wayland-automation 0.2.8

A tool for automating Wayland tasks using system packages wtype and wayland-info

Wayland Automation

A Python library for mouse and keyboard automation on Wayland compositors. Works out of the box on Hyprland, Sway, and other wlroots-based compositors.

Features

• Mouse — click, move, swipe (drag), and auto-click at any screen coordinate
• Keyboard — type text, press individual keys, and trigger hotkeys (e.g. Ctrl+S)
• Cursor Tracking — real-time cursor position via multiple backends (Hyprland → wl-find-cursor → xdotool → evdev)
• Convenience API — top-level functions so you can import wayland_automation as wa and go
• Resilient — automatic reconnection logic for Wayland socket resets

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Installation

1. Install the package

pip install wayland-automation

2. Install system dependencies

Dependency	What it does	Install command
wtype	Required — keyboard automation	sudo pacman -S wtype (Arch) / sudo apt install wtype (Debian) / sudo dnf install wtype (Fedora)
wayland-utils	Screen resolution detection	sudo pacman -S wayland-utils (Arch) / sudo apt install wayland-utils (Debian)

Mouse-tracking backends (pick the one for your compositor)

The library auto-detects the best backend. You only need to install the one that matches your setup:

Backend	Compositor	Install
hyprctl	Hyprland	Pre-installed with Hyprland
wl-find-cursor	Sway / wlroots	See build from source below
xdotool	XWayland apps	sudo pacman -S xdotool / sudo apt install xdotool
evdev (fallback)	Any	pip install evdev + add user to input group (see below)

Building wl-find-cursor from source

git clone https://github.com/cjacker/wl-find-cursor.git
cd wl-find-cursor
make
sudo cp wl-find-cursor /usr/local/bin/

Setting up evdev fallback

sudo usermod -aG input $USER
# Log out and back in for the group change to take effect

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Quick Start

Top-level convenience API

The simplest way to use the library — no class instantiation needed:

import wayland_automation as wa

# Mouse
wa.click(250, 300, "left")                # left-click at (250, 300)
wa.click(400, 500, "right")               # right-click
wa.swipe(100, 200, 800, 200)              # drag from point A to B
wa.auto_click(initial_delay=2, interval=0.1, duration=5)  # auto-clicker

# Keyboard
wa.typewrite("Hello Wayland!", interval=0.05)  # type text character by character
wa.press("enter")                              # press a single key
wa.hotkey("ctrl", "s")                         # key combination

Using the classes directly

For more control, instantiate Mouse or Keyboard:

from wayland_automation import Mouse, Keyboard

mouse = Mouse()
mouse.click(250, 300, "left")       # left-click at (250, 300)
mouse.click(600, 400, "nothing")    # move cursor without clicking
mouse.swipe(0, 500, 1000, 500, speed=0.5)  # fast swipe (0.5 s)

kb = Keyboard()
kb.typewrite("Hello!", interval=0.05)
kb.press("enter")
kb.hotkey("ctrl", "a")              # select all
kb.keyDown("shift")                 # hold shift
kb.keyUp("shift")                   # release shift

Cursor Tracking

Stream real-time cursor coordinates:

from wayland_automation import mouse_position_generator

for x, y in mouse_position_generator(interval=0.1):
    print(f"Cursor at: ({x}, {y})")
    # break whenever you want to stop

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CLI Usage

After installing the package, a wayland-automation command is available:

wayland-automation          # prints status

You can also run the individual modules directly:

# Mouse — click at (x, y)
python -m wayland_automation.mouse_controller click 250 300 left

# Mouse — swipe
python -m wayland_automation.mouse_controller swipe 100 200 800 200

# Mouse — auto-click (delay interval duration button)
python -m wayland_automation.mouse_controller autoclick 3 0.1 10 left

# Mouse — run built-in test
python -m wayland_automation.mouse_controller test

# Cursor position watcher
python -m wayland_automation.mouse_position

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API Reference

wayland_automation.click(x, y, button=None)

Move the pointer to (x, y). If button is given ("left", "right", or "nothing"), perform a click.

wayland_automation.swipe(start_x, start_y, end_x, end_y, speed="normal")

Drag from one point to another. speed is duration in seconds ("normal" = 1.0 s).

wayland_automation.auto_click(initial_delay, interval, duration, button)

Wait initial_delay seconds, then click every interval seconds for duration seconds.

wayland_automation.typewrite(text, interval=0)

Type text one character at a time with an optional delay between characters.

wayland_automation.press(key)

Press and release a single key (e.g. "enter", "tab", "backspace", "space").

wayland_automation.hotkey(*keys)

Press a key combination (e.g. hotkey("ctrl", "shift", "t")). Modifier keys: ctrl, alt, shift, super.

wayland_automation.mouse_position_generator(interval=0.2, print_output=False)

Generator yielding (x, y) tuples of the current cursor position.

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Compositor Compatibility

Compositor	Mouse	Keyboard	Cursor Tracking	Notes
Hyprland	✅	✅	✅ hyprctl	Full support (wlroots-based)
Sway	✅	✅	✅ wl-find-cursor	Full support (wlroots-based)
KDE Plasma	❌	✅ via wtype	❌	Mouse planned for KDE 6.5 (pointer-warp-v1)
GNOME	❌	✅ via wtype	❌	Requires future protocol support

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Troubleshooting

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
BrokenPipeError / SIGPIPE	Compositor disconnected the client	Ensure you are on a supported compositor and the protocol is available
WaylandProtocolError	zwlr_virtual_pointer_manager_v1 not supported	Switch to a wlroots-based compositor (Hyprland / Sway)
wtype not found	System dependency missing	Install wtype (see Installation)
Cursor tracking returns nothing	No backend available	Install the backend matching your compositor (see table above)

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Architecture

wayland_automation/
├── __init__.py             # Public API & convenience functions
├── __main__.py             # CLI entry point, dependency checks
├── mouse_controller.py     # Wayland socket communication for virtual pointer
├── keyboard_controller.py  # Keyboard automation via wtype
├── mouse_position.py       # Multi-backend cursor position tracking
└── utils/
    └── screen_resolution.py  # Screen resolution detection

Roadmap

• KDE Plasma 6.5+ pointer-warp-v1 protocol support
• Improved error messages for unsupported compositors
• Scroll wheel support

Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT License