# teamsTrick

Keep Microsoft Teams (and any presence system driven by OS idle time) showing
**Available** while you're reading, watching a video, on a call, or otherwise not
touching the keyboard. Teams flips you to *Away* after roughly 5 minutes of no
input; these scripts reset the OS idle timer with a brief, invisible signal so
that never happens.

No third-party packages — each script uses only the standard OS APIs via Python's
`ctypes`.

## Scripts

| Script | Platform | Method |
| --- | --- | --- |
| `stay_active.py` | Linux (X11) | 1px mouse nudge (or key tap) via the X11 XTest extension |
| `stay_active_win.py` | Windows | Invisible F15 key tap (or mouse nudge) via the Win32 `SendInput` API |

## Requirements

- Python 3
- **Linux:** an **X11** session (`echo $XDG_SESSION_TYPE` → `x11`) and the
  `libX11` / `libXtst` system libraries (present on essentially every desktop).
  Wayland is not supported — XTest does not reset the idle timer there.
- **Windows:** nothing beyond Python. If `python` isn't on your PATH, use `py`.

Run the script from **inside your desktop session** (not over SSH) so it can talk
to the display / input system.

## Usage

### Linux

```bash
./stay_active.py                 # default: invisible 1px mouse nudge every 120s
./stay_active.py -i 90           # nudge every 90s
./stay_active.py -m key -k shift # tap Shift instead of moving the mouse
./stay_active.py -q &            # quiet, run in the background
```

### Windows

```
python stay_active_win.py                 # default: invisible F15 tap every 120s
python stay_active_win.py -i 90           # every 90s
python stay_active_win.py -m mouse        # 1px mouse nudge instead
python stay_active_win.py --no-sleep      # also keep the PC/display awake
python stay_active_win.py -q              # quiet, good for background
```

Stop either script with **Ctrl+C**.

## Options

| Flag | Description |
| --- | --- |
| `-i`, `--interval` | Seconds between signals (default `120`). Keep it under Teams' ~300s Away threshold. |
| `-m`, `--method` | `mouse` or `key`. Default is `mouse` on Linux, `key` on Windows. |
| `-k`, `--key` | Which key to tap in key mode (Linux: `f13`–`f15`, `shift`). |
| `--no-sleep` | *(Windows only)* Also prevent the system and display from sleeping. |
| `-q`, `--quiet` | Suppress the heartbeat output. |

## Notes & caveats

- It only prevents the **idle → Away** transition. It does **not** override a
  status you set manually (e.g. *Do Not Disturb*).
- It won't help if the machine **sleeps** — a sleeping PC goes offline regardless.
  On Windows use `--no-sleep`; on Linux disable screen lock / suspend if you need
  to stay green while away for a long time.
- The signals are designed to be invisible: the mouse nudge returns the cursor to
  where it started, and F15 / the chosen keys aren't bound to anything on a normal
  desktop.