What Is the AutoKey 0.96.0 Documentation Website?

Updated

The AutoKey 0.96.0 documentation at autokey.github.io is the official reference site for AutoKey version 0.96.0. It explains what AutoKey is, how its features are organized, and how to automate keyboard and mouse actions through its scripting API. It is a documentation resource, not a download page or a tutorial series, so it is most useful when you already have AutoKey installed and need to look up a concept, an API method, or a concrete example.

What the site covers

The documentation is organized into three main areas, plus a short introduction.

Introduction to AutoKey

This section answers the basic questions a new user has before writing any script:

  • A glossary of AutoKey terms, so the rest of the documentation is readable
  • How things are organized in the application
  • How to "source" your settings on a new computer, which matters if you move between machines
  • Why you would use AutoKey and what it does for you, illustrated with examples
  • A plain explanation of what AutoKey is and how it works

If you are evaluating whether AutoKey fits your workflow, this is the section to read first. The examples show the kind of repetitive typing and clicking that AutoKey is meant to remove.

Common actions

This section walks through practical tasks, starting with adding abbreviations. An abbreviation is the simplest AutoKey feature: you type a short trigger and AutoKey expands it into longer text. The documentation treats this as the entry point before moving on to scripts.

Autokey API

This is the largest part of the site and the reason most people return to it. It is a method-by-method reference, grouped by the kind of input or data you are working with.

API area What it lets a script do
Keyboard Send key presses and releases, type strings, and wait for key events
Mouse Move the cursor, click at absolute or relative positions, press and release buttons, scroll, select an area, and wait for a click
Store Save and retrieve values, including global values, and check for or remove stored keys
QtDialog Present dialogs such as a calendar or a chooser

The Keyboard API is the most detailed. It documents send modes that control how text is delivered, including KEYBOARD, CB_CTRL_V, CB_CTRL_SHIFT_V, CB_SHIFT_INSERT, and SELECTION. The choice of send mode matters because each one delivers text through a different mechanism, and some applications respond better to one than another. The API also lists the individual key constants, from Key.LEFT and Key.BACKSPACE through the function keys up to Key.F35, plus numpad keys and modifiers such as Key.CONTROL, Key.ALT, and Key.SUPER.

The Mouse API follows the same pattern: button constants (LEFT, MIDDLE, RIGHT, scroll directions, BACKWARD, FORWARD, BUTTON10) and methods for clicking, moving, pressing, releasing, scrolling, and waiting.

How to use the site effectively

The documentation is a reference, so the fastest path depends on what you already know.

  • New to AutoKey: read the introduction and the glossary before touching the API pages. The terminology (phrases, scripts, folders) is used consistently throughout, and skipping the glossary makes the API pages harder to follow.
  • Setting up a second machine: go straight to the "source settings on a new computer" page in the introduction.
  • Writing a script: open the API section for the input type you need. If you are sending text, read the send-mode descriptions before choosing one, since the mode changes how the text arrives in the target application.
  • Looking for a specific key or button: the constant lists are exhaustive, so scan them rather than guessing at a name.

A worked example of the reference style

Suppose a script needs to press and release a modifier around a keystroke. The Keyboard API separates press_key(), release_key(), and send_key(), which tells you that holding a key down and sending a complete keystroke are different operations. A script that needs Shift held across several inputs would call press_key() with the Shift constant, perform the inputs, then call release_key(). A script that only needs one combined keystroke would use send_key() instead. The documentation gives you the method names and the key constants; the sequencing is up to you.

What the site does not provide

The documentation is version-specific: it describes AutoKey 0.96.0, so behavior or method names may differ in other releases. It is also a reference rather than a guided course, and the site itself does not present pricing or installation instructions in the material available here. Treat it as the place to confirm how a method or constant works, and rely on the introduction pages when you need the conceptual background first.