mdetect(1)

📦 version 0.5.2.6build1, in debian bookworm, debian trixie, ubuntu jammy, ubuntu noble, ubuntu questing, ubuntu resolute, ubuntu stonking

💖 mdetect(1) 💖

okay so bestie, welcome to the General Commands Manual page for mdetect(1) — literally the mouse-detective of the Unix world. buckle up, it's short but it's iconic 🐭✨

🌸 NAME 🌸

mdetect — mouse device autodetection tool

like. it finds your mouse. that's the whole vibe. no cap.

🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

mdetect [option ...]

✨ OPTIONS ✨

okay so plot twist: mdetect may be run without arguments. she doesn't need you to tell her anything, she just knows. main character energy fr.

  • -h — display a help message and exit. a little "here's how to use me" moment 🫶
  • -n — do not search for PnP (Plug 'n' Play) mice. skipping the plug-and-play girlies entirely
  • -r — [not yet implemented] 💀 yeah bestie it's on the roadmap, it's giving "coming soon"
  • -v — be verbose; this option may be specified multiple times for increasing levels of verbosity. so like -v is a whisper, -vv is a chat, -vvv is a TED talk 🔥
  • -o — produce output appropriate for XFree86 3.x configuration. vintage era coding
  • -x — produce output appropriate for XFree86 4.x configuration. glow-up era coding

👑 DESCRIPTION 👑

mdetect is a tool for autoconfiguring mice and compatible pointing devices; it is typically used as the backend to some user-friendly frontend code that, for example, asks the user to move the mouse for a moment. mdetect is then run while user is producing input on the mouse device. While mouse motion during detection is sometimes unnecessary, it is seldom problematic.

translation: your cute little GUI asks "hey bestie can u wiggle ur mouse 🥺" and then mdetect does the actual work behind the curtain. and yeah, sometimes you don't even need to wiggle, but it literally never hurts, so wiggle away.

mdetect writes the autodetected mouse device and protocol to standard output. Unless either of the -o or -x options is given, mdetect produces output appropriate for configuring the gpm(1) program. Alternatively, output appropriate for an XFree86 X server configuration file is produced. If the -v option is given, some information about the program's status is also written to standard output, but this is largely unimplemented at this writing.

so she spills the tea (the device + protocol) straight to standard output. default flavor = gpm(1) config. want the XFree86 config flavor instead? that's what -o and -x are for 💅 and yeah the -v status info is largely unimplemented at this writing — the vibes are there, the code is not. 🙈

If mdetect is unable to find a mouse device, it exits after a few seconds of searching. she's not gonna wait around forever, she has places to be.

🌈 NOTES 🌈

Detection of serial and PS/2 devices is often aided by moving the mouse while mdetect runs. (see? told u. wiggle. it helps. 🖱️✨)

Terminals connected to serial ports may display a small amount of garbage to the screen while mdetect probes them, but this a harmless side-effect; the terminal's line settings are restored after the port has been probed.

okay so scary-looking but genuinely harmless bestie — some garbage characters might flash on screen while she's snooping around your serial ports. it's not a glitch era, it's a probe era. and she puts the terminal's line settings right back where she found them afterwards, so no cleanup required 🧹💜

💀 DIAGNOSTICS 💀

mdetect's exit status is used to communicate information. she says it with numbers, which is very her.

  1. 0 — mdetect found a mouse and exited normally. slay!! mission accomplished 🎀
  2. 1 — An error occurred while attempting to read from the mouse device. the read said nope 😭
  3. 2 — mdetect timed out and gave up searching for a mouse device; this indicates either that no mouse device is attached to the computer, or that a mouse device exists which mdetect knows nothing about. This also happens if your only mouse device(s) are already open and in use; for instance, by gpm or an X Window System server.
fr fr the classic "where is she" moment — no mouse, or a mouse she's never met, or a mouse that's already busy being used by gpm or an X Window System server. she can't detect what's already taken, bestie 💅
  1. 3 — An error occurred while trying to set up mdetect's signal handler. that's the "couldn't even get her own safety net set up" error. rough. 💀

🐛 BUGS 🐛

Please report bugs in mdetect to <submit@bugs.debian.org>. The current bug list may be viewed at <http://bugs.debian.org/mdetect>.

found a bug? don't suffer in silence, send it to the addy above 🫶 and if you wanna see what chaos is already on the list, the second link has u covered.

🌟 AUTHORS 🌟

mdetect is copyright 1999 Caldera Systems, Inc. The actual authors are unknown. Branden Robinson of Progeny Linux Systems, Inc. and the Debian Project added several enhancements, including the XFree86-aware code and this manual page. Richard Hirst wrote code to save and restore serial port settings.

ngl the actual authors being unknown is so mysterious of them 😭 but shoutout to Branden Robinson (Progeny Linux Systems, Inc. + the Debian Project) for the enhancements, the XFree86-aware code, and literally this very manpage you're reading, and to Richard Hirst for the save-and-restore-serial-port-settings code. legends only 👑💜

📜 LICENSING 📜

The mdetect source code is licensed under the Q Public License (QPL); see <http://www.trolltech.com/products/download/freelicense/license.html>.

This manual page is licensed under the GNU General Public License.

so like: source code = QPL, this cute little page = GNU General Public License. read the fine print, bestie 📖✨

🎀 SEE ALSO 🎀

  • gpm(1)
  • XFree86(1)

that's the whole page bestie, go forth and let her find ur mouse 💅🐭

Debian GNU/Linux · 2002-02-22 · mdetect(1) — signed off with love, an entire era ago, and still serving 🫶🌈✨

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