Annot8 - Capture the Moment

Are you tired of having to document your steps, and logging your actions to create documentation, retracing your steps? Annot8 was designed to log keystrokes and store screenshots, to alleviate the need to document every single step while also doing the work.

Just do your work, and let annot8 document the process.

Overview

This script captures user keypresses and screenshots during an interactive session, creating a step-by-step tutorial in Markdown format. It listens for keyboard events, saves screenshots from the clipboard, and tracks keypresses to provide a comprehensive record of actions performed during the session.

Features

• Keypress Logging: Tracks and logs keypresses, converting them into readable text.
• Screenshot Capture: Automatically saves screenshots copied to the clipboard in a dedicated directory.
• Markdown Generation: Creates a Markdown file (tutorial.md) with each step, including keypress context and linked screenshots.
• F9 for Step Completion: Press F9 to mark the end of a step, logging the current keypresses and screenshot.
• Shift & Caps Lock Handling: Accurately processes uppercase characters based on SHIFT and CAPS LOCK status.

Requirements

• Python 3.x
• evdev library for capturing keypresses:

  pip install evdev

• Wayland clipboard tools (wl-paste, wl-copy) for managing clipboard images.
• Linux-based environment (uses evdev and Wayland).

Installation

1. Clone the project or download the script.
2. Install the dependencies (e.g., evdev for keypress capturing and Wayland utilities for clipboard handling).
3. Make sure the script is executed on a Linux system with access to keyboard devices.

How to Run

1. Prepare your environment:

   • Ensure the keyboard input device path is correct (device_path variable).
   • The screenshot tools must be installed (wl-paste and wl-copy).

2. Run the script:

   python3 annot8.py

3. Usage:

   • Perform your actions on the keyboard.
   • Press Print Screen to copy a screenshot to the clipboard.
   • Press F9 to save the current step (including keypresses and the screenshot).
   • The script will save keypresses and screenshots in sequence, and a Markdown file (tutorial.md) will be generated.

4. Stopping the script:

   • Press Ctrl+C to stop the script and generate the Markdown file with all recorded steps.

Output

• Markdown File: A file named tutorial.md will be generated in the project directory with the following format for each step:

  ## Step 1: step description
  **Context**: hello my friend [screenshot_path]

• Screenshots: Screenshots are saved in the screenshots/ folder with filenames based on step numbers and timestamps.

Limitations

• The script is designed for Linux environments using the Wayland display server. It may not work on Windows or macOS without modifications.
• It does not handle input devices that are not keyboards.
• Caps Lock handling is global and affects all text until toggled off.

Future Improvements

• Better Parsing
• Allowing for user defined input for descriptions, file modification, etc.
• Multiple Directories (currently everything goes to the same place)
• Cross platform support
• LLM integration to add step-by-step documentation and reformatting.
• Pausing
• Installation process and system integrations (keybinds)