--- name: desktop-control description: Control desktop applications on Windows — launch, close, focus, resize, move windows, simulate keyboard/mouse input, manage processes, control VSCode, read clipboard, and capture screen info. Use when the user wants to interact with any running program, switch windows, type text, press shortcuts, open files in VSCode, manage running processes, or get system display information. ---

Desktop Control — Full Windows Application Control

Publish-only note (ClawHub)

This Publish package includes scripts as .ps1.txt because Publish only accepts text files. After download, rename each .ps1.txt to .ps1 and place them in a scripts/ folder to use the skill.

Control any desktop application on this Windows machine. Launch programs, manage windows, simulate input, control VSCode, and monitor processes — all via PowerShell scripts.

CRITICAL: Script Location

All scripts are located relative to this skill folder:

SKILL_DIR = ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts

When running scripts, always use the full path:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/<script>.ps1" -Action <action> [params]

IMPORTANT: Safety Rules

1. Before closing windows — Ask user for confirmation if the window might have unsaved work
2. Before killing processes — Always confirm with user unless they explicitly asked to kill it
3. Before sending input — Make sure the correct window is focused first
4. Clipboard — Warn user if you are overwriting clipboard content

---

Action Reference

1. Window Management (app-control.ps1)

Manage application windows — launch, close, focus, resize, move, snap.

List all visible windows

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action list-windows

Returns: PID, window title, position (X,Y), size (W×H), state (Normal/Minimized/Maximized)

Launch an application

# By name (searches PATH and common locations)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action launch -Target "notepad"

# By full path
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action launch -Target "C:\Program Files\MyApp\app.exe"

# With arguments
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action launch -Target "code" -Arguments "C:\Users\ibach\project"

Focus (bring to foreground)

# By window title (partial match)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action focus -Target "Visual Studio Code"

# By PID
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action focus -ProcId 12345

Close a window gracefully

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action close -Target "Notepad"

Minimize / Maximize / Restore

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action minimize -Target "Visual Studio Code"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action maximize -Target "Visual Studio Code"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action restore -Target "Visual Studio Code"

Move a window

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action move -Target "Notepad" -X 100 -Y 200

Resize a window

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action resize -Target "Notepad" -Width 800 -Height 600

Snap a window (half-screen)

# Options: left, right, top, bottom, topleft, topright, bottomleft, bottomright
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/app-control.ps1" -Action snap -Target "Notepad" -Position left

---

2. Input Simulation (input-sim.ps1)

Simulate keyboard and mouse input into any application.

IMPORTANT: Always focus the target window FIRST using app-control.ps1 -Action focus before sending input.

Type text

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action type-text -Text "Hello, World!"

Send keyboard shortcut

# Common shortcuts: Ctrl+S, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V, Ctrl+Z, Alt+F4, Ctrl+Shift+P, Win+D
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action send-keys -Keys "Ctrl+S"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action send-keys -Keys "Ctrl+Shift+P"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action send-keys -Keys "Alt+Tab"

Send special keys

# Keys: Enter, Tab, Escape, Backspace, Delete, Up, Down, Left, Right, Home, End, PageUp, PageDown, F1-F12
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action send-keys -Keys "Enter"
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action send-keys -Keys "F5"

Mouse click at coordinates

# Left click
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action mouse-click -X 500 -Y 300

# Right click
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action mouse-click -X 500 -Y 300 -Button right

# Double click
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action mouse-click -X 500 -Y 300 -DoubleClick

Move mouse

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action mouse-move -X 500 -Y 300

Scroll

# Scroll up (positive) or down (negative)
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action mouse-scroll -Clicks 3
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/input-sim.ps1" -Action mouse-scroll -Clicks -3

---

3. VSCode Control (vscode-control.ps1)

Control Visual Studio Code through the code CLI and extensions.

Open a file

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/vscode-control.ps1" -Action open-file -Path "C:\Users\ibach\project\main.py"

Open a file at a specific line

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/vscode-control.ps1" -Action goto -Path "C:\Users\ibach\project\main.py" -Line 42

Open a folder/workspace

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File "$HOME/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control/scripts/vscode-control.ps1" -Action open-folder -Path "C:\Users\ibach\project"

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