:
% WINDOWID=1234 ./myscript
CLEARMODIFIERS¶
Any command taking the --clearmodifiers flag will attempt to clear any active input modifiers during the command and restore them afterwards. For example, if you were to run this command:xdotool key a The result would be 'a' or 'A' depending on whether or not you were holding the shift key on your keyboard. Often it is undesirable to have any modifiers active, so you can tell xdotool to clear any active modifiers. The order of operations if you hold shift while running 'xdotool key --clearmodifiers a' is this:
- 1. Query for all active modifiers (finds shift, in this case)
- 2. Try to clear shift by sending 'key up' for the shift key
- 3. Runs normal 'xdotool key a'
- 4. Restore shift key by sending 'key down' for shift
- •
- any key in your active keymap that has a modifier associated with it. (See xmodmap(1)'s 'xmodmap -pm' output)
- •
- mouse buttons (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5)
- •
- caps lock
SENDEVENT NOTES¶
If you are trying to send key input to a specific window, and it does not appear to be working, then it's likely your application is ignoring the events xdotool is generating. This is fairly common. Sending keystrokes to a specific window uses a different API than simply typing to the active window. If you specify 'xdotool type --window 12345 hello' xdotool will generate key events and send them directly to window 12345. However, X11 servers will set a special flag on all events generated in this way (see XEvent.xany.send_event in X11's manual). Many programs observe this flag and reject these events. It is important to note that for key and mouse events, we only use XSendEvent when a specific window is targeted. Otherwise, we use XTEST. Some programs can be configured to accept events even if they are generated by xdotool. Seek the documentation of your application for help. Specific application notes (from the author's testing): * Firefox 3 seems to ignore all input when it does not have focus. * xterm can be configured while running with ctrl+leftclick, 'Allow SendEvents' * gnome-terminal appears to accept generated input by default.WINDOW STACK¶
Certain commands (search, getactivewindow, getwindowfocus) will find windows for you. These results generally printed to stdout, but they are also saved to memory for future use during the lifetime of the xdotool process. See "COMMAND CHAINING" for more information. The only modifications support for the window stack are to replace it. That is, two of two sequential searches, only the last one's results will be the window stack.COMMAND CHAINING¶
xdotool supports running multiple commands on a single invocation. Generally, you'll start with a search command (see "WINDOW STACK") and then perform a set of actions on those results. To query the window stack, you can use special notation "%N" where N is a number or the '@' symbol. If %N is given, the Nth window will be selected from the window stack. Generally you will only want the first window or all windows. Note that the order of windows in the window stack corresponds to the window stacking order, i.e. the bottom-most window will be reported first (see XQueryTree(3)). Thus the order of the windows in the window stack may not be consistent across invocations. The notation described above is used as the "window" argument for any given command. For example, to resize all xterms to 80x24:xdotool search --class xterm -- windowsize --usehints %@ 80 24Resize move the current window:
xdotool getactivewindow windowmove 0 0In all cases, the default window argument, if omitted, will default to "%1". It is obviously an error if you omit the window argument and the window stack is empty. If you try to use the window stack and it is empty, it is also an error. To activate the first firefox window found:
xdotool search --class firefox windowactivateThese would error:
xdotool windowactivate xdotool windowactivate %1 xdotool windowactivate %@When xdotool exits, the current window stack is lost. Additinally, commands that modify the "WINDOW STACK" will not print the results if they are not the last command. For example:
# Output the active window: % xdotool getactivewindow 20971533 # Output the pid of the active window, but not the active window id: % xdotool getactivewindow getwindowpid 4686
EXTENDED WINDOW MANAGER HINTS¶
The following pieces of the EWMH standard are supported:- _NET_SUPPORTED
- Asks the window manager what is supported
- _NET_CURRENT_DESKTOP
- Query and set the current desktop. Support for this enables these commands: "set_desktop", "get_desktop".
- _NET_WM_DESKTOP
- Query and set what desktop a window is living in. Support for this enables these commands: "set_desktop_for_window", "get_desktop_for_window".
- _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW
- Allows you to query and set the active window by asking the window manager to bring it forward. Support for this enables these commands: "windowactivate", "getactivewindow".
- _NET_WM_PID
- This feature is application dependent, not window-manager dependent. Query the PID owning a given window. Support for this enables these commands: "getwindowpid".
SEE ALSO¶
xprop(1), xwininfo(1), Project site: <http://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool> Google Code: <http://semicomplete.googlecode.com/> EWMH specification: http://standards.freedesktop.org/wm-spec/wm-spec-1.3.html <http://standards.freedesktop.org/wm-spec/wm-spec-1.3.html>CONTACT¶
Please send questions to xdotool-users@googlegroups.com. File bugs and feature requests at the following URL: <http://code.google.com/p/semicomplete/issues/list> Alternately, if you prefer email, feel free to file bugs by emailing the list. What works for you :)AUTHOR¶
xdotool was written by Jordan Sissel. This manual page was written originally by Daniel Kahn Gillmor <dkg@fifthhorseman.net> for the Debian project (but may be used by others). It is maintained by Jordan Sissel.2010-06-23 |