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Shawon Saha
Shawon Saha

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Enable Mac Like 3 Finger / 4 Finger Touchpad Gesture on Linux Mint

#linux

If you're a Linux Mint user and you've always envied the smooth touchpad gestures available on Mac, you're in luck. With the help of a few simple commands, you can enable Mac-like touchpad gestures on your Linux Mint system. In this step-by-step guide, I'll walk you through the process. Let's get started:

Step 1: Grant Input Permission

sudo gpasswd -a $USER input
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Step 2: Install Required Packages

sudo apt install python3 python3-setuptools xdotool python3-gi libinput-tools python-gobject
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Step 3: Install libinput-tools

sudo apt-get install libinput-tools
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Step 4: Restart Your Computer
It's essential to restart your computer after installing the packages to ensure everything takes effect.

⚠️ You have to restart your computer ⚠️

Step 5: Clone libinput-gestures Repository

git clone https://github.com/bulletmark/libinput-gestures.git
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Step 6: Navigate to the Cloned Repository

cd libinput-gestures
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Step 7: Run the Installation Script

sudo ./libinput-gestures-setup install
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Step 8: Autostart libinput-gestures

libinput-gestures-setup autostart start
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Step 9: Return to the Parent Directory

cd ..
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Step 10: Clone the gestures Repository

git clone https://gitlab.com/cunidev/gestures.git
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Step 11: Navigate to the Cloned gestures Repository

cd gestures
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Step 12: Check Out a Specific Commit (e46c743a)

git checkout e46c743a
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Step 13: Install gestures

sudo python3 setup.py install
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Step 14: Return to the Parent Directory

cd ..
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Step 15: Create a Configuration File

cd .config
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touch libinput-gestures.conf
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nano libinput-gestures.conf
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Step 16: Paste the following code into Configuration File

# Generated by Gestures 0.2.2  -->  https://gitlab.com/cunidev/gestures
# Manual editing might result in data loss!


# Invalid lines


# Unsupported lines

# Swipe threshold (0-100)
swipe_threshold 0

# Gestures
gesture swipe up 3 xdotool key 0xffe3+0xFFEA+0xFF54
gesture swipe down 3 xdotool key super+d
gesture swipe left 3 xdotool keyup 0xffea
gesture swipe right 3 xdotool keydown 0xffea  + key 0xff09
gesture swipe up 4 xdotool key  0xffea+m
gesture swipe down 4 xdotool key  0xffe9+0xffc1
gesture swipe left 4 xdotool key  super+0xff51
gesture swipe right 4 xdotool key  super+0xff53
gesture pinch out 2 xdotool key  0xffe3+0x002b
gesture pinch in 2 xdotool key  0xffe3+0x002d
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Step 17: Save and Exit from nano
Ctrl + o -> Enter Key -> Ctrl + x

Final Step: Open Gestures

Image description

For a list of xdotool key codes for more customized experience, you can refer to this link: https://gitlab.com/cunidev/gestures/-/wikis/xdotool-list-of-key-codes

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