# How to Handle Input Tablet Issues on Wayland with osu-winello

> Fix osu tablet input issues on Wayland by setting WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2 in osu-winello. Enjoy precise pen control for your osu! gameplay.

- Repository: [NelloKudo/osu-winello](https://github.com/nellokudo/osu-winello)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-03-07

---

**Set `WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2` in your osu-winello configuration file to force absolute tablet coordinates on Wayland, restoring precise pen input for osu!.**

When running osu! on modern Linux systems using Wayland compositors, drawing tablets often exhibit erratic cursor behavior or complete input failure due to how Wine translates relative coordinate events. The **osu-winello** project by nellokudo provides specific environment variable overrides to handle input tablet issues on Wayland with osu-winello, ensuring your pen tablet functions with absolute positioning accuracy.

## Understanding the Wayland Tablet Input Problem

Wayland handles input devices differently than X11, often reporting tablet pen movement as relative coordinates rather than absolute screen positions. Wine's default translation layer does not correctly interpret these events for osu!'s **osu!Direct** (OTD) input mode, resulting in jittery movement, missed hits, or the tablet being ignored entirely.

The osu-winello wrapper scripts intercept these configuration issues by sourcing user-defined environment variables before launching the Wine prefix.

## Configuration Solutions for Tablet Input

osu-winello offers two primary methods to resolve tablet issues, controlled through configuration files stored in `~/.local/share/osuconfig/configs/`.

### Enable Absolute Tablet Coordinates

The **`WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2`** environment variable forces Wine to treat incoming tablet data as absolute coordinates, bypassing Wayland's relative event translation.

To activate this setting:

1. Open the configuration editor:

   ```bash
   osu-wine --edit-config
   ```

2. Locate the line `# WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2` and remove the `#` comment character:

   ```ini
   WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2
   ```

3. Save the file and exit the editor.

### Optional: Switch to Native Wayland Driver

If absolute coordinate mapping fails, you can force Wine to use the experimental **`winewayland.drv`** driver instead of the X11 fallback by clearing the `DISPLAY` variable.

In your configuration file, uncomment:

```ini
DISPLAY=

```

**Warning:** This driver is experimental and unsupported. It may resolve tablet issues on pure Wayland compositors but can introduce other input quirks or graphical glitches.

## Implementation Details

The configuration system relies on several key components within the nellokudo/osu-winello repository:

- **[`stuff/example.cfg`](https://github.com/nellokudo/osu-winello/blob/main/stuff/example.cfg)**: Reference template demonstrating the exact syntax for `WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK` and `DISPLAY` overrides.
- **[`osu-winello.sh`](https://github.com/nellokudo/osu-winello/blob/main/osu-winello.sh)**: Installer script that initializes the Wine prefix and prepares the configuration directory structure at `~/.local/share/osuconfig/`.
- **`osu-wine`**: Runtime wrapper that sources all `.cfg` files from the configs directory and exports their variables into the Wine environment before launching osu!.

When you run `osu-wine`, the wrapper executes approximately:

```bash

# Load user configurations

for config in ~/.local/share/osuconfig/configs/*.cfg; do
    source "$config"
done

# Launch with modified environment

WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2 wine osu!.exe

```

## Summary

- **Wayland tablet issues** stem from Wine interpreting pen input as relative coordinates rather than absolute screen positions.
- **Set `WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2`** in `~/.local/share/osuconfig/configs/` to force absolute coordinate handling and restore precise pen input.
- Use **`osu-wine --edit-config`** to modify settings without manually navigating to the configuration directory.
- The **`DISPLAY=`** option provides an experimental fallback using `winewayland.drv`, but may introduce instability.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Why does my tablet work on X11 but not on Wayland with osu-winello?

X11 natively supports absolute coordinate reporting for graphics tablets, which Wine translates correctly into Windows API calls. Wayland compositors often report tablet movement as relative delta events, causing Wine to miscalculate cursor position unless you enable `WINE_ENABLE_ABS_TABLET_HACK=2` to force absolute interpretation.

### Where do I place the configuration file to fix tablet input?

Create or edit configuration files in the `~/.local/share/osuconfig/configs/` directory. The `osu-wine` wrapper automatically sources all `.cfg` files in this location at runtime. You can use the command `osu-wine --edit-config` to open the default editor (set by `CUSTOMEDITOR`) directly to this location.

### Is the `winewayland.drv` driver stable for daily osu! gameplay?

No. The native Wayland driver (`winewayland.drv`) is experimental and unsupported by upstream Wine. While clearing `DISPLAY=` may resolve certain tablet edge cases that the absolute hack does not address, it frequently introduces other issues such as window management quirks, missing features, or input latency. Use it only for testing purposes.