# Agent Desktop

Desktop automation through the real Rust agent-desktop CLI, published in Printing Press...

- Repository: https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library (2101 stars)
- Category: Design
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-10-31
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill agent-desktop -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill agent-desktop -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill agent-desktop -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add mvanhorn/printing-press-library --skill agent-desktop -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Desktop automation through the real Rust agent-desktop CLI, published in Printing Press through a small bridge. Use when an agent needs to observe, inspect, or control native desktop applications with accessibility trees: snapshots, refs, clicks, typing, scrolling, windows, notifications, screenshots, clipboard, waits, and bundled version-matched skill docs.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

<!-- GENERATED FILE, DO NOT EDIT.
     This file is a verbatim mirror of library/developer-tools/agent-desktop/SKILL.md,
     regenerated post-merge by tools/generate-skills/. Hand-edits here are
     silently overwritten on the next regen. Edit the library/ source instead.
     See the repository agent guide, section "Generated artifacts: registry.json, cli-skills/". -->

# Agent Desktop - Printing Press CLI

`agent-desktop` is a native desktop automation CLI for AI agents. It is not an
agent and does not call an LLM. It exposes the operating system accessibility
tree as structured JSON, assigns snapshot-scoped refs such as `@e1`, and lets
the calling agent perform semantic actions against those refs.

This Printing Press package installs `agent-desktop-pp-cli`, a catalog bridge.
The bridge does not reimplement automation. It installs or delegates to the real
remote `agent-desktop` package from `https://github.com/lahfir/agent-desktop`
and the npm package `agent-desktop`.

## Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the `agent-desktop-pp-cli` binary. **You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill.** If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to `$HOME/.local/bin` on macOS/Linux and `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin` on Windows:
   ```bash
   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install agent-desktop --cli-only
   ```
2. Verify: `agent-desktop-pp-cli --version`
3. Ensure the reported install directory is on `$PATH` for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the `npx` install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer). This installs into `$GOPATH/bin` (default `$HOME/go/bin`), so add that directory to `$PATH` instead:

```bash
go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/developer-tools/agent-desktop/cmd/agent-desktop-pp-cli@latest
```

The rest: https://github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/blob/HEAD/cli-skills/pp-agent-desktop/SKILL.md