UinputReader

C# service for reading Linux evdev input events from /dev/input/event*.

Projects

• src/InputEvents.Core: discovery, evdev reading, decoding, and routing library.
• src/InputEvents.Daemon: optional CLI daemon (--list-devices, --listen, --json).

Build

dotnet build UinputReader.sln

Daemon Usage

List available input devices:

dotnet run --project src/InputEvents.Daemon -- --list-devices

Listen to keyboard events (default behavior):

dotnet run --project src/InputEvents.Daemon -- --listen

Stream JSON lines:

dotnet run --project src/InputEvents.Daemon -- --listen --json

C# Example usage

using InputEvents.Core;
using InputEvents.Core.Models;
using InputEvents.Core.Options;

var svc = new InputEventService(new InputEventServiceOptions
{
    IncludeKinds = new[] { DeviceKind.Keyboard },
    AutoDiscover = true
});

await svc.StartAsync(ct);

await foreach (var ev in svc.GetEventsAsync(ct))
{
    if (ev is KeyEvent k && k.State == KeyState.Down)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"{k.DevicePath} {k.Key} DOWN");
    }
}

Permissions

Reading /dev/input/event* usually requires root privileges or membership in the input group.

• The service handles EACCES / EPERM and marks devices as inaccessible.
• See docs/udev-rules.md for a recommended udev setup.

Notes

• Works on both X11 and Wayland because it reads kernel-level input events.
• /dev/uinput is used to create virtual devices and inject events; it is not the source of physical keyboard events.
• No persistent event storage is implemented.