AutoHotkey Integration Reference¶

Complete reference for skippy-ahk.ahk - Desktop automation via AutoHotkey v2.

Requirements¶

AutoHotkey v2 installed
Default location: C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey64.exe

Basic Usage¶

$ahk = "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey64.exe"
& $ahk "C:\Users\ejb71\SkippyBuddy\tools\skippy-ahk.ahk" <command> [args...]

Commands¶

click¶

Click at screen coordinates.

click <x> <y> [button]

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Values
x	Integer	Yes	-	X coordinate
y	Integer	Yes	-	Y coordinate
button	String	No	left	left, right, middle

Examples:

# Left click at (100, 200)
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk click 100 200

# Right click
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk click 500 300 right

# Middle click
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk click 500 300 middle

Output: OK: Clicked left at 100,200

dclick¶

Double-click at screen coordinates.

dclick <x> <y>

Examples:

# Double-click to open file
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk dclick 150 300

Output: OK: Double-clicked at 150,300

move¶

Move mouse cursor to coordinates.

move <x> <y>

Examples:

# Move to top-left corner
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk move 0 0

# Move to specific position
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk move 500 300

Output: OK: Moved to 500,300

type¶

Type a text string (simulates keyboard input).

type <text>

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
text	String	Yes	Text to type (can include special keys)

Special Keys in Type:

Key	Syntax
Enter	`{Enter}`
Tab	`{Tab}`
Backspace	`{Backspace}` or `{BS}`
Delete	`{Delete}` or `{Del}`
Escape	`{Escape}` or `{Esc}`
Space	`{Space}`
Arrow keys	`{Up}`, `{Down}`, `{Left}`, `{Right}`

Examples:

# Simple text
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "Hello World"

# Multi-line
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "Line 1{Enter}Line 2{Enter}Line 3"

# With tabs
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "Name{Tab}Value{Tab}Description"

Output: OK: Typed 11 characters

send¶

Send keystrokes using AHK syntax.

send <keys>

Key Modifiers:

Symbol	Modifier
`^`	Ctrl
`!`	Alt
`+`	Shift
`#`	Windows

Common Key Sequences:

Keys	Meaning
`^c`	Ctrl+C (copy)
`^v`	Ctrl+V (paste)
`^s`	Ctrl+S (save)
`^z`	Ctrl+Z (undo)
`^a`	Ctrl+A (select all)
`!{F4}`	Alt+F4 (close window)
`^+s`	Ctrl+Shift+S (save as)
`#{r}`	Win+R (run dialog)
`#{d}`	Win+D (show desktop)
`#{e}`	Win+E (explorer)
`{Enter}`	Enter key
`{Escape}`	Escape key
`{F1}` - `{F12}`	Function keys

Examples:

# Copy selection
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^c"

# Paste
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^v"

# Save document
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^s"

# Close window
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "!{F4}"

# Open Run dialog
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "#{r}"

# Press Enter
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "{Enter}"

# Ctrl+Shift+S
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^+s"

Output: OK: Sent keys

getpos¶

Get current mouse cursor position.

getpos

Output: POS:500,300

Usage in PowerShell:

$pos = & $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk getpos
if ($pos -match "POS:(\d+),(\d+)") {
    $x = $matches[1]
    $y = $matches[2]
    Write-Host "Mouse at X=$x, Y=$y"
}

activate¶

Bring a window to the foreground by title.

activate <title>

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
title	String	Yes	Window title (partial match)

Examples:

# Activate Notepad
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "Notepad"

# Activate by partial title
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "Visual Studio Code"

# Activate specific file
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "readme.md"

Output: - Success: OK: Activated window - Failure: ERROR: Window not found: Notepad

wait¶

Wait for a window to appear, then activate it.

wait <title> [timeout]

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
title	String	Yes	-	Window title to wait for
timeout	Integer	No	10	Seconds to wait

Examples:

# Wait up to 10 seconds for Save dialog
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk wait "Save As"

# Wait up to 30 seconds
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk wait "Download Complete" 30

Output: - Success: OK: Window appeared - Timeout: ERROR: Window did not appear within 10s

help¶

Show help message with all commands.

help

Complete Example Workflows¶

Open Notepad and Write Text¶

$ahk = "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey64.exe"

# Open Notepad via Run dialog
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "#{r}"
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 500
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "notepad"
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "{Enter}"

# Wait for window
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk wait "Untitled - Notepad" 5

# Type content
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "Hello from Skippy!{Enter}{Enter}This was automated."

# Save
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^s"

Copy Text from One App to Another¶

# Activate source window
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "Source Document"
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 200

# Select all and copy
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^a"
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^c"
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 100

# Activate destination
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "Destination"
Start-Sleep -Milliseconds 200

# Paste
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "^v"

Fill a Form¶

# Activate form window
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "Registration Form"

# Fill fields (Tab between them)
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "John Doe{Tab}"
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "john@example.com{Tab}"
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk type "555-1234{Tab}"

# Submit (assuming button is focused)
& $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk send "{Enter}"

Error Handling¶

All commands return output text starting with:

OK: - Success
ERROR: - Failure
POS: - Position data (getpos only)

PowerShell Pattern:

$result = & $ahk tools\skippy-ahk.ahk activate "Window"
if ($result -match "^ERROR:") {
    Write-Host "Failed: $result"
} else {
    Write-Host "Success"
}

Troubleshooting¶

"AutoHotkey not found"¶

Verify installation:

Test-Path "C:\Program Files\AutoHotkey\v2\AutoHotkey64.exe"

"Window not found"¶

Check exact window title (case-sensitive)
Try partial title match

Ensure window exists:

Get-Process | Where-Object { $_.MainWindowTitle -like "*Notepad*" }

Commands not working¶

Run AHK script directly to see errors
Check if target app blocks automation
Verify coordinates are on-screen

Security Notes¶

Automation Risks

AHK can: - Send any keystrokes (including passwords if typed) - Click anywhere on screen - Interact with any application

Use with caution and never automate sensitive operations.

Focus Requirements

Most commands require the target window to be focused. Use activate first.