xte

Generate fake X11 input events

TLDR

Simulate key press

$ xte 'key [Return]'

Type a string

$ xte 'str [Hello World]'

Click left mouse button

$ xte 'mouseclick 1'

Move mouse to absolute position

$ xte 'mousemove [100] [200]'

Move mouse relative

$ xte 'mousermove [10] [-5]'

Simulate Ctrl+C

$ xte 'keydown Control_L' 'key c' 'keyup Control_L'

Sleep between actions

$ xte 'mousemove 100 100' 'sleep 1' 'mouseclick 1'

SYNOPSIS

xte [options] command [command...]

xte generates fake keyboard and mouse input using the XTest X11 extension. It's part of the xautomation package and enables automation of GUI interactions from scripts.Commands can be chained in a single invocation or across multiple calls. Key names follow X11 keysym naming conventions. Mouse buttons are numbered: 1 (left), 2 (middle), 3 (right), 4/5 (scroll).Common uses include GUI testing, automating repetitive tasks, and creating macros. Often combined with xbindkeys for keyboard shortcuts.

PARAMETERS

-x display

Send commands to specified display.

-i id

Use specific XInput device.

COMMANDS

key k: Press and release key k.keydown k: Press key k down.keyup k: Release key k.str text: Type text string.mouseclick n: Click mouse button (1=left, 2=middle, 3=right).mousedown n: Press mouse button down.mouseup n: Release mouse button.mousemove x y: Move to absolute position.mousermove x y: Move relative to current position.sleep n: Sleep n seconds.usleep n: Sleep n microseconds.

INSTALL

sudo apt install xautomation

sudo dnf install xautomation

sudo pacman -S xautomation

sudo zypper install xautomation

nix profile install nixpkgs#xautomation

CAVEATS

X11 only; no Wayland support. The str command has limited Unicode support. Some applications may detect synthetic input. Part of xautomation package.

HISTORY

xte is part of xautomation, a suite of tools for X11 automation created by Steve Slaven. It provides a simple command-line interface to the XTest extension, which was designed for automated testing of X applications.

xte