Unable to run 'keyboard.is_pressed' on Mac

Question

Im trying to make a script where every time I press x, it prints y.

When I run the code:

import keyboard

if keyboard.is_pressed('x'):
    print ("y")

The console outputs:

   raise OSError("Error 13 - Must be run as administrator")
OSError: Error 13 - Must be run as administrator

Thanks!

Undervest

Error message seems straightforward. Try running it as administrator. Maybe the keyboard module needs that in OSX. – Shingles

Could you also show us the entire console output? I assume that line of code is only the end of the traceback, and you don't actually have a raise OSError in your code. – Shingles

Yea, here is the entire error: Exception in thread Thread-1: Traceback (most recent call last): File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/threading.py", line 916, in _bootstrap_inner self.run() File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/threading.py", line 864, in run self._target(*self._args, **self._kwargs) – Undervest

File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/keyboard/__init__.py", line 292, in listen _os_keyboard.listen(self.direct_callback) File "/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/lib/python3.6/site-packages/keyboard/_darwinkeyboard.py", line 430, in listen raise OSError("Error 13 - Must be run as administrator") OSError: Error 13 - Must be run as administrator – Undervest

Im not sure how to run as administrator – Undervest

Can you edit your question to put in the full traceback? I don't know much about OSX so I can't really help but I'm sure it'll be easier for someone else to answer your question that way. – Shingles

Answer 1

You can't run a script with virtual keyboard inputs like you regular python file in the macOS terminal due to a security feature.

Let's assume your filename is script.py.

If you type

python3 script.py

macOS would view this as a security breach as recording keyboard inputs (like keyboard.is_pressed('x')) is a typical method for recording someone's password as they type it in on a website, application, etc.

---

To prevent that error, you'd need to run the file as an administrator.

To do so, type:

sudo python3 script.py

It will ask you for your user's password and then proceed to execute the code.

Vicarious

This (sudo) resulted in "sh: segmentation fault sudo python3 pythonstuff.py" on macOS Monterey. – Mayda

keyboard is a module for windows and linux (that's what it says while installing it) – Lao

Answer 2

The keyboard module registers global key events (they trigger without application focus) and this requires administrator permissions under MacOS.

Assure

Which makes this module pretty much useless ... who would like to run Python code as administrator (or any other code for that matter). – Mayda

Answer 3

You could also go to system settings -> Privacy & Security and find give python access to control your keyboard

Dacy

As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. – Neighborhood

Answer 4

You should start idle3 using sudo in terminal, and then in that sudo session of idle3 open your .py file which use keyboard module. It works fine on my Mac OS 10.15.7 and Python 3.12.3

sudo idle3

Regulation

Note that running an IDE or any code or basically anything with super user permissions is a possible security risk. This might solve the question at hand but may introduce more serious problems. – Gadgetry