mgba does not allow background input

[SpectralGrim]

I tried to run a pyautogui script on my raspberry pi 5 togehter with mgba, so I built a listener to catch the evdev event when I press a specific button on my controller to execute the pyautogui script when I'm playing on mgba. But if I use the controller with mgba active, the input gets not recognized by the listener because the input is not shared to the listener, as it is not a background input, but only recognized by mgba.

So what I want to do is simple: Press Y button on my controller, fullfill some automated steps in the game
AND use the controller also to control the game

pyautogui script:

import pyautogui
import time
pyautogui.press('f1')
time.sleep(4)
pyautogui.press('s')
time.sleep(3)
pyautogui.press('a')
time.sleep(3)
pyautogui.press('a')

listener script

import evdev
from evdev import InputDevice, categorize, ecodes
import subprocess
device = InputDevice('/dev/input/event11')
print(f"Listening for button press on {device.path}...")
BUTTON_CODE = 308
script_path = "/home/grim/Downloads/pyautogui shiny reset.py"
for event in device.read_loop():
    if event.type == ecodes.EV_KEY:
        key_event = categorize(event)
        
        if key_event.scancode == BUTTON_CODE and key_event.keystate == key_event.key_down:
            print(f"Button {BUTTON_CODE} pressed, executing script...")
            subprocess.run(["python3", script_path])

[endrift]

So is the problem that the controller is not recognized by mGBA while mGBA is not active? You have a run-on sentence trying to explain what the problem is, and I'm not able to follow.

If that's the case, that seems strange considering #1378 and #2169 both exist, one for keyboard and one for controller.

[SpectralGrim]

When mGBA is active, inputs into mGBA are only known by mGBA, but there is no throughput to os.
mGBA is using all ressources of a controller when mGBA is active.

It's the opposite issue of #1378

Userstory:
I want to use my xbox controller to play on mGBA, but I also want to map the Y-Button of the same controller to another application and control both applications at the same time. When mGBA is active, you can not use a button of the same controller for another application at the same time, because the input from the controller is not a background input to os.

It would be awesome to have a checkbox to allow other inputs to other applications while mGBA is active for 0.12.0 Milestone

Keep up the good work.

[SpectralGrim]

The reason my pyautogui script isn't working with mgba is that pyautogui operates by simulating higher-level inputs through the operating system's graphical user interface (GUI). These inputs are not recognized as direct inputs at the hardware level, which is what mgba expects when running.