# Install xeyes with Homebrew, apk, dnf, MacPorts, Nix, zypper Follow the mouse X demo using the X SHAPE extension. Version 1.3.1 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-04. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:xeyes ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install xeyes ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install xeyes ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: x11/xeyes/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - apk (92%): ```sh sudo apk add xeyes ``` Evidence: Alpine Linux edge package indexes: xeyes from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz - dnf (92%): ```sh sudo dnf install xeyes ``` Evidence: Fedora Rawhide package metadata: xeyes from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#xeyes ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/xe/xeyes/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - zypper (92%): ```sh sudo zypper install xeyes ``` Evidence: openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: xeyes from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:xeyes - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 1.3.1 - **Source summary:** Follow the mouse X demo using the X SHAPE extension - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** X11 - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-04T13:13:44+09:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T18:08:21+00:00 ## Executables - xeyes (cli) - xeyes (alias) ## Dependencies - libx11 - libxcb - libxext - libxi - libxmu - libxrender - libxt ## Build dependencies - pkgconf ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, arm64_ventura, sonoma, ventura, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 1.3.1 - Package-manager updated: 2026-07-04 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://gitlab.freedesktop.org/xorg/app/xeyes - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage xeyes is the tiny X demo that draws a pair of eyes whose pupils follow the pointer. Its package description understates its cultural load: it is both a Shape-extension demo and one of the most recognizable bits of X11 desktop folklore. ### Project history The X.Org manpage credits Keith Packard of the MIT X Consortium as author and says the program was copied from a NeWS version apparently written by Jeremy Huxtable as seen at SIGGRAPH 1988. In X.Org packaging it became an app module described by freedesktop.org as a 'follow the mouse' demo using the X SHAPE extension. Like other X.Org applications, xeyes moved into the modular source-release world after X11R7.0 split the old monolithic tree into separately released modules. Its freedesktop.org GitLab project was created during the 2018 migration period and keeps the small app maintained with the rest of the X.Org app family. ### Adoption history xeyes spread because it was small, visual, funny, and included with X tool collections. It gave users an immediate sign that X applications were working, while developers used it as a simple demonstration of shaped windows and pointer tracking. In the Wayland era, xeyes gained a second life as a diagnostic joke with practical value: because it follows the pointer through X11 mechanisms, users can use its behavior to infer whether an application is running as an X11 client, through XWayland, or outside xeyes' visibility. ### How it is used The ordinary usage is simply to run xeyes and watch the pupils track the cursor. Options adjust colors, geometry, backing store, SHAPE usage, Xrender antialiasing, and the alternate distance mapping. Packagers and desktop troubleshooters use it as a minimal GUI test because it starts quickly, has no configuration, needs only the X display path, and makes failure obvious. ### Why package nerds care xeyes is package-manager whimsy with a real technical payload. It demonstrates that not every useful package is serious; sometimes the tiny demo program is the fastest way to prove a display stack, extension, or compatibility layer is behaving as expected. Its survival also shows how X.Org's modular app packages preserve small historical clients that would be lost if only large desktop environments were packaged. ### Timeline - 1988: The manpage traces the idea to a NeWS version seen at SIGGRAPH 1988. - MIT X Consortium era: Keith Packard authors the X version. - 2005: X11R7.0 modularization makes X.Org applications independently releasable modules. - 2018: The freedesktop.org GitLab xeyes project is created during repository migration. - 2021: xeyes 1.2.0 adds Present and XInput2 support for smoother pointer tracking. - 2025: The GitLab tag list records xeyes 1.3.1. ### Related projects - The X SHAPE extension is the feature associated with xeyes' shaped-window demo behavior. - Xrender is used for anti-aliased eye drawing when compiled in. - XInput2 and Present were added in xeyes 1.2.0 for smoother tracking. - xlogo, xclock, and oclock are neighboring small X demo or utility apps in the same cultural family. ### Sources - - - - - ## Security Notes narrow executable package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - narrow executable package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** xeyes - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - xeyes: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/xe/xeyes/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - apk - xeyes - 1.3.1-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: xeyes from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Pair of eyes that follow your mouse in X11 | https://www.x.org - apk - xeyes-doc - 1.3.1-r0: normalized package name match | Alpine Linux edge package indexes: xeyes-doc from https://dl-cdn.alpinelinux.org/alpine/edge/community/x86_64/APKINDEX.tar.gz | Pair of eyes that follow your mouse in X11 (documentation) | https://www.x.org - dnf - xeyes - 1.3.1-1.fc45: normalized package name match | Fedora Rawhide package metadata: xeyes from https://dl.fedoraproject.org/pub/fedora/linux/development/rawhide/Everything/x86_64/os/repodata/e5ca8ce900cd68f5419e1c39ae517343100b306336cbaeb70a3c153121d95094-primary.xml.zst | A follow the mouse X demo | https://www.x.org - zypper - xeyes - 1.3.1-1.3: normalized package name match | openSUSE Tumbleweed package metadata: xeyes from https://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/repodata/be8d3611d25469107f32075a1697e69ec57a2b850b42348a658cc671ad5ec2b50760d02c3e59524d50da9a11d5be799bdaffba2e166e8ca8858512e3c0bd665d-primary.xml.zst | A follow the mouse X demo | https://xorg.freedesktop.org/ - MacPorts - xeyes: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: x11/xeyes/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Homebrew utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew-utility-packages/) - Matched Homebrew package provider. - [Secret-risk packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/secret-risk-packages/) - Matched curated package taxonomy and local package facts. - [pkgconf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/pkgconf/) - Build dependency declared by Homebrew. - [libxcvt](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libxcvt/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [libxpm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libxpm/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [mkfontscale](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/mkfontscale/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xauth](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xauth/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xcursorgen](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xcursorgen/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xdpyinfo](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xdpyinfo/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xinit](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xinit/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [xinput](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xinput/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, system, x11, xorg. - [twm](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/twm/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, gui, libx11, libxext, libxmu. - [xrdb](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/xrdb/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: cli, libx11, libxmu, system, x11. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/xeyes.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/xeyes.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph