Devlog #2: Shipping v1.0 of my iPhone Trackpad for Mac!

Hey guys! Welcome to the second devlog for my project 🙌

Time spent: ~6 hours
Stack: Node.js, Socket.io, @nut-tree-fork/nut-js, HTML5 Touch Events
Status: Shipped v1.0 on GitHub!

What I Built for v1.0

• 1-Finger: Smooth mouse cursor movement + tap-to-click.
• 2-Fingers: Page scrolling + Chrome back/forward swipe
• 3-Fingers: Switching desktop spaces (Left/Right) and opening Mission Control (Up/Down) using simulated Ctrl + Arrow keys.
• Web-First: Runs directly in Safari on iPhone over local Wi-Fi, so no need to install any apps from the App Store!

Challenges

1. Dealing with robotjs breaking:
   I spent way too much time fighting random build errors with robotjs. Eventually I gave up on it and switched to @nut-tree-fork/nut-js, which finally let me control the mouse and shortcuts without crashing.
2. Messy multi-finger touch :
   Trying to make sure the app didn’t accidentally move the mouse while I was trying to scroll or switch desktops was super annoying. I had to lock down the touch coordinates so 3-finger swipes didn’t trigger random clicks.
3. Gived up at the handwriting feature:
   At first I tried to make a cool handwriting feature on top of the trackpad, but mixing drawing controls with mouse physics was causing way too many overlapping touch bugs. I decided to scrape that out.

What I want to add in v2.0

• 2-finger tap for right-click
• Tap-and-hold to drag and drop stuff
• Phone vibration (haptics) when I click
• Visual ripple effects on screen when touching

During the summer, I was playing games on my laptop and wanted to lean back in my chair while still controlling the game. Since I didn’t have a controller or mouse, I searched online for wireless mouse apps that could be controlled by phone. Unfortunately, the results showed that those apps might have safety issues, so I decided to build one myself.

Progress

used json and connected via port and ip for communication while testing

• Planned Features:
  • want to add a writing pad feature

☟the screenshot below is what I have so far