| summary |
read_when |
Execute drag-and-drop flows via peekaboo drag |
moving elements/files with precision between apps or coordinates |
testing multi-step drags (Trash, Dock targets, selection gestures) |
|
drag simulates click-and-drag gestures. You can start/end on element IDs, raw coordinates, or even another application (e.g., --to-app Trash). Modifiers (Cmd/Shift/Option/Ctrl) are supported, so multi-select drags behave like real keyboard-assisted gestures.
| Flag |
Description |
--from <id> / --from-coords x,y |
Source handle. Exactly one of these is required. |
--to <id> / --to-coords x,y / --to-app <name> |
Destination. Use --to-app Trash for Dock drops or any bundle ID/name for app-centric drops. |
--snapshot <id> |
Needed whenever IDs are involved. Defaults to the most recent snapshot otherwise. |
| Target flags |
--app <name>, --pid <pid>, --window-id <id>, --window-title <title>, --window-index <n> — focus a specific app/window before dragging. (--window-title/--window-index require --app or --pid; --window-id does not.) |
--duration <ms> |
Drag length (default 500 ms). |
--steps <count> |
Number of interpolation points (default 20) to control smoothness. |
--modifiers cmd,shift,… |
Comma-separated list of modifier keys held during the drag. |
--profile <linear|human> |
human enables natural-looking arcs and jitter; defaults to linear. |
| Focus flags |
FocusCommandOptions ensure the correct window is frontmost before the drag starts. |
- Input validation enforces “pick exactly one source and one destination flavor,” so you can’t accidentally mix coordinate + ID on the same side.
- When you pass
--to-app, the command resolves the app’s focused window via AX and drags to its midpoint; Trash is handled specially by scraping the Dock’s accessibility hierarchy.
- Element IDs are resolved through
AutomationServiceBridge.waitForElement (5 s timeout) and use the element’s bounds midpoint as the drag point.
- Modifier strings are forwarded verbatim to
DragRequest, so --modifiers cmd,shift behaves like holding Cmd+Shift while dragging.
--profile human automatically chooses adaptive durations/steps and feeds the motion through the same humanized generator described in docs/human-mouse-move.md.
- Results are logged in both human-readable form and JSON (
DragResult) with start/end coordinates, duration, steps, modifiers, and execution time.
# Drag a file element into the Trash
polter peekaboo -- drag --from file_tile_3 --to-app Trash
# Coordinate → coordinate drag with longer duration
polter peekaboo -- drag --from-coords "120,880" --to-coords "480,220" --duration 1200 --steps 40
# Human-style drag with adaptive timing
polter peekaboo -- drag --from-coords "80,80" --to-coords "420,260" --profile human
# Range-select items by holding Shift
polter peekaboo -- drag --from row_1 --to row_5 --modifiers shift
- Verify Screen Recording + Accessibility permissions (
peekaboo permissions status).
- Confirm your target (app/window/selector) with
peekaboo list/peekaboo see before rerunning.
- If you see
SNAPSHOT_NOT_FOUND, regenerate the snapshot with peekaboo see (or omit --snapshot to use the most recent one).
- Re-run with
--json-output or --verbose to surface detailed errors.