betterbanish

betterbanish is a robust, enhanced version of xbanish. It automatically hides the mouse cursor when you start typing and unhides it when you move the mouse. This version includes fixes for modern input handling, improved resource management, and hotplug support via udev.

It is lightweight, efficient, and designed for X11 environments.

Features

• Automatic Hiding: Hides the cursor after a configurable number of keystrokes.
• Instant Unhiding: Reappears immediately upon mouse movement or clicking.
• Hotplug Support: Automatically detects new keyboards and mice (via udev) without restarting the daemon.
• Idle Timeout: Optionally hides the cursor after a specific period of inactivity.
• Cursor Relocation: Can move the cursor to a specific corner or custom coordinates when hiding to prevent accidental hovering.
• Modifier Awareness: Can ignore specific modifier keys (like Shift, Ctrl) so the cursor doesn't flicker while using shortcuts.
• Jitter Protection: Prevents accidental unhiding due to minor sensor vibrations.

Requirements

To build betterbanish, you need a C compiler (gcc/clang) and the following development libraries:

• libX11
• libXfixes
• libXi (XInput)
• libudev

Debian/Ubuntu

sudo apt install build-essential libx11-dev libxfixes-dev libxi-dev libudev-dev

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S base-devel libx11 libxfixes libxi systemd-libs

Compilation

You can compile the program using the following command:

make

To install it globally (optional):

sudo cp betterbanish /usr/local/bin/

Usage

Start betterbanish in the background (usually in your .xinitrc or window manager startup script).

betterbanish &

Command Line Options

Option	Description
-a	Always hide the cursor persistently (useful for kiosks).
-c <count>	Number of keystrokes required before hiding (default: 1).
-d	Enable debug mode (prints verbose output to stdout).
-i <mod>	Ignore specific modifier keys. Options: shift, lock, control, mod1 (Alt), mod2 (NumLock), mod3, mod4 (Super), mod5, or all. Can be used multiple times.
-j <pixels>	Jitter threshold. Mouse must move more than <pixels> to unhide.
-m <loc>	Move cursor to a location when hiding. Options: nw, ne, sw, se (screen corners), wnw, wne, wsw, wse (active window corners), or standard geometry +x+y.
-t <sec>	Hide cursor after <sec> seconds of user inactivity.
-s	Ignore scrolling events (scrolling won't unhide the cursor).

Examples

Standard usage: Hide instantly on any key press.

betterbanish &

Ignore modifiers: Don't hide the cursor just because you pressed Shift or Ctrl.

betterbanish -i shift -i control &

Touchpad Problems?

betterbanish -j 20 -i all -c 5

This command breaks down as follows:

Option	Description
-c 5	The cursor stays visible until 5 keys have been pressed.
-i all	Ignores all modifier keys (Shift, Ctrl, Alt, Super) so they don’t count toward the 5-key threshold.
-j 20	Sets a 20-pixel jitter threshold so tiny mouse movements don’t unhide the cursor by accident.

Summary

The command configures betterbanish so the cursor hides only after five real keystrokes (ignoring modifiers) and won’t reappear unless the mouse is moved significantly (20+ pixels). Debug logs are enabled to show what the program is doing.

If you want, I can also rewrite this into a one-line explanation or format it for a README.

How It Works

betterbanish connects to the X11 server to manage cursor visibility and uses libudev to monitor /dev/input/ for input devices.

1. It scans for existing keyboards and mice.
2. It listens for udev events to handle devices plugged in after startup.
3. It intercepts global keystrokes; if the keystroke limit is reached, it calls XFixesHideCursor.
4. If the mouse moves or clicks, it calls XFixesShowCursor.

Credits

Based on xbanish by Joshua Stein jcs@jcs.org.

Modifications for betterbanish by ttyxd cmax0890@gmail.com