macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install xdotoollocal Homebrew formula metadata
MacPortsverified · 94%
sudo port install xdotoolMacPorts ports tree · x11/xdotool/Portfile · source: api.github.com
brew
Install xdotool with Homebrew, apk, apt, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, pacman, zypper
Fake keyboard/mouse input and window management for X. Version 4.20260303.1 via Homebrew; verified from local package data.
install
Additional install commands
Linux
Alpine Linux apkverified · 92%
sudo apk add xdotoolAlpine Linux edge package indexes · xdotool · source: dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org
Debian aptverified · 92%
sudo apt install libxdo-devDebian stable package indexes · libxdo-dev · source: deb.debian.org
Fedora dnfverified · 92%
sudo dnf install libxdoFedora Rawhide package metadata · libxdo · source: dl.fedoraproject.org
Nixverified · 92%
nix profile install nixpkgs#xdotoolnixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/xd/xdotool/package.nix · source: api.github.com
Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%
sudo pacman -S xdotoolArch Linux sync databases · xdotool · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com
openSUSE zypperverified · 92%
sudo zypper install xdotoolopenSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata · xdotool · source: download.opensuse.org
overview
Package summary
Fake keyboard/mouse input and window management for X
Project links
Commands and aliases
- xdotool
history
Project history and usage
xdotool is Jordan Sissel's X11 automation command: a small CLI and companion libxdo library for synthesizing keyboard and mouse input, searching for windows, and manipulating X window-manager state from scripts.
Project history
The earliest public GitHub commit history for xdotool reaches back to 2007 and records a migration from a semicomplete Google Code Subversion repository, while the GitHub repository itself was created in 2011. Its upstream documentation has long described the same core design: use the XTEST extension and Xlib calls to fake input, locate windows, move and resize them, switch desktops, and alter window properties.
xdotool evolved from a one-command X scripting helper into a grab bag of practical desktop automation verbs. The upstream README documents not only key and mouse events but also window stacks, EWMH/NetWM-oriented window-manager interactions, and libxdo for C programs that need the same behavior without shelling out.
Adoption history
Adoption followed the path of a classic Linux desktop utility: package it everywhere, make it scriptable, and let window-manager users compose it with shell, hotkey daemons, status bars, and test harnesses. The upstream project page lists common installs for Debian/Ubuntu, Fedora, FreeBSD, macOS through Homebrew or MacPorts, and OpenSUSE, matching its role as a small dependency-free command that distributions can ship easily.
Its importance also became clearer during the Wayland transition. The README explicitly warns that xdotool does not work correctly for many Wayland tasks because its model depends on X11 semantics; that limitation turned xdotool into both a beloved X11 automation tool and a marker of the security and protocol differences between X11 and Wayland.
How it is used
Practitioners use xdotool to press hotkeys, type text into focused applications, click or move the pointer, activate a window found by name or class, resize matching windows, script window focus, and glue graphical applications into shell workflows. It is common in lightweight window-manager setups, kiosk scripts, GUI smoke tests, and one-off desktop automation.
The tool is intentionally composable: upstream examples show pipelines that search for Firefox, activate it, and send Ctrl+L, or find visible terminal windows and resize them. libxdo gives packagers and C applications a lower-level route to the same XTEST and Xlib behavior.
Why package nerds care
xdotool is one of the canonical examples of a package that matters because it exposes a desktop protocol as a Unix command. It packages the old X11 assumption that clients can inspect and influence each other into a tiny CLI, which made it disproportionately useful for automation and disproportionately hard to replace under Wayland.
For package nerds, it also illustrates the value of boring distribution: a single executable, a small C library, a manpage, and enough stable behavior that scripts written years apart still tend to work on Xorg sessions.
Timeline
- 2007: Earliest GitHub-visible commit imports xdotool history from the semicomplete Google Code Subversion repository.
- 2010: Upstream examples note simpler chained commands available as of version 2.20100623.
- 2011: The GitHub repository is created.
- 2015: The semicomplete project page documents distro install routes and the XTEST/Xlib design.
- 2020s: The README frames Wayland incompatibility as a core boundary of xdotool's X11 model.
Related projects
- libxdo is the C library shipped with xdotool for applications that need xdotool-style X11 automation.
- XTEST is the X11 extension xdotool uses for synthetic keyboard and mouse input.
- ydotool and dotool are related tools named by upstream for Wayland-era or uinput-based input automation.
Sources
security posture
Risk level: green
narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.
Risk classifier
green risk · low confidence · appliance
Why
- narrow executable package without higher-risk signals
Signals
- metadata:no-higher-risk-signals
Install behavior
- No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
- Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
- Installs with 5 runtime dependencies.
- Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.
Recommended review
Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.
executables
Installed executables
| Command | Kind | Exposure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
xdotool | cli | global executable |
freshness
Version and freshness
These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.
page generated2026-07-08
manager version4.20260303.1
manager updated
local dataok
upstreamcurrent
latest detectedv4.20260303.1
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
- infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:xdotool |
|---|---|
| Version | 4.20260303.1 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Package manager page | https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/xdotool |
| Homepage | https://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/ |
| Repository | https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool |
| Upstream docs | https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool#readme |
| License | BSD-3-Clause |
| Source archive | https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/archive/refs/tags/v4.20260303.1.tar.gz |
| Dependencies | libx11, libxi, libxinerama, libxkbcommon, libxtst |
| Build dependencies | pkgconf |
| Bottle | available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux) |
| Homebrew post-install | not defined |
| Service | none declared |
| Caveats | You will probably want to enable XTEST in your X11 server now by running: defaults write org.x.X11 enable_test_extensions -boolean true For the source of this useful hint: https://stackoverflow.com/questions/1264210/does-mac-x11-have-the-xtest-extension |
registry facts
Source database details
| Source Database | Homebrew formula API |
|---|---|
| Tap | homebrew/core |
| Full Name | xdotool |
| Version Scheme | 0 |
| Revision | 0 |
| Head Version | HEAD |
| Bottle Stable Root URL | https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core |
| Deprecated | no |
| Disabled | no |
| Keg Only | no |
| URL Keys |
|
source database matches
Other package-manager records
Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.
Debian apt95%
libxdo-dev 1:3.20160805.1-5.1
library for simulating X11 keyboard/mouse input
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/
sudo apt install libxdo-dev- Section: libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
Debian apt95%
libxdo3 1:3.20160805.1-5.1
library for simulating (generating) X11 keyboard/mouse input events
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/
sudo apt install libxdo3- Section: libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
Debian apt95%
xdotool 1:3.20160805.1-5.1
simulate (generate) X11 keyboard/mouse input events
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/
sudo apt install xdotool- Section: x11
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
Nix95%
xdotool
nix profile install nixpkgs#xdotool- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
Ubuntu apt95%
libxdo-dev 1:3.20160805.1-5build1
library for simulating X11 keyboard/mouse input
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/
sudo apt install libxdo-dev- Section: universe/libdevel
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 2 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
Ubuntu apt95%
libxdo3 1:3.20160805.1-5build1
library for simulating (generating) X11 keyboard/mouse input events
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/
sudo apt install libxdo3- Section: universe/libs
- Architecture: amd64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 5 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
Ubuntu apt95%
xdotool 1:3.20160805.1-5build1
simulate (generate) X11 keyboard/mouse input events
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool/
sudo apt install xdotool- Section: universe/x11
- Architecture: amd64
- 3 dependencies
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
apk95%
xdotool 4.20260303.1-r0
Simulate X11 keyboard/mouse input events
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
sudo apk add xdotool- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
apk95%
xdotool-dev 4.20260303.1-r0
Simulate X11 keyboard/mouse input events (development files)
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
sudo apk add xdotool-dev- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 1 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
apk95%
xdotool-doc 4.20260303.1-r0
Simulate X11 keyboard/mouse input events (documentation)
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
sudo apk add xdotool-doc- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdotool
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
dnf95%
libxdo 3.20211022.1-10.fc44
Keyboard input simulation library
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
sudo dnf install libxdo- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: xdotool
- 6 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
dnf95%
libxdo-devel 3.20211022.1-10.fc44
Development files for libxdo
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
sudo dnf install libxdo-devel- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: i686
- Source Package: xdotool
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
dnf95%
xdotool 3.20211022.1-10.fc44
Fake keyboard/mouse input
https://github.com/jordansissel/xdotool
sudo dnf install xdotool- License: LicenseRef-Callaway-BSD
- Category: Unspecified
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 5 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
pacman95%
xdotool 4.20260303.1-1
Command-line X11 automation tool
https://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/
sudo pacman -S xdotool- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Architecture: x86_64
- 5 dependencies
- 1 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
zypper95%
xdotool 4.20251130.1-1.3
Fake keyboard/mouse input
https://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/
sudo zypper install xdotool- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: System/X11/Utilities
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 7 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
zypper95%
xdotool-devel 4.20251130.1-1.3
Development and Library files
https://www.semicomplete.com/projects/xdotool/
sudo zypper install xdotool-devel- License: BSD-3-Clause
- Category: Development/Libraries/X11
- Architecture: x86_64
- Source Package: xdotool
- 4 dependencies
- 2 provides
- normalized package name match
- Matched by: Xdotool
source trail
Generated from repository data
This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.
Combined YAML source
View the package source record on GitHub.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- Nucleus package database
- av.db category and tag curation
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated package history
- external package-manager database matches
- package relationship graph
- package version freshness
- package-page enrichment