"Write a single library to handle all input devices, it'll be easy" they said...

linux.conf.au · 21.5K views · 2020-01-17 · 46:54

Open on YouTube ↗

If playback is restricted in your region, try opening the original video. Use Mark watched to add it to your marked videos.

Overview

Peter Hutterer's linux.conf.au 2020 talk on creating libinput, the unified userspace input library, and the difficulties of handling the many quirks of input devices.

On Hacker News

Cited for insight into the hard realities of Linux input handling and libinput's thinly staffed maintenance.

Recommended by 1 HN people across 1 months · HN mentions 2020–2024

Topics

Linux & open-source ecosystems Software architecture & design

What people said

indrora · 2024-08 · Strong recommendation
There are some advantages and disadvantages of the approach. However, there's just stuff that X assumes that isn't true anymore. A good example is how it handles input. How many cursors does a screen have? One machine? okay, One input device? One of the folks behind both Wayland and X gave a fantastic talk on the issues and the hell. [VIDEO]
Read the original HN comment ↗

5e92cb50239222b · 2021-12 · Reference
That "dev" you're criticizing here has been developing libinput solo since the beginning. He asked for help numerous times and never received any. So either step up and do the work, or stop complaining. [VIDEO] libinput is yet another of those fundamental libraries that receive almost no developer attention, but get all the blame when something goes wrong: [LINK]
Read the original HN comment ↗

Akronymus · 2021-11 · Reference
Yeah it takes a LOT of work to hide it [1] Also: For some stuff I want to be able to use the "arcane" parameters for some really obscure task where it is just the right flag or something. [1] [VIDEO]
Read the original HN comment ↗

Sources

Video by linux.conf.au, played through YouTube.

HN Library · Source license

Data and selection notes

HN summaries and labels may contain AI errors. HN dates refer to discussions, not video publication.

HN Library: HackerTube export (2026-10-31) and open-index/hacker-news. Upstream summaries and classifications may contain AI errors.

Views, duration and playback status refresh separately from the published catalog. When an update fails, existing data remains visible.

Selection checks

SaaS & AI candidates: Topic keywords do not match
Editor-approved picks: Editorial review is required

Rule matches identify candidates. They do not guarantee video quality or financial results.

About the library and its sources