Installation

Install the public deskctl command first, then validate the desktop runtime with deskctl doctor before trying to automate anything.

Recommended path

npm install -g deskctl
deskctl doctor

deskctl is the default install path. It installs the command by downloading the matching Forgejo Release asset for the supported runtime target.

This path does not require a Rust toolchain. The installed command is always deskctl, even though the release asset itself is target-specific.

Skill install

The repo skill lives under skills/deskctl, so you can install it directly uring skills.sh

npx skills add harivansh-afk/deskctl

Other install paths

Nix

nix run github:harivansh-afk/deskctl -- --help
nix profile install github:harivansh-afk/deskctl

Rust

git clone https://git.harivan.sh/harivansh-afk/deskctl
cd deskctl
cargo build

Source builds on Linux require:

• Rust 1.75+
• pkg-config
• X11 development libraries such as libx11-dev and libxtst-dev

Runtime requirements

• Linux with an active X11 session
• DISPLAY set to a usable X11 display, such as DISPLAY=:1
• XDG_SESSION_TYPE=x11 or an equivalent X11 session environment
• a window manager or desktop environment that exposes standard EWMH properties such as _NET_CLIENT_LIST_STACKING and _NET_ACTIVE_WINDOW

The binary itself only depends on the standard Linux glibc runtime.

Verification

If setup fails for any reason start here:

deskctl doctor

doctor checks X11 connectivity, window enumeration, screenshot viability, and daemon/socket health before normal command execution.