udev-joystick-blacklist
Fix for keyboard/mouse/tablet being detected as joystick in Linux.
There are several devices that, although recognized by kernel as joysticks, are not joysticks. This repository contains rules that will prevent the non-functional /dev/input/js*
and /dev/input/event*
devices from being recognized as joysticks.
This is just a blacklist, which will always be incomplete (until the actual bug gets fixed). Feel free to add more devices to this list.
How to install
Version that changes permissions to 0000
sudo curl -o /etc/udev/rules.d/51-these-are-not-joysticks.rules \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/denilsonsa/udev-joystick-blacklist/master/51-these-are-not-joysticks.rules
Version that removes the device
sudo curl -o /etc/udev/rules.d/51-these-are-not-joysticks-rm.rules \
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/denilsonsa/udev-joystick-blacklist/master/51-these-are-not-joysticks-rm.rules
Which version should I use?
Personally, I'd try the first version (that sets permissions to 0000
) first. If it does not work or if it gives trouble for some reason, I'd try the second version (that removes the device).
The first version (that sets permissions to 0000
) seems to work fine across several distros, but some distros (such as OSMC, see also issue #26) may have additional rules that end up setting the permssions back to another value. In such case, the second version (that removes the device) should work.
In the end, it's up to you, and it's about what works best for you and your system.
after_kernel_4_9/
?
What's different in A patch has been accepted into Linux kernel 4.9, so that Microsoft devices will not be detected as joysticks anymore. Thus, those devices are not included in after_kernel_4_9/*
. Read issue #20 for details.
How it works
Matching
A rule will match if:
- The subsystem is
input
; - The pair
idVendor
andidProduct
is in this list; - Either one of:
- The device property
ID_INPUT_JOYSTICK
is set; - Or the device name matches
js[0-9]*
.
- The device property
Actions
The following actions are taken on each matching rule:
- Clears
ID_INPUT_JOYSTICK
property, which prevents some/lib/udev/rules.d/*
rules from running. - Depending on which version you installed, one of the following extra actions are applied only for
/dev/input/js*
:- Removes read and write permissions by setting
MODE="0000"
. This effectively prevents the device from being used. - Removes the device file from
/dev/input/
. This also prevents the device from being found or from being listed.
- Removes read and write permissions by setting
It is not possible to rename a device, so NAME="not-a-joystick%n"
will not work.
Learning more about udev rules
- Documentation: http://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/udev.html (and also the manpages installed on your system).
- Debugging udev rules: http://www.jpichon.net/blog/2011/12/debugging-udev-rules/.
- Nice (but outdated) udev tutorial: http://www.reactivated.net/writing_udev_rules.html.
Troubleshooting
Look at the generated /dev
files: ls -l /dev/input/
Unplug and plug your USB device while monitoring for kernel and udev events: udevadm monitor -p
Look for other udev rules that may interact with the same device: grep -i '\bjs\b\|joystick' /lib/udev/rules.d/* /etc/udev/rules.d/*
Testing joystick detection
These tools list and interact with all available/detected joysticks:
- jstest-gtk
- pygame-joystick-test.py
- https://github.com/denilsonsa/pygame-joystick-test/
- Uses Python (2.x or 3.x) and Pygame, which uses SDL.
- sdl-jstest --list and sdl2-jstest --list
- https://github.com/Grumbel/sdl-jstest
- Uses SDL and prints the detected joysticks to stdout.
- SDL1 looks at the first 32 devices named
/dev/input/js*
or/dev/js*
. - SDL2 uses
/dev/input/event*
devices that are marked withID_INPUT_JOYSTICK
.- Either by using libudev, or by testing the first 32 devices.
- wine control.exe joy.cpl
- https://www.winehq.org/
- The Wine control panel includes a Game Controllers configuration.
- It can look at the first 64 devices named
/dev/input/js*
or/dev/js*
. - It can look at the first 64 devices named
/dev/input/event*
.
- steam -bigpicture
- http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture
- Valve's Steam → Big Picture mode →
⚙ Settings → Controller. - Uses SDL2 to detect joysticks.
Bug reports and mentions
There are reports of this issue on different distros and projects.
- https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=28912
- https://bugzilla.kernel.org/show_bug.cgi?id=37982
- https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/linux/+bug/390959
- https://askubuntu.com/questions/173376/how-do-i-disable-joystick-input
- https://ryort.wordpress.com/2011/12/04/udev-and-the-microsoft-digital-media-keyboard-3000-wha/
- https://forum.manjaro.org/index.php?topic=15275.msg144519#msg144519
- https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=190485
- https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=142469
- https://forums.gentoo.org/viewtopic-t-362032.html
- https://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=35954
- ValveSoftware/steam-for-linux#3943
The udev rules in this repository have been added to:
- Debian and Ubuntu
- Debian bug #714399
joystick
package, starting on version 1.4.9-1
But remember that the version distributed elsewhere might be different than the version on this repository.
Known devices
For the complete list, look at generate_rules.py
script.
- A4 Tech mice and/or keyboards.
- Cooler Master mice.
- Microsoft mice and/or keyboards. (Fixed in Linux kernel 4.9.)
- Wacom tablets.
Contributing
The best ways to contribute are by creating a new issue or by making a pull request. Make sure you mention the device name/description and the vendor/product IDs. The relevant line from lsusb
output is usually enough.
This repository contains a list of devices compiled from contributions of several people. I cannot test every single device. If something does not work for you even after you have added the correct rules, please try debugging it on your own system. The output of udevadm monitor -p
may prove very helpful. Also look at the output of ls -l /dev/input/
.
History of this repository
After suffering with this issue for a long time, I decided to investigate possible fixes and workarounds. Then, in May 2015, after searching a lot for a solution, I've managed to create some udev rules that fixed the issue for my devices and decided to share this solution with other people. Initially, I shared the simple file at GitHub Gist. Over time, people submitted contributions through comments, and keeping that file on Gist was becoming too hard to manage.
In October 2015, I decided to move the file to this GitHub repository. That way, it will be easier to make changes, to fork, to receive notifications, and essentially to maintain it.
Ideally, the bug in the Linux kernel should be fixed, so that this repository (which is essentially just a workaround) wouldn't be needed anymore.
License
Public domain. Feel free to use this project for whatever purpose you want.
Also, feel free to contribute to the project. And, if you have the knowledge and the skills, consider fixing this bug in the Linux kernel itself.
There is no warranty implied by using this project. Use at your own risk.