# pynput Controller.type() scrambles mixed Chinese+English text on macOS; use clipboard paste

Pit ID: pynput-mixed-cjk-ascii-type-out-of-order-macos
Status: verified
Confidence: medium
Updated: 2026-06-21
Canonical source: https://github.com/laozhangzzz/agent-pitbook/blob/main/pits/tooling/pynput-mixed-cjk-ascii-type-out-of-order-macos.md

## Summary

pynput.keyboard.Controller.type() on macOS scrambles mixed Chinese+English strings (reordered, English fragments shoved to the end, some CJK dropped) because CJK goes via synthesized Unicode events and ASCII via key events, and the two paths race. Inject via clipboard (pbcopy + Cmd+V) for an atomic insert.

## Fast Answer

- Problem: injecting '打开Claude Code，然后commit一下。' yields '打开ClaudeC，然后一下。odecomit' — reordered, English fragments shoved to the end, some CJK dropped
- Root cause: On macOS pynput types CJK characters via synthesized Unicode events and ASCII via key events.
- Fix first: Switch text injection from per-character keyboard.type() to clipboard paste: copy the full string via pbcopy, then simulate Cmd+V.
- Verify: Inject the same mixed Chinese+English sentence after the change.

## Queries This Answers

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## Common Search Queries

- pynput-mixed-cjk-ascii-type-out-of-order-macos
- pynput mixed cjk ascii type out of order macos
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- pynput Controller.type() scrambles mixed Chinese+English text on macOS; use clipboard paste fix
- pynput Controller.type() scrambles mixed Chinese+English text on macOS; use clipboard paste root cause
- macos
- pynput
- text-injection
- unicode
- race-condition
- clipboard
- voice

## Affected Tools

- pynput
- voice-to-claude

## Tags

- macos
- pynput
- text-injection
- unicode
- cjk
- race-condition
- clipboard
- voice

## Symptoms

- injecting '打开Claude Code，然后commit一下。' yields '打开ClaudeC，然后一下。odecomit' — reordered, English fragments shoved to the end, some CJK dropped
- pure-English and pure-Chinese strings inject fine
- only mixed CJK+ASCII text scrambles

## Environment

- os: macOS
- arch: Apple Silicon
- language: Python
- runtime: pynput.keyboard.Controller.type()
- versions: {"python":"3.12"}
- constraints: text injection into a focused input box

## Root Cause

- On macOS pynput types CJK characters via synthesized Unicode events and ASCII via key events.
- The two dispatch paths have different timing and race each other, so a fast mixed-script string arrives interleaved / reordered.

## Fix

1. Switch text injection from per-character keyboard.type() to clipboard paste: copy the full string via pbcopy, then simulate Cmd+V.

```bash
pbcopy <<< "$text"; then synthesize Cmd+V
```
2. Rely on the atomic clipboard insert so there is no per-character race.

## Verification

- Inject the same mixed Chinese+English sentence after the change. Expected: It appears intact and in correct order.

## Sources

- voice-to-claude daemon debugging session (local-session): local-session:2026-06-21

## Workarounds

- Restore the previous clipboard contents after pasting if clobbering it is a concern.

## Anti-patterns

- Using pynput Controller.type() for mixed CJK+ASCII text on macOS.
- Adding per-character sleeps to 'fix' ordering instead of switching to an atomic paste.