udev-joystick-blacklist

Fix for keyboard/mouse/tablet being detected as joystick in Linux.

There are several devices that, although recognized by kernel as joysticks, are not joysticks. This repository contains rules that will prevent the non-functional /dev/input/js* and /dev/input/event* devices from being used, by removing read/write permissions from them.

This is just a blacklist, which will always be incomplete (until the actual bug gets fixed). Feel free to add more devices to this list.

How to install

Version that changes permissions to 0000

sudo curl -o /etc/udev/rules.d/51-these-are-not-joysticks.rules \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/denilsonsa/udev-joystick-blacklist/master/51-these-are-not-joysticks.rules

Version that removes the device

sudo curl -o /etc/udev/rules.d/51-these-are-not-joysticks-rm.rules \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/denilsonsa/udev-joystick-blacklist/master/51-these-are-not-joysticks-rm.rules

Which version should I use?

Personally, I'd try the first version (that sets permissions to 0000) first. If it does not work or if it gives trouble for some reason, I'd try the second version (that removes the device).

The first version (that sets permissions to 0000) seems to work fine across several distros, but some distros (such as OSMC) may have additional rules that end up setting the permssions back to another value. In such case, the second version (that removes the device) should work.

In the end, it's up to you, and it's about what works best for you and your system.

How it works

Matching

A rule will match if:

The subsystem is input;
The pair idVendor and idProduct is in this list;
Either one of:
- The device property ID_INPUT_JOYSTICK is set;
- Or the device name matches js[0-9]*.

Actions

The following actions are taken on each matching rule:

Clears ID_INPUT_JOYSTICK property, which prevents some /lib/udev/rules.d/* rules from running.
Depending on which version you installed:
- Removes read and write permissions by setting MODE="0000". This effectively prevents the device from being used.
- Removes the device file from /dev/input/. This also prevents the device from being found or from being listed.

It is not possible to rename a device, so NAME="not-a-joystick%n" will not work.

Learning more about udev rules

Documentation: http://www.freedesktop.org/software/systemd/man/udev.html (and also the manpages installed on your system).
Debugging udev rules: http://www.jpichon.net/blog/2011/12/debugging-udev-rules/.
Nice (but outdated) udev tutorial: http://www.reactivated.net/writing_udev_rules.html.

Troubleshooting

Look at the generated /dev files: ls -l /dev/input/

Unplug and plug your USB device while monitoring for kernel and udev events: udevadm monitor -p

Look for other udev rules that may interact with the same device: grep -i '\bjs\b\|joystick' /lib/udev/rules.d/* /etc/udev/rules.d/*

Testing joystick detection

These tools list and interact with all available/detected joysticks:

jstest-gtk
pygame-joystick-test.py
- https://bitbucket.org/denilsonsa/pygame-joystick-test/
- https://bitbucket.org/denilsonsa/pygame-joystick-test/src/default/pygame-joystick-test.py
- Uses Python 2.x and Pygame, which uses SDL.
wine control.exe joy.cpl
- https://www.winehq.org/
- The Wine control panel includes a Game Controllers configuration.
steam -bigpicture
- http://store.steampowered.com/bigpicture
- Valve's Steam → Big Picture mode → ⚙ Settings → Controller.

Bug reports and mentions

There are reports of this issue on different distros and projects.

Known devices

For the complete list, look at generate_rules.py script.

A4 Tech mouse and/or keyboard.
Microsoft mouse and/or keyboard.
Wacom tablets.
Cooler Master mouse.

Contributing

The best ways to contribute are by creating a new issue or by making a pull request. Make sure you mention the device name/description and the vendor/product IDs. The relevant line from lsusb output is usually enough.

This repository contains a list of devices compiled from contributions of several people. I cannot test every single device. If something does not work for you even after you have added the correct rules, please try debugging it on your own system. The output of udevadm monitor -p may prove very helpful. Also look at the output of ls -l /dev/input/.

History of this repository

After suffering with this issue for a long time, I decided to investigate possible fixes and workarounds. Then, in May 2015, after searching a lot for a solution, I've managed to create some udev rules that fixed the issue for my devices and decided to share this solution with other people. Initially, I shared the simple file at GitHub Gist. Over time, people submitted contributions through comments, and keeping that file on Gist was becoming too hard to manage.

In October 2015, I decided to move the file to this GitHub repository. That way, it will be easier to make changes, to fork, to receive notifications, and essentially to maintain it.

Ideally, the bug in the Linux kernel should be fixed, so that this repository (which is essentially just a workaround) wouldn't be needed anymore.

License

Public domain. Feel free to use this project for whatever purpose you want.

Also, feel free to contribute to the project. And, if you have the knowledge and the skills, consider fixing this bug in the Linux kernel itself.

There is no warranty implied by using this project. Use at your own risk.

kryksyh/udev-joystick-blacklist