How to Install AutoHotkey (Linux)

This page is for the AutoHotkey v2 Linux port (branch linux-port of MonoEven/Autohotkey_Linux). It provides an X11 backend (also used on XWayland) and a native Wayland backend. On Windows, install the official AutoHotkey from autohotkey.com instead.

Prebuilt packages (recommended)

Every GitHub release publishes two packages for 64-bit Linux:

Install the .deb package

sudo apt install ./autohotkey-linux-<version>-amd64.deb
ahk your-script.ahk

Install from the tarball

Extract the archive, then run the CLI or GUI installer from the unpacked tree:

tar xzf autohotkey-linux-<version>-amd64.tar.gz
cd autohotkey-linux
./tools/linux/install-gui.sh        # graphical wizard (zenity/yad)
./tools/linux/install.sh --prefix ~/.local
./tools/linux/install.sh            # system-wide (requires root)

The installer places the ahk launcher, the interpreter (ahk_core) and the bundled manual; ahk is also symlinked into ~/.local/bin (or /usr/local/bin).

Once installed, the ahk launcher also provides: ahk uninstall (clean removal) and ahk update [VER] (download + reinstall the latest, or a specific release for upgrading/downgrading, e.g. ahk update 2.0.26-linux.8).

Build from source

git clone --branch linux-port https://github.com/MonoEven/Autohotkey_Linux.git
cd Autohotkey_Linux
cmake -S . -B build-core
cmake --build build-core -j$(nproc)
build-core/source/linux/core/ahk_core your-script.ahk

Requirements: a C++17 compiler, CMake ≥ 3.16, X11/XTest development headers and GTK3 for the GUI; on Debian/Ubuntu: ninja-build libx11-dev libxtst-dev libxrandr-dev libxinerama-dev libxext-dev libxi-dev libwayland-dev wayland-protocols libxkbcommon-dev libffi-dev libdbus-1-dev libgtk-3-dev zlib1g-dev libjpeg-dev. The Wayland backend is optional (used when no X display is available).

Next Steps

See Linux port overview for what works and the differences from Windows AutoHotkey, then Using the Program and the Beginner Tutorial (all documentation applies to the port; platform-specific notes are marked).

These tutorials focus on specific common tasks:

Problems?

If you have problems installing AutoHotkey on Linux, search the issue tracker or open a new issue with the version, your distribution and the output of ahk --version.