[Feature Request] A way to make FluffyDisplay start on boot/startup and automatically make a virtual display without user interaction about fluffydisplay

[Rhys-T]

It's not ideal, but if you need to, you can control FluffyDisplay by selecting its menu items through the Accessibility API. I tried to write an example of doing this with AppleScript's GUI scripting features, but I couldn't figure out any way to keep the script from hanging for several seconds after opening the menu. However, if you're open to installing Hammerspoon, something like this should work:

Example Hammerspoon code to turn on FluffyDisplay

-- don't create a display if there's already one (e.g. when reloading Hammerspoon config)
if not hs.screen 'FluffyDisplay' then
	local fdResolution = {w=1920, h=1200} -- <-- fill this with the resolution of the virtual display to create
	local fdBundleID = 'fi.iki.tml.FluffyDisplay'
	local fdApp = hs.application.get(fdBundleID) or hs.application.open(fdBundleID)
	local fdAxApp = hs.axuielement.applicationElement(fdApp)
	
	-- wait for menu to appear in menubar
	local fdExtrasMenuBar
	for i = 1, 100 do
		fdExtrasMenuBar = fdAxApp.AXExtrasMenuBar
		if fdExtrasMenuBar and fdExtrasMenuBar[1] then break end
		hs.timer.usleep(10000)
	end
	if not fdExtrasMenuBar then error "Couldn't get FluffyDisplay's AXExtrasMenuBar" end
	local fdMenuBarItem = fdExtrasMenuBar[1]
	
	-- Normally, fdMenuBarItem:doAXPress() below seems to hang until the menu closes again, or the call times out.
	-- Make that timeout happen immediately, so we can start messing with the menu inside.
	-- This is the part I couldn't figure out how to do from AppleScript.
	fdMenuBarItem:setTimeout(0.1)
	
	-- Click the menu icon, because the menu doesn't exist until it's opened.
	fdMenuBarItem:doAXPress()
	
	-- Click on 'New' to open the submenu. The submenu already exists by this point, but if I don't
	-- open it, selecting the item inside does nothing for some reason.
	local fdMenu = fdMenuBarItem[1]
	local fdNewMenuItem = fdMenu[1]
	fdNewMenuItem:doAXPress()
	
	-- Find the menu item for the desired resolution, and click it.
	local fdNewMenu = fdNewMenuItem[1]
	local fdNewCommandMenuItemPattern = ('^%d×%d %%('):format(fdResolution.w, fdResolution.h)
	--    ^- e.g. '^1920×1200 %('            ^- note: Unicode MULTIPLICATION SIGN, not letter 'x'
	local fdNewCommandMenuItem = hs.fnutils.find(fdNewMenu.AXChildren, function(item)
		return item.AXTitle:match(fdNewCommandMenuItemPattern)
	end)
	fdNewCommandMenuItem:doAXPress()
end

Set Hammerspoon to run at login, grant it Accessibility access, and add the code above to ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua. (Or put it in e.g. ~/.hammerspoon/startFluffyDisplay.lua, and add require 'startFluffyDisplay' to ~/.hammerspoon/init.lua.) It should automatically create a display as soon as you're logged in.