Hackbrary to Hook and Augment X11 protocol calls.
Attempts to fix game and full-screen application issues on Linux, such as:
- starting on the wrong monitor
- spanning too many monitors
- spanning one half of a tiled (MST) monitor (such as some 4K/5K/8K monitors)
- refusing to allow selecting a desired resolution
It can also work around some common annoyances:
- exclusively grabbing the mouse or keyboard
- forcibly pausing the game when the window loses focus
- forcibly changing the screen resolution
- not restricting the mouse cursor to its window/monitor
Build the library:
$ makeThe Makefile assumes you have a 64-bit system. You will need gcc-multilib to build the 32-bit version.
To try this library, build this library as above, then in the same directory, run the following in a shell:
$ export LD_PRELOAD=`pwd`/\$LIB/hax11.soThen, from the same shell session, start the desired game or application.
To temporarily disable hax11, unset LD_PRELOAD before running a program, e.g.:
$ LD_PRELOAD= xrandrBy default, this library will not do anything.
For every application using the affected API, it will create an empty configuration file
under $HOME/.config/hax11/profiles/. Each file corresponds to one program, and will be named
after the program executable's absolute path, but with forward slashes / substituted with backslashes \.
Additionally, a default configuration file (in the same directory as above) will be loaded before the program's.
The syntax is one Name=Value pair per line.
Supported configuration options:
| Name | Values | Description |
|---|---|---|
Enable |
0/1 |
Boolean - Intercept the X11 connection (required for any other settings to have any effect) |
JoinMST |
0/1 |
Boolean - For monitors which present each half as one MST panel, join them and present them as one monitor to the application |
MaskOtherMonitors |
0/1 |
Boolean - Whether to hide the presence of other monitors from the application |
ResizeWindows |
0/1 |
Boolean - Whether to forcibly change the size of windows that span too many monitors |
ResizeAll |
0/1 |
Boolean - Resize (stretch) all windows, not just those matching the size of one MST panel |
MoveWindows |
0/1 |
Boolean - Whether to forcibly move windows created at (0,0) to the primary monitor |
Fork |
0/1 |
Boolean - Move processing to a separate forked process. |
FilterFocus |
0/1 |
Boolean - Filter out FocusOut events, making games think they always have focus. |
NoMouseGrab |
0/1 |
Boolean - Filter out GrabPointer requests, preventing games from exclusively grabbing the mouse pointer. |
NoKeyboardGrab |
0/1 |
Boolean - Filter out GrabKeyboard requests, preventing games from exclusively grabbing the keyboard, and thus disabling global hotkeys. |
ConfineMouse |
0/1 |
Boolean - Confine the mouse to the program's window while it is focused. Focus must then be changed with the keyboard. |
NoPrimarySelection |
0/1 |
Boolean - Disable getting (pasting) or setting (copying) the PRIMARY X selection (usually done by middle clicks). |
NoResolutionChange |
0/1 |
Boolean - Disable setting screen resolution. |
MainX/Y |
Integer | The X11 coordinates of your primary monitor (or left-top-most monitor to be used for games) |
MainW/H |
Integer | The resolution of your primary monitor (or total resolution of monitors to be used for games) |
DesktopW/H |
Integer | The resolution of your desktop (all monitors combined) |
Debug |
Integer | Log level - Non-zero enables debugging output to stderr and /tmp/hax11.log |
MSTnX/Y/W/H |
Integer | Coordinates and sizes of additional MST monitors (n can be 2, 3 or 4). |
MapK/Binteger |
Key | Map keys or buttons - see below |
Beware that your window manager and shell use the same APIs, thus having other options enabled for such programs may make other monitors unusable.
A sensible configuration is to have JoinMST=1 and the Main* / Desktop* settings in the default profile,
and per-game settings in their executables' profiles.
Here is an example configuration for a two-monitor system. On the left is a 1920x1200 monitor; on the right, a 4K monitor which presents itself as two 1920x2160 panels. The goal is to have games running full-screen on the 4K monitor.
In ~/.config/hax11/profiles/default:
JoinMST=1
# Top-left coordinate of your main (4K) screen
MainX=1920
MainY=0
# Width and height of the 4K screen
MainW=3840
MainH=2160
Then, in ~/.config/hax11/profiles/path\to\game\binary:
Enable=1
# If this is insufficient, you can also try:
# ResizeWindows=1
# MoveWindows=1
# ResizeAll=1
# Check the status section for example configurations for some games.
You can map a key or mouse button to one or more keys / mouse buttons using configuration lines in the form Map ( K | B ) integer = ( K | B ) integer.
The integer is the key or button code, and can be found using e.g. the xev utility.
Defining the same key or button on the left side of = allows mapping it to multiple keys / buttons.
The original key / button event is suppressed. To include it, map the key / button to itself.
Example - reverse the Left and Right arrow keys:
MapK113=K114
MapK114=K113
Example - making the left mouse button click also generate an F4 key press (in addition to sending itself):
MapB1=B1
MapB1=K70
You can install this library system-wide, so that it is loaded into all applications on start-up.
Warning! This project may or may not be compatible with your system. Installing this library system-wide may put your system into an unusable state. Before installation, make sure you're capable of uninstalling this library if X, your desktop environment, etc. refuses to start.
This will install the libraries under /usr/local/lib{32,64}, and a script under /etc/profile.d:
$ make installLog out and back in (or reboot) to apply the hack to all applications.
The following table represents the results of testing this library on the author's machine, consisting of a 1920x1200 monitor at (0,0), and a 4K monitor in MST mode (thus presenting itself as two 1920x2160 panels) at (1920,0). The 4K monitor is the primary one.
The desired result (and solution listed to achieve said result) is to launch the game in full-screen on the 4K monitor, at 4K resolution if the game supports it.
| Game | Status |
|---|---|
| 10,000,000 | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows) |
| 140 | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| 3089 | Java. Resolution selector is completely broken, throws NullPointerException |
| Adventures of Shuggy | Works (not needed) |
| And Yet It Moves | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, then set <Resolution>...</Resolution> in ~/.Broken Rules/And Yet It Moves/common/commonConfig.xml) |
| Anodyne | Adobe Air version doesn't start (exits with code 5); standalone (.swf) version can't get past the calibration screen |
| Antichamber | Works (not needed) |
| Aquaria (Steam) | Works (ResizeWindows, then set resx and resy in ~/.Aquaria/preferences/usersettings.xml) |
| Aquaria (tarball) | Works (as above) |
| Avadon: The Black Fortress | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows) |
| Bad Hotel | Works (ResizeWindows + ResizeAll) |
| The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth | Works (not needed) |
| BIT.TRIP RUNNER | Does not actually have a Linux port on Steam |
| Blueberry Garden | Works (ResizeWindows) |
| Bridge Constructor Playground | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| Card City Nights | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| Crimsonland | Works (ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Darwinia | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, change the resolution to fix AR) |
| DEFCON | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Dota 2 | Works (ResizeWindows + "Use my monitor's current resolution") |
| Dungeons of Dredmor | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, set resolution in the launcher) |
| Dust: An Elysian Tail | Works (ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Dynamite Jack | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Escape Goat | Works (ResizeWindows + ResizeAll) |
| Eversion | Works (not needed) |
| Faerie Solitaire [Beta] | Works (ResizeWindows) |
| Garry's Mod | Works (Source - ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Gigantic Army | Works (not needed) |
| Gone Home | Doesn't start at all on my machine |
| Guacamelee! Gold Edition | Works (ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Half-Life 2: Deathmatch | Works (Source - ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Heavy Bullets | Works (not needed) |
| Hexcells | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| HyperRogue | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, then set the resolution on the first line of ~/.hyperrogue.ini) |
| Intrusion 2 | Works (not needed) |
| Jazzpunk | Works (MoveWindows) |
| Lugaru HD | Works (ResizeWindows, then set the resolution in ~/.lugaru/Data/config.txt) |
| Lume | Works (ResizeWindows, then Ctrl+F to exit full screen, drag to correct monitor, Ctrl+F to enter full screen) |
| The Magic Circle | Works (MoveWindows) |
| Multiwinia | Crashes after the splash screen on my machine |
| Osmos | Works (not needed) |
| Outlast | Works (ResizeWindows, then change the resolution) |
| Papers, Please | Works (not needed) |
| Perfection. | TODO - Queries resolution via proprietary NVIDIA protocol extension |
| Psychonauts | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, then set the resolution on the first line of $XDG_DATA_HOME/Psychonauts/DisplaySettings.ini) |
| Quest of Dungeons | Works (ResizeWindows) |
| Risk of Rain | Works (not needed) |
| Satazius | Works (not needed) |
| Shatter | Works (ResizeWindows) |
| Sigils of Elohim | Doesn't seem to have a full-screen mode. Works otherwise |
| Snuggle Truck | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| Soul Axiom | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| Starbound | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows) |
| Sunless Sea | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows + ResizeAll, then set the resolution to 1920x1080) |
| Super Hexagon | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows) |
| Superfrog HD | TODO - Wrong scaling |
| Teleglitch: DME | Works (not needed) |
| Terraria | Works (not needed) |
| Teslagrad | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| They Bleed Pixels | Works (ResizeWindows) |
| Tiki Man | Works (Unity - MoveWindows) |
| TIS-100 | Works (MoveWindows) |
| Uplink | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows + ResizeAll) |
| Voxatron | Works (ResizeWindows), though the KDE panel remains on top for some reason. |
| VVVVVV | Works (not needed) |
| World of Goo | Works (MoveWindows + ResizeWindows, then copy .../World of Goo/properties/config.txt to ~/.WorldOfGoo/config.txt and set screen_width/screen_height) |
Copyright (c) 2015-2018 hax11 authors.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.