TrackPoint-3D

Emulate a 3D mouse (6DOF) using a relative pointing device and keyboard. Requires Linux, /dev/uinput, and Nix with flakes enabled. The installed service also requires systemd. For applications using the SpaceNavigator API, install and run spacenavd.

Controls

• F8 toggles capture; configure another key if needed.
• Orbit by default; hold Shift for tilt or Ctrl for pan.
• During capture, mouse buttons and wheel events pass through a virtual mouse.
• Capture changes wait until held mouse buttons are released.

Try without installing

Build the binaries, select devices into a temporary configuration file, and run in the foreground.

nix build github:Fsmount/trackpoint-3d
trial_dir=$(mktemp -d)
trial_config="$trial_dir/config"
sudo ./result/bin/trackpoint-3d-configure --config "$trial_config"
sudo ./result/libexec/trackpoint-3d --config "$trial_config"
# After Ctrl+C stops the daemon:
sudo rm -- "$trial_config"
rmdir -- "$trial_dir"

/dev/uinput must already exist. If it does not, sudo modprobe uinput loads the kernel module for the current boot.

Both executables require an explicit absolute --config path.

Install

Build as your regular user; use sudo to install and configure:

nix build github:fsmount/trackpoint-3d
sudo ln -sfnT "$(readlink -f result)" /nix/var/nix/gcroots/trackpoint-3d
sudo install -Dm644 result/share/trackpoint-3d/trackpoint-3d.service /etc/systemd/system/trackpoint-3d.service
echo uinput | sudo tee /etc/modules-load.d/trackpoint-3d.conf
sudo modprobe uinput
sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo ./result/bin/trackpoint-3d-configure --config /etc/trackpoint-3d/trackpoint-3d.env
sudo systemctl enable --now trackpoint-3d

Use nix develop github:fsmount/trackpoint-3d for a development shell.

Configure

Choose devices and gain, then press the capture key on the selected keyboard. Enter q at text prompts to cancel.

sudo ./result/bin/trackpoint-3d-configure --config /etc/trackpoint-3d/trackpoint-3d.env
sudo systemctl restart trackpoint-3d

For manual edits, use sudoedit /etc/trackpoint-3d/trackpoint-3d.env, then restart:

Setting	Value
TP_EVENT	Quoted pointer path; prefer /dev/input/by-id or by-path
KBD_EVENT	Quoted keyboard path; prefer /dev/input/by-id or by-path
GAIN	Positive finite decimal; default 60
HOTKEY	Keyboard key name or numeric keycode; default KEY_F8 (66)

Invalid known settings prevent startup, unknown settings warns and are skipped. Diagnostics identify the configuration file, line, and setting name.

Inspect status with systemctl status trackpoint-3d and logs with journalctl -u trackpoint-3d -f.

Upgrade

Repeat the first three installation commands, then:

sudo systemctl daemon-reload
sudo systemctl restart trackpoint-3d