How To Make Your Mouse Auto-Click Every 5 Seconds

In the world of automation and scripting, there are times when you might need your mouse to auto-click at certain intervals. This can be useful for a variety of tasks, from gaming to data entry. In this tutorial, we will walk you through the process of setting up your mouse to auto-click every 5 seconds. We will be using two different tools: xdotool and xautoclick. Both are powerful tools that allow you to automate mouse clicks and other input events.

Installing Necessary Tools

xdotool

xdotool is a command-line tool that allows you to simulate keyboard input and mouse activity, move and resize windows, etc. It does this using X11’s XTEST extension and other Xlib functions. To install xdotool, open your terminal and run the following command:

sudo apt-get install xdotool

xautoclick

xautoclick is a small and simple auto clicker tool for Linux. It allows you to set the number of clicks you want to automate and the interval between each click. You can download the xautoclick package from the Ubuntu Software Center or GetDeb.

Auto-Click Using xdotool

Step 1: Get Mouse Location

First, we need to get the x and y coordinates of the point where we want to auto-click. Move your mouse over the desired point, then open the terminal and type:

xdotool getmouselocation

This command will return the x and y coordinates of your mouse’s current position. Note down these values as we will use them in the next step.

Step 2: Create a Script for Auto-Clicking

Now, let’s create a bash script that will use xdotool to move the mouse to the desired coordinates and click at a 5-second interval. Open your terminal and type:

gedit script

This command will open a new text file named “script” in the gedit text editor. Paste the following code into the text file, replacing XXX and YYY with the x and y coordinates you noted earlier:

#!/bin/bash
while [ 1 ]; do
 xdotool mousemove XXX YYY click 1 &
 sleep 5
done

In this script, mousemove is an xdotool command that moves the mouse to the specified coordinates. click 1 simulates a left mouse click (1 represents the left button, 2 would represent the middle button, and 3 the right button). The sleep 5 command pauses the script for 5 seconds before the next iteration of the loop.

Step 3: Make the Script Executable and Run It

After writing the script, save and close the text file. Now, we need to make the script executable. In your terminal, type:

chmod +x script

This command changes the permissions of the “script” file to make it executable. Now, you can run the script with the following command:

./script

Auto-Click Using xautoclick

If you prefer a graphical interface or want a simpler method, you can use xautoclick. After installing xautoclick, open the program. You will see fields for ‘Number of clicks’, ‘Delay between clicks’, and ‘Interval between clicks’. Set the ‘Interval between clicks’ to 5000 (as this value is in milliseconds, 5000 ms equals 5 seconds). Move your mouse over the target area where you want to click, then click the ‘Start’ button in the xautoclick interface.

Conclusion

In this tutorial, we’ve shown you how to make your mouse auto-click every 5 seconds using xdotool and xautoclick. Both tools offer powerful automation capabilities, but xdotool provides more flexibility and control, while xautoclick is simpler and easier to use. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility. Use these tools wisely and ethically.

If you’re interested in further automating your tasks, you might want to look into other automation tools like Sikuli, which allows you to automate tasks by visually selecting screen parts. Happy automating!