125 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
125 lines
4.6 KiB
Markdown
# surface-dial-linux
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A Linux userspace controller for the [Microsoft Surface Dial](https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/p/surface-dial/925r551sktgn). Requires Linux Kernel 4.19 or higher.
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**DISCLAIMER: This software is still under active development!**
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Things will change.
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Things will break.
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Things are probably buggy.
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You've been warned :eyes:
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## Overview
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`surface-dial-daemon` is a background daemon which recieves raw events and translates them to various actions.
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Aside from haptic feedback, the daemon also uses FreeDesktop notifications to provide visual feedback when performing various actions.
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It would be cool to create some sort of GUI overlay (similar to the Windows one), though that's out of scope at the moment.
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## Implementation
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- `libevdev` to read events from the surface dial via `/dev/input/eventXX`
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- `libevdev` to fake input via `/dev/uinput` (for keypresses / media controls)
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- `hidapi` to configure dial sensitivity + haptics
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- `notify-rust` to send notifications over D-Bus
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## Functionality
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- [x] Interpret raw Surface Dial event
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- Operating Modes
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- [x] Volume Controls
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- [x] Media Controls
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- [x] D-Pad (emulated left, right, and space key)
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- [x] Scrolling / Zooming
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- [ ] \(meta\) custom modes specified via config file(s)
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- [x] Dynamically switch between operating modes
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- [x] Using some-sort of on-device mechanism (e.g: long-press)
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- [ ] Context-sensitive (based on currently open application)
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- [x] Mode Persistence (keep mode when dial disconnects)
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- [x] Haptic Feedback
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- https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/design/component-guidelines/radial-controller-protocol-implementation
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- https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/hutrr63b_-_haptics_page_redline_0.pdf
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- https://www.usb.org/sites/default/files/hut1_21.pdf
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- _This was tricky to figure out, but in the end, it was surprisingly straightforward! Big thanks to [Geo](https://www.linkedin.com/in/geo-palakunnel-57718245/) for pointing me in the right direction!_
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- [x] Desktop Notifications
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- [x] On Launch
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- [x] When switching between modes
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- [x] When switching between sub-modes (e.g: scroll/zoom)
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Feel free to contribute new features!
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## Dependencies
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Building `surface-dial-daemon` requires the following:
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- Linux Kernel 4.19 or higher
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- A fairly recent version of the Rust compiler
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- `libevdev`
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- `hidapi`
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You can install Rust through [`rustup`](https://rustup.rs/).
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Unless you're a cool hackerman, the easiest way to get `libevdev` and `hidapi` is via your distro's package manager.
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```bash
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# e.g: on ubuntu
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sudo apt install libevdev-dev libhidapi-dev
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```
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## Building
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`surface-dial-daemon` uses the standard `cargo build` flow.
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```bash
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cargo build -p surface-dial-daemon --release
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```
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The resulting binary is output to `target/release/surface-dial-daemon`
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## Installation
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At the moment, the daemon dies whenever the Surface Dial disconnects (which naturally happens after a brief period of inactivity).
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Instead of doing the Right Thing :tm: and having the daemon detect when the dial connects/disconnects (PRs appreciated!), I've come up with a [cunning plan](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsXKS8Nyu8Q) to spawn the daemon whenever the Surface Dial connects.
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This will only work on systems with `systemd`.
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```bash
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# Install the `surface-dial-daemon` (i.e: build it, and place it under ~/.cargo/bin/surface-dial-daemon)
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# You could also just copy the executable from /target/release/surface-dial-daemon to wherever you like.
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cargo install --path .
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# IMPORTANT: modify the .service file to reflect where you placed the `service-dial-daemon` executable
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vi ./install/surface-dial.service
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# create new group for uinput
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# (the 99-uinput.rules file changes the group of /dev/uinput to this new group)
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sudo groupdadd -f uinput
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# add self to the new uinput group and the existing /dev/input group
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sudo gpasswd -a $(whoami) uinput
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sudo gpasswd -a $(whoami) $(stat -c "%G" /dev/input/event0)
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# install the systemd user service
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mkdir -p ~/.config/systemd/user/
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cp ./install/surface-dial.service ~/.config/systemd/user/surface-dial.service
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# install the udev rules
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sudo cp ./install/99-uinput.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/99-uinput.rules
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sudo cp ./install/50-surface-dial.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/50-surface-dial.rules
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# reload systemd + udev
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systemctl --user daemon-reload
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sudo udevadm control --reload
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```
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You may need to reboot to have the various groups / udev rules propagate.
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## License
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At the moment, this software is deliberately unlicensed. I'm not opposed to adding a license at some point, it's moreso that I don't think the project is at the stage where it needs a license.
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