Linux KDE Plasma6 Wayland Mouse Gesture Software InputActions - Easystroke Alternative

Today I updated to KDE Plasma 6.4.0, which fixed many minor issues. The scaling issue for Linux WeChat under Wayland no longer requires manually setting environment variables.

Taking this opportunity, I tested some software compatibility. I remembered the long-missing mouse gesture tool Easystroke. Since Easystroke doesn’t support Wayland, continuing to rely on X11 isn’t a long-term solution. So I explored alternatives again and finally found InputActions — as of 2025-06-21, the only mouse gesture tool I’ve found that works smoothly on KDE Plasma 6 (Wayland).

Although it can’t perfectly replace Easystroke, common operations like “close window” and “forward/back” can be achieved by mapping gestures to keyboard shortcuts, meeting daily needs.

System Information

1
Operating System: EndeavourOS
2
KDE Plasma Version: 6.4.0
3
KDE Frameworks Version: 6.15.0
4
Qt Version: 6.9.1
5
Kernel Version: 6.15.2-zen1-1-zen (64-bit)
6
Graphics Platform: Wayland

Installation and Usage

Install according to the project documentation. Only supports Plasma 6 Wayland environment, supports mainstream distros like arch, debian, fedora.

I’m on EndeavourOS which is arch-based, so following the arch installation method. First install build dependencies:

Dependencies

1
sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel git extra-cmake-modules qt6-tools kwin yaml-cpp libevdev

Build

1
git clone https://github.com/taj-ny/InputActions
2
cd InputActions
3
mkdir build
4
cd build
5
cmake ../ -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/usr
6
make
7
sudo make install

Usage

Open “System Settings” > “Window Management” > “Desktop Effects”, scroll to the bottom, check “Input Actions”.

Linux KDE Plasma6 Wayland Mouse Gesture Software InputActions

Click the configure icon to the right of “Input Actions” to open the detailed configuration interface. Click ① “Record stroke” button, then move your mouse to record the gesture trajectory (yes, just move the mouse - no trajectory is displayed and you don’t need to press left or right button, I’ve already stepped in this trap 😂). After recording, click ③ “copy” to copy the recorded trajectory at ② to clipboard.
Create a configuration file combining your recorded gestures.

1
sudo nano /home/user/.config/kwingestures.yml
2
# Note: replace 'user' with your username

1
mouse:
2
  gestures:
3
    - type: stroke
4
      mouse_buttons: [ right ]
5

6
      conditions:
7
        - $window_class contains chrome
8
     # Specify gesture only works in chrome window
9

10
      gestures:
11

12
        - strokes: [ 'AAkAMQBaLP9kVmQA' ]
13
       # Replace content in [ ] with your recorded gesture trajectory
14

15
          actions:
16
            - on: end
17
              input:
18
                - keyboard: [ LEFTCTRL+W ]
19
               # Replace content in [ ] with the shortcut for the gesture
20

21
        - strokes: [ 'ZDEAYwAyZAA=' ]
22
          actions:
23
            - on: end
24
              input:
25
                - keyboard: [ LEFTALT+LEFT ]
26

27
        - strokes: [ 'AC8AAWQ0ZAA=' ]
28
          actions:
29
            - on: end
30
              input:
31
                - keyboard: [ LEFTALT+RIGHT ]

After saving, you need to log out or restart for changes to take effect. After rewriting the config file, mouse gestures may stop working.

References

https://discuss.kde.org/t/available-until-the-end-of-2024-mouse-gestures-support-on-plasma-6-wayland

https://github.com/InputActions/docs/blob/cf320a16a836e267191f8bd9ccbb36450b3b6eb2/configuration.md