I installed a background desktop driver on Windows from inside WSL2. Here is what worked and what did not.

Description and use

The author installed the cua-driver background desktop driver on Windows 10 from WSL2 to control a WeChat window without stealing focus. Reading UI, locating elements, and clicking work, but background typing fails.

Problem

Desktop automation scripts often steal focus and move the cursor, breaking when run alongside a user. A background driver that can interact with the desktop without stealing focus is needed.

Outcome

Background reading, locating, launching, and clicking work reliably on a real Chinese-language app. Background typing does not, requiring a foreground escalation or a second machine for conversational bots.

Workflow

• 1. Install cua-driver Windows executable on Windows 10.
• 2. Run the driver from a Windows process launched in WSL2.
• 3. Verify the driver opens the named pipe \\.\pipe\cua-driver and reports an attached interactive desktop.
• 4. Use the driver to read a live WeChat window (138 elements).
• 5. Perform background clicks on UI elements using stable tokens.
• 6. Observe that foreground process remains unchanged.
• 7. Attempt background typing; observe failures and error messages.
• 8. Note that a foreground escalation can temporarily bring a window to the front if needed.

Evidence

Reading, locating, launching without fronting, and clicking all work, on a real Chinese-language app rather than a demo.

Source

Typing in the background does not work. cmd returned background_unavailable with the reason background input is dropped by this surface, naming the class ConsoleWindowClass.

Source