@paymoapp/real-idle

NodeJS library using native modules to detect the real idle state of the system.

• What this library does
• Getting started
  • Installation
  • Native addon
  • Example
• API
  • Functions
  • Enums
• Platform support
  • Supported functions
  • Supported idle states
  • Default values

Sometimes it's not enough to know how long ago the last input event from the user was, to determine the idle state of the system.

This library can detect on mac and linux if there's a background activity running (for example: watching a video or participating in a Zoom meeting) in which case the user shouldn't be treated as idle.

This is done by requesting the IOPM Assertions (on Mac) and using the IsInhibited DBUS function (on Linux).

npm install --save @paymoapp/real-idle

This project uses NodeJS Native Addons to function, so you can use this library in any NodeJS or Electron project. There won't be any problem with bundling and code signing.

The project uses prebuild to supply prebuilt libraries.

The project uses Node-API version 6. You can check this table to see which node versions are supported.

If there's a compliant prebuilt binary, it will be downloaded during installation, or it will be built. You can also rebuild it anytime by running npm run build:gyp.

The library has native addons for Windows, MacOS and Linux.

You can run a demo application by calling npm run demo and you can tweak the parameters in the demo/electron.js file. For the demo, it is required to start an electron application since on MacOS a GUI session is required to access some functions (although you might get it working in a console application as well).

import RealIdle from '@paymoapp/real-idle';

setTimeout(() => {
	console.log('System idle state:', RealIdle.getIdleState(300));
	console.log('  - Idle seconds:', RealIdle.getIdleSeconds());
	console.log('  - Is screen locked:', RealIdle.getLocked());
	console.log('  - Is idle prevented:', RealIdle.getIdlePrevented());
}, 5000);

type getLocked = () => boolean

Returns true if the screen is locked and false if the screen is unlocked or if the function is not available on the current operating system.

Supported on: MacOS

type getIdleSeconds = () => number

Returns the system idle time in seconds, or -1 if the library couldn't fetch this value.

Supported on: Windows, MacOS, Linux (X11)

type getIdlePrevented = () => boolean

Returns true if the system idle is prevented (the screen would not automatically dim/lock). This is mostly the cause of having a video playing back in the front, attending a meeting, etc. The function returns false if no assertion or inhibitor is set or if the function is not available on the current operating system.

Supported on: MacOS, Linux (X11 and Gnome, but some other desktop environments should work too)

type getIdleState = (idleThreshold: number): IdleState

Returns the idle state of the system based on the idle threshold (in seconds). It's supported on all operating systems, but see the Platform support section for the possible return values.

Supported on: Windows, MacOS, Linux (X11 and Gnome, but some other desktop environments should work too)

enum IdleState {
	active = 'active',
	idlePrevented = 'idle-prevented',
	idle = 'idle',
	locked = 'locked',
	unknown = 'unknown'
}

Meaning:

• active: The user is actively using the system.
• idlePrevented: Something (video playback, meeting, etc) is preventing the system from dimming the screen and locking it. The user may not input events into the system, but he/she is probably using it.
• idle: The user is idle.
• locked: The system is locked.
• unknown: We failed to fetch some parameter or the library is not available for the current operating system.

* See supported idle states below

Even if a function/idle state is unsupported on a specific platform, you can safely call them. They will just return the default value for that function.