Cross‑platform C/C++ input & screen-capture libraries:

easy_control::system_input (header‑only; platform backends selectable)
easy_control::system_output (+ easy_control::mac_bridge on macOS)

This repo builds and installs CMake packages so downstream projects can simply:

find_package(easy_control CONFIG REQUIRED)

target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE easy_control::system_output easy_control::system_input)

It also auto‑derives the version from git describe and generates a public header easy_control/version.h containing version, commit and dirty flags.

Prerequisites

CMake ≥ 3.10
A C/C++ toolchain for your OS
(Recommended) Ninja generator for faster builds

To let the build embed the correct version, the repository should be a git checkout with tags available (see Troubleshooting).

Quick Start (all platforms)

# Configure + build (Release)
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build -j
 
# Optional: run demos (if built)
#   build/system_output_test, build/system_input_test, build/joint_test
 
# Install to /usr/local (Linux/macOS) or chosen prefix (Windows: see below)
sudo cmake --install build --prefix /usr/local

To skip demos during the build:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release -DEASY_CONTROL_BUILD_DEMOS=OFF

Linux / Ubuntu

Install dependencies

sudo apt-get update
# Build tools
sudo apt-get install -y cmake ninja-build pkg-config
# X11 capture/input backends (default on Linux)
sudo apt-get install -y libx11-dev libxtst-dev libxrandr-dev libxfixes-dev
# (Optional) Wayland portal backend (if you enable -DAUTOALG_USE_WAYLAND_PORTAL=ON)
# sudo apt-get install -y libwayland-dev libglib2.0-dev

Build

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build build -j

Install (system‑wide)

sudo cmake --install build --prefix /usr
# or
# sudo cmake --install build --prefix /usr/local

macOS

Install tools

brew update

brew install cmake ninja

Build

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build build -j

Install

sudo cmake --install build --prefix /usr/local
# On Apple Silicon if you prefer Homebrew prefix:
# sudo cmake --install build --prefix /opt/homebrew

‍macOS links against system frameworks (ApplicationServices, Foundation, and ScreenCaptureKit for mac capture). No extra packages are required.

</blockquote>

Windows (MSVC)

Open a x64 Native Tools Command Prompt for VS or use PowerShell with the VS Build Tools installed.

Install tools (PowerShell; optional)

choco install -y ninja

Configure + Build

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build build --config Release

Install

Choose an install prefix (e.g. C:\easy_control):

cmake --install build --config Release --prefix C:\easy_control

Use it in downstream projects by pointing CMAKE_PREFIX_PATH to that prefix.

Options & Backends

CMake options (all default to OFF unless noted):

EASY_CONTROL_BUILD_DEMOS (ON): build example executables (not installed).
INPUT_STRICT_WARNINGS (ON): enable strict warnings for system_input.
Linux input backends (choose one if desired):
- INPUT_BACKEND_WAYLAND_WLR (Wayland wlroots virtual input)
- INPUT_BACKEND_UINPUT (Linux uinput)
- default: X11 + XTest
Screen capture on Linux:
- AUTOALG_USE_WAYLAND_PORTAL (Wayland portal via gio/glib + stb)

Examples:

# Linux with Wayland portal capture
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
      -DAUTOALG_USE_WAYLAND_PORTAL=ON
 
# Linux with uinput backend for system_input
cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release \
      -DINPUT_BACKEND_UINPUT=ON

Installing / Uninstalling

Install to a prefix:

sudo cmake --install build --prefix /usr/local

Downstream projects may then locate it automatically, or you can hint:

cmake -S app -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/usr/local

Uninstall (from the same build dir) using the install manifest:

sudo xargs rm -f < build/install_manifest.txt

Packaged Artifacts (CPack)

You can create distributable packages without installing:

cmake -S . -B build -G Ninja -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

cmake --build build --target package

On Linux you’ll typically get .deb, .zip, .txz; on macOS .zip/.txz; on Windows an NSIS .exe installer and/or .zip.

Install a .deb on Ubuntu:

sudo dpkg -i build/*.deb || sudo apt-get -f install

On macOS, the .zip/.txz contains an install tree; extract to a prefix:

sudo unzip build/*.zip -d /usr/local
# or
sudo tar -C /usr/local -xvf build/*.txz

Windows: run the *.exe installer or extract the *.zip to a chosen prefix.

Using in Downstream Projects

CMake

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.10)
project(myapp CXX)
 
find_package(easy_control CONFIG REQUIRED)
 
add_executable(myapp main.cpp)
target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE
  easy_control::system_output
  easy_control::system_input
)
# On macOS if you directly need the bridge:
# target_link_libraries(myapp PRIVATE easy_control::mac_bridge)

If the package is not in a default search path:

cmake -S . -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/usr/local

Version Header

After configuration, the build generates:

<build>/generated/easy_control/version.h

It is installed to:

<prefix>/include/easy_control/version.h

Fields available:

#include <easy_control/version.h>
 
// Macros
EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_MAJOR
EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_MINOR
EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_PATCH
EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_SEMVER   // "x.y.z"
EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_SUFFIX   // e.g. "+5.gabc1234", ".dirty", "+dirty-<sha>", or empty
EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_FULL     // "x.y.z" + suffix
 
EASY_CONTROL_GIT_DESCRIBE     // output of `git describe` (may be empty)
EASY_CONTROL_GIT_COMMIT       // short SHA or timestamp-rand
EASY_CONTROL_GIT_DIRTY        // 1 if dirty/untagged, else 0

Example:

 ++
#include <easy_control/version.h>
#include <iostream>
 
int main() {
  std::cout << "easy_control " << EASY_CONTROL_VERSION_FULL
            << " (commit " << EASY_CONTROL_GIT_COMMIT
            << (EASY_CONTROL_GIT_DIRTY ? ", dirty" : "")
            << ")\n";
}

Troubleshooting

**git describe returns empty / version shows dirty**
Ensure you cloned the repo with tags. If using GitHub Actions or shallow clones, fetch full history and tags:
git fetch --tags --unshallow || git fetch --tags
**Linux configure error: ‘Package 'x11’ not found`**
Install dev packages:
sudo apt-get install -y libx11-dev libxtst-dev libxrandr-dev libxfixes-dev
Wayland portal enabled but missing headers
Install:
sudo apt-get install -y libwayland-dev libglib2.0-dev
macOS include paths
If you installed to /opt/homebrew, pass -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/opt/homebrew to your downstream CMake configure.
Windows cannot find package
Use --prefix C:\easy_control on install and set -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=C:\easy_control when configuring your downstream project.

Contents

Prerequisites

Quick Start (all platforms)

Linux / Ubuntu

Install dependencies

Build

Install (system‑wide)

macOS

Install tools

Build

Install

</blockquote>

Windows (MSVC)

Install tools (PowerShell; optional)

Configure + Build

Install

Options & Backends

Installing / Uninstalling

Packaged Artifacts (CPack)

Using in Downstream Projects

CMake

Version Header

Troubleshooting

License