Public bug reported:
# Linux/Wayland System Bug Report: ydotoold Root Process Conflict
**Date:** December 14, 2025
**OS:** Ubuntu (Linux)
**Session Type:** Wayland
**Component:** input-remapper / ydotool
## Issue Description
A critical system instability was observed when `ydotoold` (the daemon for
`ydotool`) was running as a root background service in a Wayland session.
### Symptoms
1. **Ghost Input:** The system exhibited uncontrollable, random scrolling
behavior (jumping to the top of the screen/documents).
2. **Process Behavior:** The `ydotoold` process was caught in a restart loop
or was continuously active, consuming resources and injecting erroneous input
events.
3. **Persistence:** The issue persisted until the system-wide `ydotoold`
service was explicitly stopped and disabled.
## Technical Analysis
- **Root Cause:** `ydotoold` running as `root` likely conflicted with Wayland's
strict input security protocols or other input management services (like
libinput), creating a feedback loop or malformed input injection.
- **Affected Configuration:**
- Service: `ydotoold.service` (System-wide)
- Permissions: Root (via sudo)
- Session: Wayland (detected via `$XDG_SESSION_TYPE`)
## Resolution (Workaround applied)
1. **Immediate Fix:** Killed `ydotoold`, `nerd-dictation`, and `speech-note`
processes.
2. **Permanent Fix:**
- Stopped and disabled `ydotoold.service`.
- Switched to `wtype` (Wayland-native typing tool) for automation, avoiding
the need for `ydotool` entirely.
## Recommendation for Distro Maintainers
- Review default `ydotool` systemd service configurations for Wayland
compatibility.
- Consider warning users or defaulting to user-level services (rootless) where
possible to avoid system-wide input hijacking issues.
- Investigate the specific interaction between `ydotoold` 0.x/1.x protocols and
current Wayland compositors (Mutter/GNOME Shell).
ProblemType: Bug
DistroRelease: Ubuntu 25.10
Package: ydotool 0.1.8-3build1
ProcVersionSignature: User Name 6.17.0-8.8-generic 6.17.2
Uname: Linux 6.17.0-8-generic x86_64
ApportVersion: 2.33.1-0ubuntu3
Architecture: amd64
CasperMD5CheckResult: pass
CurrentDesktop: ubuntu:GNOME
Date: Sun Dec 14 03:20:38 2025
Dependencies:
InstallationDate: Installed on 2025-12-01 (13 days ago)
InstallationMedia: Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS "Noble Numbat" - Release amd64
(20240827.1)
ProcEnviron:
LANG=en_US.UTF-8
PATH=(custom, no user)
SHELL=/bin/bash
TERM=xterm
XDG_RUNTIME_DIR=<set>
RebootRequiredPkgs: Error: path contained symlinks.
SourcePackage: ydotool
UpgradeStatus: Upgraded to questing on 2025-12-08 (6 days ago)
** Affects: ydotool (Ubuntu)
Importance: Undecided
Status: New
** Tags: amd64 apport-bug questing wayland-session
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https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/2136018
Title:
ydotools and other in Wayland
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