Controku is a library and GTK3 application that allows you to control
Roku devices from the comfort of your own desktop.
There are binaries available in releases
for Windows and macOS. Linux users can install PyGObject (package name is usually some variation
of python3-gobject) then install Controku with pip. Controku is also available in the
AUR and in this
Debian repo.
SSDPy, the library used to discover Roku devices on the local network,
has problems on Windows
that make device discovery impossible on the platform. Windows users
will need to use the Roku device's IP address as a command line
argument, or manually add it to the cache at
C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\benthetechguy\controku\Cache\devices.json
with the syntax [{'name': 'device name here', 'ip': 'ip address here'}].
Instead of just using the mouse, you also can press the following keys:
| Key on keyboard | Key sent to Roku device |
|---|---|
| Backspace or B | Back |
| I | Info |
| Escape or H | Home |
| WASD or arrow keys | Up, Down, Left, Right |
| Enter, Space, or O | Select/OK |
| , or R | Rewind |
| . or F | Fast Forward |
| / or P | Play/Pause |
| [ or - | Volume Down |
| ] or + | Volume Up |
| \ or M | Mute |
Note: Using the arrow keys unintentionally highlights different buttons in the GUI, and pressing enter or space can activate one of them. To prevent the activation of an unintended button like power or home, it's recommended to instead use WASD for direction buttons and/or use the O key for Select/OK.