---
name: "syndaemon"
section: "1"
platform: "linux"
package: "xf86-input-synaptics"
version: "1.10.0-1"
release: "Arch Linux 2026-11-01"
platforms: ["linux"]
url: "https://new.carta.tech/syndaemon"
---

# syndaemon(1)

a program that monitors keyboard activity and disables the touchpad when the keyboard is being used.

## NAME

syndaemon - a program that monitors keyboard activity and disables the touchpad when the keyboard is being used.

## SYNOPSIS

syndaemon \[*-i idle-time*\] \[*-m poll-inverval*\] \[*-d*\] \[*-p pid-file*\] \[*-t*\] \[*-k*\] \[*-K*\] \[*-R*\]

## DESCRIPTION

Disabling the touchpad while typing avoids unwanted movements of the pointer that could lead to giving focus to the wrong window.

## OPTIONS

- **-i** \<*idle-time*\>

  How many seconds to wait after the last key press before enabling the touchpad. (default is 2.0s).

- **-m** \<*poll-interval*\>

  How many milliseconds to wait between two polling intervals. If this value is too low, it will cause unnecessary wake-ups. If this value is too high, some key presses (press and release happen between two intervals) may not be noticed. This switch has no effect when running with **-R**. Default is 200ms.

- **-d**

  Start as a daemon, ie in the background.

- **-p** \<*pid-file*\>

  Create a pid file with the specified filename. A pid file will only be created if the program is started in daemon mode.

- **-t**

  Only disable tapping and scrolling, not mouse movements, in response to keyboard activity.

- **-k**

  Ignore modifier keys when monitoring keyboard activity.

- **-K**

  Like -k but also ignore Modifier+Key combos.

- **-R**

  Use the XRecord extension for detecting keyboard activity instead of polling the keyboard state.

- **-?**

  Show the help message.

## ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES

- **DISPLAY**

  Specifies the X server to contact.

## EXIT CODES

If syndaemon exists with a return code other than 0, the error encountered is as below.

- **Exit code 1**

  **Invalid commandline argument.**

- **Exit code 2**

  **The connection to the X sever could not be established or no touchpad device** **could be found.**

- **Exit code 3**

  **The fork into daemon mode failed or the pid file could not be created.**

- **Exit code 4**

  **XRECORD requested but not available or usable on the server.**

## CAVEATS

**It doesn't make much sense to connect to a remote X server, because** **the daemon will then monitor the remote server for keyboard activity,** **but will disable the touchpad on the local machine.**

## AUTHORS

**Peter Osterlund \<petero2@telia.com\>.**

- **This man page was written by Mattia Dongili \<malattia@debian.org\>**

  ## SEE ALSO

**[Xorg(1)](/Xorg/1.md), [synclient(1)](/synclient/1.md), [synaptics(4)](/synaptics/4.md)**