Evdev reader for nodeJS

An Evdev events reader.

Quick test : see index.js. Will open any plugged joystick and display events as they come.

node index.js event-<your_event_type>
#Example with joysticks/gamepads :
node index.js "event-joystick"
# If you have multiple similar devices, you can select by index with a third argument :
node index.js "event-joystick" 1

This app is dead simple on purpose to be easily customizable without having to read tons of source code. Please note that this module's main purpose is to provide an easy programming interface for nodejs modules, not a full-featured command line interface.

How it works

Internals

Basics are simple : find event devices, open them and listen for events.

Events are parsed in plain js. C++ native code is only used to make queries.

Options

Example :

{
  raw:false
}

Options Explained

Raw

get raw events or parsed (with string instead of uints).

Opening streams

You can specify evdev files to open in options. Or call the search method.

var reader = new EvdevReader();
reader.search("/dev/input/by-path","event-joystick",function(err){
  //Err should be null.
});

Events

Raw events

When in raw mode, events are emitted under the name "event" with the structure : { time : {tv_sec: , tv_usec: }, type : , code : , value : }

Parsed events

Events are emitted under an "event_type" name, with this structure : { time : {tv_sec: , tv_usec: }, code : , value : }

TODO

• Add more tests
• The app require the running user to be a member of the "input" group. A VM should be provided to allow for easy testing without risking to compromise the system. Alternatively, I'd be best to find a lightweight solution to safely provide inputs when testing.
• Need a way to discover input capabilities and vendor infos like libevdev's libevdev_has_event_code().

Useful resources

Importing event codes

Event codes are found here

Use this regex : .#define (\w)\s*(0?x?[0-9a-f]{1,3}) replace with : $2:"$1",