Creating Macros On Linux

[Sushibagel]

The Linus and Luke Linux challenge made me want to give Linux a go for my day to day use. I installed Pop OS alongside my Windows 10 install on my system to give it a go.

 

I believe most things I do daily would be possible however, over the years I've become pretty good with AutoHotKey scripts and use them pretty regularly in my day to day workflow as well as for gaming. I've been able to recreate some of my Macros using shell scripts and custom hotkey buttons but there is a lot I haven't figured out how to do yet. For example some of the ones I use will depend on certain applications to be open or will have a different script for a press, double press or long press. Does anyone have any suggestions on how this can be done? Please keep in mind I don't really code I learned AHK over the years but that's about as far as my skill with it go. 

[Slipfox]

Someone made a port of AHK to Linux a while back. Discontinued as of 2018, but might be worth a look-see?

https://github.com/Paris/IronAHK

[RONOTHAN##]

There's a project called AutoKey that seems to do most of what AHK does, but the scripting language isn't the same. It uses Python for the scripts, one of the easier languages to learn and use, and there are some scripts out there so you can base yours on. 

 

There is also the possibility that most of what you're trying to do will work with traditional shell scripts. I'm not good enough at BASH scripting to know how to set that up, but someone else on here might. 

[Sushibagel]

3 hours ago, Slipfox said:

Someone made a port of AHK to Linux a while back. Discontinued as of 2018, but might be worth a look-see?

https://github.com/Paris/IronAHK

ill give that a try thanks. 

[Sushibagel]

3 hours ago, RONOTHAN## said:

There's a project called AutoKey that seems to do most of what AHK does, but the scripting language isn't the same. It uses Python for the scripts, one of the easier languages to learn and use, and there are some scripts out there so you can base yours on. 

 

There is also the possibility that most of what you're trying to do will work with traditional shell scripts. I'm not good enough at BASH scripting to know how to set that up, but someone else on here might. 

I checked out Autokey a bit but was scared away by python. But I may have to just bite the bullet and figure it out. 

[Brydie]

I wouldn't let Python scare you aware. IMO it's more consistent than AutoHotKey - and a hell of a lot more powerful once you get comfortable with the basics. However, I'm not sure if it's possible to set up double or long press hotkeys with Autokey. Hopefully someone else can confirm or correct me.

 

I used AutoHotKey a lot on Windows to create workarounds for various annoyances, many of which just aren't issues for me on Linux. Then, in terms of simple things like hotkeys, swapping keys, and so forth - a lot of that is possible with configuration options depending on desktop environment (DE) / windows manager (WM). For more complex multi-step things I use mix of BASH and Python scripts and map them to hotkeys using my WM - or run them direct from terminal, add to crontab (a program that runs programs/scripts on a set schedule), etc. I only use Autokey as a text expander for a single application.