ahkUnwrapped

I wanted to automate Windows with the coverage and simplicity of the complete AutoHotkey API, yet code in Python, so I created ahkUnwrapped.

AutoHotkey already abstracts the Windows API, so another layer to introduce complexity and slowdowns is undesirable.

Instead, we bundle and bridge AutoHotkey64.exe v2.0, sending your initial script via stdin with a minimal framework to listen for window messages from Python and respond via stdout.

Features

• All of AutoHotkey!
• Minimal framework code and AHK glue.
• Execute arbitrary AHK code or load scripts.
• Won't explode when used from multiple threads.
• Hypothesis powered testing of convoluted Unicode, etc.
• Separate startup sections to test AHK scripts standalone.
• Supports PyInstaller for onedir/onefile installations.
• Complete exception handling:
  • Errors for unsupported values (NaN Inf \0).
  • Unhandled AHK exceptions carry over to Python.
• Special care for:
  • Exceptions with accurate line numbers.
  • Persistent tray icon visibility settings.
  • Descendant process handling.
  • Unexpected exit handling.
  • Minimal latency.

New with 3.0

• Transitioned from AutoHotkey v1 to v2.
• Type support:
  • Persistent types instead of coercion.
  • (..., t=type) for type assertion.
• Dot syntax for object properties and methods.
  • Direct access to UI object members.
  • Arrays with .Push, .Get, etc.

Get started

> uv add ahkunwrapped

call(name, ...) f(name, ..., t=type)
get(var, t=type) set(var, val)

You can immediately interact with standard AutoHotkey functions and variables:

from ahkunwrapped import Script

ahk = Script()
ahk.set('A_Clipboard', "Hello from Python!")

is_notepad_active = ahk.f('WinActive', "ahk_class Notepad", t=bool)
if not is_notepad_active:
    ahk.call('Run', "notepad.exe")

---

You can write a script inline:

from ahkunwrapped import Script

ahk = Script('''
Startup() {
  global myVar := 0
}

LuckyMinimize(winTitle) {
  global myVar := 7
  WinMinimize(winTitle)
}
''')

print(ahk.get('myVar'))
ahk.call('LuckyMinimize', "ahk_class Notepad")
lucky_num = ahk.get('myVar', t=int)

---

Or load it from a file:

from pathlib import Path
from ahkunwrapped import Script

ahk = Script.from_file(Path('hello.ahk'))
ahk.call('Hello', "World!")

hello.ahk:

; global directives
#Warn
#SingleInstance

; AHK-only startup section
A_ScriptName := "AutoHotkey"
Hello("test")
return

; Python-only startup section
Startup() {
  A_ScriptName := "Python"
}

Hello(text) {
  MsgBox("Hello " text)
}

Usage

call(name, ...) f(name, ..., t=type)
Execute a standalone function or a dot-notated object method (e.g., myObj.MyMethod).

• call is for performance, to avoid receiving a large unneeded result.
• f returns the result, optionally type-asserted with t= (otherwise the union float | int | bool | str).

get(var, t=type) set(var, val)
Shorthand for accessing built-ins like A_Clipboard, or global variables and dot-notated properties (e.g., myObj.prop.subProp).

call_main(...) f_main(...)
Execute on AutoHotkey's main thread instead of the OnMessage() listener.
This avoids AhkCantCallOutInInputSyncCallError in constrained threading contexts, but has higher latency.

Event loop with hotkeys

example.py:

import sys
import time
from datetime import datetime
from enum import IntEnum
from pathlib import Path

import schedule

from ahkunwrapped import Script, AhkExitException

choice = None
HOTKEY_SEND_CHOICE = 'F2'


class Event(IntEnum):
    QUIT, SEND_CHOICE, CLEAR_CHOICE, CHOOSE_MONTH, CHOOSE_DAY = range(5)


# `format_dict=` so we can use `{{VARIABLE}}` within example.ahk
ahk = Script.from_file(Path(__file__).parent / 'example.ahk', format_dict=globals())


def main() -> None:
    print("Scroll your mousewheel up and down in Notepad.")
    schedule.every(10).seconds.do(print_time)

    try:
        while True:
            # ahk.poll()  # detect exit, but all `ahk.` functions include this

            event = ahk.get('event', t=int)  # contains `ahk.poll()`
            if event >= 0:
                ahk.set('event', -1)
                on_event(event)

            schedule.run_pending()
            time.sleep(0.1)
    except AhkExitException as e:
        sys.exit(e.args[0])


def print_time() -> None:
    print(f"It is now {datetime.now().time()}")


def on_event(event: int) -> None:
    global choice

    def get_choice() -> str:
        return choice or datetime.now().strftime('%#I:%M %p')

    match event:
        case Event.QUIT:
            ahk.exit()
        case Event.CLEAR_CHOICE:
            choice = None
        case Event.SEND_CHOICE:
            ahk.call('Send', f"{get_choice()} ")
        case Event.CHOOSE_MONTH:
            choice = datetime.now().strftime('%b')
            ahk.call('Notify', f"Month is {get_choice()}, {HOTKEY_SEND_CHOICE} to insert.")
        case Event.CHOOSE_DAY:
            choice = datetime.now().strftime('%#d')
            ahk.call('Notify', f"Day is {get_choice()}, {HOTKEY_SEND_CHOICE} to insert.")


if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()

example.ahk:

#Warn
#SingleInstance

Notify("Standalone script test!")
return

Startup() {
    global event := -1
}

Notify(text, duration := 2000) {
    ToolTip(text)

    static RemoveToolTip() {
        ToolTip()
        global event := {{Event.CLEAR_CHOICE}}
    }
    SetTimer(RemoveToolTip, -duration)  ; negative for non-repeating
}

MouseIsOver(winTitle) {
    MouseGetPos(unset, unset, &winId)
    result := WinExist(winTitle " ahk_id " winId)
    return result
}

#HotIf WinActive("ahk_class Notepad")
{{HOTKEY_SEND_CHOICE}}::global event := {{Event.SEND_CHOICE}}
^Q::global event := {{Event.QUIT}}
#HotIf MouseIsOver("ahk_class Notepad")
WheelUp::global event := {{Event.CHOOSE_MONTH}}
WheelDown::global event := {{Event.CHOOSE_DAY}}

PyInstaller (single .exe or folder)

example.spec:

from PyInstaller.utils.hooks import collect_data_files

import ahkunwrapped

a = Analysis(
    ['example.py'],                               # Python file
    datas=collect_data_files('ahkunwrapped') + [
        ('example.ahk', '.'),                     # AutoHotkey script (if using `Script.from_file()`)
    ]
)
pyz = PYZ(a.pure)

name = 'my-example'                               # used below

# for onefile
#exe = EXE(pyz, a.scripts, a.binaries, a.datas, name=name, upx=True, console=False)
# for onedir
exe = EXE(pyz, a.scripts, exclude_binaries=True, name=name, upx=True, console=False)
dir = COLLECT(exe, a.binaries, a.datas, name=name)

PyInstaller folder considerations

import os
from pathlib import Path

from ahkunwrapped import Script

# Works both in and out of PyInstaller
CUR_DIR = Path(__file__).parent

# Windows needs a consistent exe path to remember tray icon visibility
LOCALAPP_DIR = Path(os.environ['LOCALAPPDATA'] / 'pyinstaller-example')

ahk = Script.from_file(CUR_DIR / 'example.ahk', format_dict=globals(), execute_from=LOCALAPP_DIR)

# ...