Linux UI Automation CLI

Use xdotool, wmctrl, and xclip to automate Linux desktop UI. This is a Linux alternative to macOS Peekaboo automation features.

Setup

Install required tools:

bash

sudo apt-get install -y xdotool xclip wmctrl xwininfo

Keyboard Input

Type text

bash

xdotool type "Hello World"

Type with delay (ms between keys)

bash

xdotool type --delay 50 "Hello World"

Press key

bash

xdotool key Return
xdotool key Escape
xdotool key Tab
xdotool key BackSpace

Key combinations

bash

xdotool key ctrl+c
xdotool key ctrl+v
xdotool key ctrl+shift+t
xdotool key alt+F4
xdotool key super

Hold and release

bash

xdotool keydown shift
xdotool type "hello"
xdotool keyup shift

Mouse Input

Move mouse to coordinates

bash

xdotool mousemove 500 300

Move relative

bash

xdotool mousemove_relative 100 50

Click

bash

xdotool click 1  # Left click
xdotool click 2  # Middle click
xdotool click 3  # Right click

Double click

bash

xdotool click --repeat 2 --delay 50 1

Click at position

bash

xdotool mousemove 500 300 click 1

Drag

bash

xdotool mousemove 100 100
xdotool mousedown 1
xdotool mousemove 500 500
xdotool mouseup 1

Scroll

bash

xdotool click 4  # Scroll up
xdotool click 5  # Scroll down

Scroll multiple times

bash

xdotool click --repeat 5 --delay 50 5  # Scroll down 5 times

Window Management

Get active window ID

bash

xdotool getactivewindow

Focus window by name

bash

xdotool search --name "Firefox" windowactivate

Focus window by class

bash

xdotool search --class "code" windowactivate

List windows

bash

wmctrl -l

Activate window by title

bash

wmctrl -a "Visual Studio Code"

Minimize window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow windowminimize

Maximize window

bash

wmctrl -r :ACTIVE: -b toggle,maximized_vert,maximized_horz

Move window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow windowmove 100 100

Resize window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow windowsize 800 600

Close window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow windowclose

Bring window to front

bash

wmctrl -a "Firefox"

Clipboard

Copy text to clipboard

bash

echo "Hello World" | xclip -selection clipboard

Paste from clipboard

bash

xclip -selection clipboard -o

Copy file contents to clipboard

bash

cat file.txt | xclip -selection clipboard

Copy image to clipboard

bash

xclip -selection clipboard -t image/png -i image.png

Copy from primary selection

bash

xclip -selection primary -o

Application Control

Launch application

bash

xdotool exec firefox

Launch and wait for window

bash

xdotool exec --sync firefox

Get window PID

bash

xdotool getactivewindow getwindowpid

Kill window

bash

xdotool getactivewindow getwindowpid | xargs kill

Combined Workflows

Open terminal and run command

bash

xdotool key ctrl+alt+t
sleep 1
xdotool type "ls -la"
xdotool key Return

Copy selected text

bash

xdotool key ctrl+c
sleep 0.1
xclip -selection clipboard -o

Paste text

bash

echo "Text to paste" | xclip -selection clipboard
xdotool key ctrl+v

Switch to window and type

bash

xdotool search --name "Slack" windowactivate
sleep 0.5
xdotool type "Hello team!"
xdotool key Return

Wait for Window

Wait for window to appear

bash

xdotool search --sync --name "Firefox"

Wait and activate

bash

xdotool search --sync --name "Dialog" windowactivate

Get Window Info

Window geometry

bash

xdotool getactivewindow getwindowgeometry

Window name

bash

xdotool getactivewindow getwindowname

All windows matching name

bash

xdotool search --name "Code"

Screen Info

Get screen size

bash

xdotool getdisplaygeometry

Get mouse location

bash

xdotool getmouselocation

Notes

•Linux-only (alternative to macOS Peekaboo/keyboard maestro).
•Works with X11; for Wayland, use ydotool instead.
•Add delays between actions for reliability.
•Use --sync flag to wait for windows.
•Some applications may block synthetic input.