# jordansissel/xdotool

fake keyboard/mouse input, window management, and more

Repository: https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/xdotool
Language: C
License: BSD-3-Clause
License Family: permissive
Last push: 2026-06-30T00:32:20+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 78/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 90, release rhythm 49, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5677, "days_push": 65, "days_rel": 183, "gap_med": 92, "n_releases_24m": 2}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 3840, forks 344 (observed 2026-08-28T04:08:23.953524+00:00)

## What it is
xdotool is an X11 automation tool that simulates keyboard and mouse input and manages windows (search, move, resize, activate, switch desktops) via the XTEST extension and Xlib. It also ships libxdo, a C library providing the same functionality programmatically.

## Use cases
- simulate keyboard typing and hotkeys from the command line
- automate gui interactions in scripts or tests on X11
- find and activate windows by name or class
- move, resize, or close windows programmatically
- switch virtual desktops and move windows between them
- fake mouse clicks and movement

## When to choose
- you need to script input or window control on X11/Linux
- you want a lightweight C tool available in most distro package managers
- you need a C library (libxdo) to embed input simulation

## When to avoid
- you are on Wayland, where xdotool does not work correctly (consider ydotool or dotool)
- you need cross-platform GUI automation on Windows or macOS native apps
- you need high-level image-based UI testing rather than synthetic input

## Facets
- artifact type: cli-tool
- maturity: active
- function: workflow-automation, developer-tools, gui
- domain: desktop-applications, developer-tools
- platform: bsd, cli
- tags: x11, xtest, input-simulation, window-management, gui-automation, libxdo, automation, command-line, linux, macos, desktop

## Member repositories
- jordansissel/xdotool (main) score 78

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:23.953524+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:26:13.838716+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool (fetched 2026-08-28T04:08:23.953524+00:00, sha 994883a5a606)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.