Overview

libwacom is a library to identify Wacom tablets and their model-specific features. It provides easy access to information such as "is this a built-in on-screen tablet", "what is the size of this model", etc.

This functionality is currently used by e.g. GNOME to map built-in tablets to the correct screen.

Adding tablet descriptions to libwacom

A common indicator that a device is not supported by libwacom is that it works normally in a GNOME session, but the device is not correctly mapped to the screen.

Use the

libwacom-list-local-devices

/proc/bus/input/devices

xinput list

libwacom-list-devices

To add support for a new tablet to libwacom git:

1. Create a new tablet definition file. See

   data/wacom.example

   in the source for a guideline on how to add a new tablet. For an installed version of libwacom, see the existing data files (e.g.

   /usr/share/libwacom/cintiq-13hd.tablet

   )
2. A new tablet description is enabled by adding and installing a new file with a

   .tablet

   suffix. Once installed the tablet is part of libwacom's database, no rebuild is neccessary
3. The tablet is then available through

   libwacom-list-local-devices

You must update udev after installing the file, see below.

To add support for a tablet to an installed libwacom

If the system-provided libwacom does not include a

.tablet

.tablet

libwacom 1.10 and newer

Copy the

.tablet

/etc/libwacom

libwacom-update-db

$ cp my-tablet-file-from-upstream.tablet /etc/libwacom/
$ libwacom-update-db /etc/libwacom

The tool will take care of updating udev, the hwdb, etc.

libwacom 1.9 and earlier

For versions of libwacom <= 1.9, the file must be copied to

/usr/share/libwacom

You must update udev after installing the file. The simplest (and broadest) way to do this is outlined below:

# create the hwdb file
$ cat  /etc/udev/hwdb.d/66-libwacom.hwdb
# WARNING: change "Your Device Name" to the actual name of your device
libwacom:name:Your Device Name*:input:*
 ID_INPUT=1
 ID_INPUT_TABLET=1
 ID_INPUT_JOYSTICK=0

libwacom:name:Your Device Name Pad:input:*
 ID_INPUT_TABLET_PAD=1
Use this if the device is an external tablet
libwacom:name:Your Device Name Finger:input:*
 ID_INPUT_TOUCHPAD=1
Use this if the device is a screen tablet
libwacom:name:Your Device Name Finger:input:*
 ID_INPUT_TOUCHSCREEN=1
EOF
$ systemd-hwdb --update

Now disconnect and reconnect the device and it should be detected by libwacom.

API Documentation

The API documentation is available at https://linuxwacom.github.io/libwacom/