# Cowart Open Canvas

Open, reopen, or explicitly refresh the native Cowart canvas when the user asks to see...

- Repository: https://github.com/zhongerxin/Cowart (6049 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-10-08
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add zhongerxin/Cowart --skill cowart-open-canvas -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add zhongerxin/Cowart --skill cowart-open-canvas -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add zhongerxin/Cowart --skill cowart-open-canvas -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add zhongerxin/Cowart --skill cowart-open-canvas -g -a gemini-cli -y`

## Description

Open, reopen, or explicitly refresh the native Cowart canvas when the user asks to see it, or when a bare @Cowart invocation has no other requested workflow.

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

# Cowart Open Canvas

The actual canvas-opening capability is the `cowart_mcp` MCP server and its `render_cowart_canvas_widget` tool. Use this skill when the user asks to open, reopen, or explicitly refresh the canvas. A bare `@Cowart` invocation with no other actionable request may also open the canvas. Do not use this skill as a prerequisite for image generation, annotation editing, HTML, Slides, or follow-up requests sent from an already-open Cowart widget.

## Workflow

1. Ensure the `cowart_mcp` MCP server is loaded or discoverable and that its `render_cowart_canvas_widget` tool is available. The host may expose the complete tool name as `mcp__cowart_mcp__render_cowart_canvas_widget`. Call the tool once for the user's open, reopen, or explicit refresh request. Pass the user's active Codex workspace as `projectDir`; do not pass the Cowart plugin repository directory.

```json
{
  "projectDir": "/absolute/path/to/user/codex-project"
}
```

The tool returns `openai/outputTemplate: ui://widget/cowart/canvas.html`, which tells Codex to render the widget directly. Do not start `scripts/start-canvas.sh` or open a localhost URL for normal use.

Cowart also declares an OpenAI MCP Extensions `global` entrypoint, so supported hosts can show it in navigation and let the user pin it. Clicking that entrypoint sends `{}` and opens the canvas directly at `<system Documents>/Cowart/canvas/`. This is one shared local canvas with multiple pages; the first page is created only when none exists. There is no project picker. Empty arguments never infer a workspace from the MCP process directory. When a workspace is known in chat, keep passing `projectDir` to open its canvas directly. Cowart declares only the `fullscreen` display mode; in a conversation, the host may place fullscreen apps in the content side panel.

The rest: https://github.com/zhongerxin/Cowart/blob/HEAD/skills/cowart-open-canvas/SKILL.md