agent-desktop

CLI tool enabling AI agents to observe and control desktop applications via native OS accessibility trees.

Core principle: agent-desktop is NOT an AI agent. It is a tool that AI agents invoke. It outputs structured JSON with ref-based element identifiers. The observation-action loop lives in the calling agent.

Installation

npm install -g agent-desktop
# or
bun install -g --trust agent-desktop

Requires macOS 12+ with Accessibility permission granted to your terminal.

Reference Files

Detailed documentation is split into focused reference files. Read them as needed:

Reference	Contents
references/commands-observation.md	snapshot, find, get, is, screenshot, list-surfaces — all flags, output examples
references/commands-interaction.md	click, type, set-value, select, toggle, scroll, drag, keyboard, mouse — choosing the right command
references/commands-system.md	launch, close, windows, clipboard, wait, batch, status, permissions, version
references/workflows.md	12 common patterns: forms, menus, dialogs, scroll-find, drag-drop, async wait, anti-patterns
references/macos.md	macOS permissions/TCC, AX API internals, smart activation chain, surfaces, Notification Center, troubleshooting

The Observe-Act Loop

Every automation follows this pattern:

1. OBSERVE  → agent-desktop snapshot --app "App Name" -i
2. REASON   → Parse JSON, find target element by ref (@e1, @e2...)
3. ACT      → agent-desktop click @e5  (or type, select, toggle...)
4. VERIFY   → agent-desktop snapshot again to confirm state change
5. REPEAT   → Continue until task is complete

Always snapshot before acting. Refs are snapshot-scoped and become stale after UI changes.

Ref System

• Refs assigned depth-first: @e1, @e2, @e3...
• Only interactive elements get refs: button, textfield, checkbox, link, menuitem, tab, slider, combobox, treeitem, cell
• Static text, groups, containers remain in tree for context but have no ref
• Refs are deterministic within a snapshot but NOT stable across snapshots if UI changed
• After any action that changes UI, run snapshot again for fresh refs

JSON Output Contract

Every command returns a JSON envelope on stdout:

Success: { "version": "1.0", "ok": true, "command": "snapshot", "data": { ... } } Error: { "version": "1.0", "ok": false, "command": "click", "error": { "code": "STALE_REF", "message": "...", "suggestion": "..." } }

Exit codes: 0 success, 1 structured error, 2 argument error.

Error Codes

Code	Meaning	Recovery
PERM_DENIED	Accessibility permission not granted	Grant in System Settings > Privacy > Accessibility
ELEMENT_NOT_FOUND	Ref not in current refmap	Re-run snapshot, use fresh ref
APP_NOT_FOUND	App not running	Launch it first
ACTION_FAILED	AX action rejected	Try alternative approach or coordinate-based click
ACTION_NOT_SUPPORTED	Element can't do this	Use different command
STALE_REF	Ref from old snapshot	Re-run snapshot
WINDOW_NOT_FOUND	No matching window	Check app name, use list-windows
TIMEOUT	Wait condition not met	Increase --timeout
INVALID_ARGS	Bad arguments	Check command syntax

Command Quick Reference (54 commands)

Observation

agent-desktop snapshot --app "App" -i           # Accessibility tree with refs
agent-desktop screenshot --app "App" out.png    # PNG screenshot
agent-desktop find --app "App" --role button    # Search elements
agent-desktop get @e1 --property text           # Read element property
agent-desktop is @e1 --property enabled         # Check element state
agent-desktop list-surfaces --app "App"         # Available surfaces

Interaction

agent-desktop click @e5                         # Click element
agent-desktop double-click @e3                  # Double-click
agent-desktop triple-click @e2                  # Triple-click (select line)
agent-desktop right-click @e5                   # Right-click (context menu)
agent-desktop type @e2 "hello"                  # Type text into element
agent-desktop set-value @e2 "new value"         # Set value directly
agent-desktop clear @e2                         # Clear element value
agent-desktop focus @e2                         # Set keyboard focus
agent-desktop select @e4 "Option B"             # Select dropdown option
agent-desktop toggle @e6                        # Toggle checkbox/switch
agent-desktop check @e6                         # Idempotent check
agent-desktop uncheck @e6                       # Idempotent uncheck
agent-desktop expand @e7                        # Expand disclosure
agent-desktop collapse @e7                      # Collapse disclosure
agent-desktop scroll @e1 --direction down       # Scroll element
agent-desktop scroll-to @e8                     # Scroll into view

Keyboard & Mouse

agent-desktop press cmd+c                       # Key combo
agent-desktop press return --app "App"          # Targeted key press
agent-desktop key-down shift                    # Hold key
agent-desktop key-up shift                      # Release key
agent-desktop hover @e5                         # Cursor to element
agent-desktop hover --xy 500,300                # Cursor to coordinates
agent-desktop drag --from @e1 --to @e5          # Drag between elements
agent-desktop mouse-click --xy 500,300          # Click at coordinates
agent-desktop mouse-move --xy 100,200           # Move cursor
agent-desktop mouse-down --xy 100,200           # Press mouse button
agent-desktop mouse-up --xy 300,400             # Release mouse button

App & Window

agent-desktop launch "System Settings"          # Launch and wait
agent-desktop close-app "TextEdit"              # Quit gracefully
agent-desktop close-app "TextEdit" --force      # Force kill
agent-desktop list-windows --app "Finder"       # List windows
agent-desktop list-apps                         # List running GUI apps
agent-desktop focus-window --app "Finder"       # Bring to front
agent-desktop resize-window --app "App" --width 800 --height 600
agent-desktop move-window --app "App" --x 0 --y 0
agent-desktop minimize --app "App"
agent-desktop maximize --app "App"
agent-desktop restore --app "App"

Notifications

agent-desktop list-notifications                # List all notifications
agent-desktop list-notifications --app "Slack"  # Filter by app
agent-desktop list-notifications --text "deploy" --limit 5  # Filter by text
agent-desktop dismiss-notification 1            # Dismiss by index
agent-desktop dismiss-all-notifications         # Dismiss all
agent-desktop dismiss-all-notifications --app "Slack"  # Dismiss all from app
agent-desktop notification-action 1 --action "Reply"   # Click action button

Clipboard

agent-desktop clipboard-get                     # Read clipboard
agent-desktop clipboard-set "text"              # Write to clipboard
agent-desktop clipboard-clear                   # Clear clipboard

Wait

agent-desktop wait 1000                         # Pause 1 second
agent-desktop wait --element @e5 --timeout 5000 # Wait for element
agent-desktop wait --window "Title"             # Wait for window
agent-desktop wait --text "Done" --app "App"    # Wait for text
agent-desktop wait --menu --app "App"           # Wait for context menu
agent-desktop wait --menu-closed --app "App"    # Wait for menu dismissal
agent-desktop wait --notification --app "App"   # Wait for new notification

System

agent-desktop status                            # Health check
agent-desktop permissions                       # Check permission
agent-desktop permissions --request             # Trigger permission dialog
agent-desktop version --json                    # Version info
agent-desktop batch '[...]' --stop-on-error     # Batch commands

Key Principles for Agents

1. Always snapshot first. Never assume UI state.
2. Use -i flag. Filters to interactive elements only, reducing tokens.
3. Refs are ephemeral. Snapshot again after any UI-changing action.
4. Prefer refs over coordinates. click @e5 > mouse-click --xy 500,300.
5. Use wait for async UI. After launch/dialog triggers, wait for expected state.
6. Check permissions first. Run permissions on first use.
7. Handle errors. Parse error.code and follow error.suggestion.
8. Use find for targeted searches. Faster than full snapshot when you know role/name.
9. Use surfaces for menus. snapshot --surface menu captures open menus.
10. Batch for performance. Multiple commands in one invocation.