Ops Desktop

What the source does

• FilesystemNone observedNo reads or writes in the source
• NetworkNone observedNo outbound calls in the source
• ShellNone observedNo commands run in the source
• DependenciesPinnedNothing floats
• SecretsNone foundNo keys in source

Five audit layers

Gates applied: no behavioural pass.

Audit 0.4.1 · source sha 6097008144f5 · 28 Oct 2026Report an issue or request a re-scan

• PublisherLifecycle-Innovations-Limited GitHub organizationOwner of the repository this skill is read from
• Source folderLifecycle-Innovations-Limited/claude-ops/claude-ops/skills/ops-desktopThe exact folder we audited
• LicenceMITAs the repository states it
• Commit pinned for this verdict6097008144f5A new audit runs when the source changes
• Repository statusNot archivedPushed today
• Sandboxed runNot runSkills are read, not executed; layer L4 is skipped

Its description: OPS on-demand: This skill should be used when the user asks to "control the desktop", "click on...

---
name: ops-desktop
description: "OPS on-demand: This skill should be used when the user asks to \"control the desktop\", \"click on..."
argument-hint: "[goal text | 'status' | 'list' | 'release [session_id]']"
allowed-tools:
  - Bash
  - Read
  - AskUserQuestion
  - ToolSearch
  - mcp__desktop-act__acquire_desktop
  - mcp__desktop-act__release_desktop
  - mcp__desktop-act__list_desktops
  - mcp__desktop-act__list_windows
  - mcp__desktop-act__launch_app
  - mcp__desktop-act__screenshot
  - mcp__desktop-act__observe
  - mcp__desktop-act__click
  - mcp__desktop-act__keypress
  - mcp__desktop-act__type_text
  - mcp__desktop-act__scroll
  - mcp__desktop-act__act
  - mcp__desktop-act__act_step
  - mcp__desktop-act__batch
  - mcp__desktop-act__status
effort: medium
maxTurns: 40
---

# OPS ► DESKTOP

Load `ops-rules` before acting. Public repo (no personal data). Outbound: one draft → one approval → one send. If `AskUserQuestion` / `Workflow` are missing, follow Rule 10 in `ops-rules` (Hermes: numbered options / two-turn Telegram card; `delegate_task`).

`/ops:desktop` drives a real GUI desktop (Linux noVNC pool, partial macOS / Windows support) through the `desktop-act` FastMCP server. Use it for tasks that browser-only automation can't reach: native dialogs, OS file pickers, multi-window flows, screen-recording verification.

The MCP tool schemas are **deferred**. Load them with `ToolSearch` on demand:

```
ToolSearch select:mcp__desktop-act__acquire_desktop,mcp__desktop-act__screenshot,mcp__desktop-act__click,mcp__desktop-act__type_text,mcp__desktop-act__release_desktop
```

## Runtime Context

Before any route runs, resolve:

1. **Plugin root**: `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` — used to locate the launcher.
2. **MCP launcher**: `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/mcp-servers/desktop-act-launcher.py` — auto-discovers an installed desktop-act marketplace or, if absent, clones from `$DESKTOP_ACT_REPO` (default `https://github.com/Lifecycle-Innovations-Limited/desktop-act.git`) and bootstraps a venv on first run.
3. **noVNC default**: `http://<box-host>:6082` — primary desktop. `acquire_desktop()` provisions extra sessions on `:6082+`.
4. **Mobile / SSH mode**: if `$SSH_CONNECTION`, `$SSH_CLIENT`, or `$SSH_TTY` is set, emit compact text-only output per Rule 7 (no banners, no tables, plain lines). The noVNC URL is the one piece the user definitely needs — print it once on a copy-able line.

## Routing table

Parse `$ARGUMENTS` and route. First token decides:

| First arg          | Route                                                                           |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| (empty) / `status` | Print MCP status, default noVNC URL, active sessions, and platform support note |
| `list`             | `mcp__desktop-act__list_desktops` — show pool state                             |
| `release <id>`     | `mcp__desktop-act__release_desktop(session_id)` — free a session                |
| `release-all`      | Release every session this skill has open this turn                             |
| anything else      | Treat as a **goal** — acquire → observe → drive → verify → release              |

Anything else: treat the whole argument string as the goal.

---

## Route — `status` (default)

1. Probe the MCP via `mcp__desktop-act__status` (auto-load schema first).
2. Print compact summary — plugin connected? venv ready? pool size? default URL?
3. If the MCP is **not reachable**, the launcher likely needs to bootstrap. Show:
   - one-line install command (`/plugin marketplace add <repo> && /plugin install desktop-act`)
   - or the env override (`export DESKTOP_ACT_COMMAND=/path/to/run.sh`)
   - or the bootstrap repo (`export DESKTOP_ACT_REPO=https://...`)
4. Mobile/SSH mode: drop banners, output 4–6 plain lines.

## Route — `list`

```
ToolSearch select:mcp__desktop-act__list_desktops
```

Call it. Format as `session_id · display · vnc · last_used`. Linux only renders full info; macOS/Windows fall back to a "limited platform" note.

## Route — `release <id>` / `release-all`

Per Rule 5 (destructive actions): `release_desktop` tears down the X server. Ask before bulk release:

```
AskUserQuestion: Release session abcd1234?
  [Release]  [Skip]
```

For `release-all`, batch confirm once.

---

## Route — **goal** (default for free-form $ARGUMENTS)

The autonomous loop. Use this when the owner types `/ops:desktop open the AWS console and screenshot the ECS cluster page`.

### Step 1 — Acquire

```python
# Load schemas
ToolSearch select:mcp__desktop-act__acquire_desktop,mcp__desktop-act__screenshot,...

session = mcp__desktop-act__acquire_desktop()
session_id = session["session_id"]
display    = session["display"]      # e.g. ":51"
novnc_url  = session["novnc_url"]    # e.g. http://host:6082
```

Print the noVNC URL on a line by itself so the user can watch live. On mobile, the URL is the most useful thing — surface it FIRST.

### Step 2 — Observe

```python
shot = mcp__desktop-act__screenshot(session_id=session_id)
Read(file_path=shot["path"])   # let Claude see the screen
```

If you need window-level metadata before clicking blindly:

```python
windows = mcp__desktop-act__list_windows(session_id=session_id)
```

### Step 3 — Drive

Two modes:

**A. Streaming primitives** — full reasoning visibility, per-action transparency. Preferred for sensitive flows (anything touching credentials, billing pages, destructive UIs).

```python
mcp__desktop-act__launch_app(session_id, app="firefox")
mcp__desktop-act__click(session_id, x=640, y=400)
mcp__desktop-act__type_text(session_id, text="ECS clusters")
mcp__desktop-act__keypress(session_id, key="Return")
mcp__desktop-act__scroll(session_id, direction="down", amount=3)
mcp__desktop-act__screenshot(session_id)   # verify
```

**B. Autonomous loop** — hands the goal to `act()` which runs claude-agent-sdk against the OAuth-bundled CLI (no API key needed; rides Claude Max). Faster but less observa

Excerpt, first 6,000 characters of SKILL.md, verbatim from the audited commit. It is text from someone else’s repository, quoted so you can judge it before your agent reads it.

git clone https://github.com/Lifecycle-Innovations-Limited/claude-ops
git -C claude-ops checkout 6097008144f5

Works in

1. 2026-10-28
   ✓SAFE B 89 / 100

   first audit · source 6097008144f5

Questions about Ops Desktop

• github.com/Lifecycle-Innovations-Limited/claude-ops/tree/main/cl — the audited source at commit 6097008144f5 and every finding aboveObserved · 28 Oct 2026

Spotted something wrong? Report a correction · Methodology