Control

Advanced desktop automation with mouse, keyboard, and screen control

Security Scan

The skill's code and documentation mostly match a desktop automation tool, but mismatched metadata, missing install instructions vs. included code, and the fact it can autonomously control keyboard/mouse, read screenshots/clipboard, and may auto-detect an LLM client are reasons to proceed cautiously.

Purpose & Capability

The name, description, SKILL.md, and code implement desktop automation (mouse, keyboard, screenshots, window management, clipboard). That functionality is coherent with the stated purpose. However there are metadata inconsistencies: the registry metadata (ownerId/slug) differs from _meta.json (different ownerId and slug 'desktop-control'), and the published skill's slug 'control' differs from package files. The skill contains code files (Python) but no install spec in the registry metadata — the SKILL.md instructs pip-install of several dependencies (pyautogui, opencv, pygetwindow, pyperclip), which is necessary but not declared in the registry. These mismatches could be harmless packaging issues but warrant scrutiny.

Instruction Scope

Runtime instructions and the code stay within desktop automation scope: move mouse, type text, take screenshots, manipulate clipboard, list windows, and run demo flows. The ai_agent component can plan and autonomously execute multi-step workflows (open apps, type, click, take screenshots). This is expected for this skill but grants broad local control (including the ability to type into any focused window, open apps, read/modify clipboard, and capture screen contents). The SKILL.md demos explicitly ask user to run sequences that will control the desktop — that's expected but high-impact.

Install Mechanism

No install spec is provided in the registry (lowest install risk), but the package includes Python code that imports pyautogui and the documentation instructs pip install of pyautogui, pillow, opencv-python, pygetwindow, pyperclip. Because the registry doesn't declare or bundle dependencies, users must install them manually. opencv-python and pyautogui may require native dependencies/permissions on some OSes. No remote downloads or URL-based installers were found.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables or credentials, which is consistent with a purely local desktop-control tool. One uncertainty: ai_agent.py accepts an optional llm_client and comments that it will 'try to auto-detect' an LLM client — the visible code sets llm_client from an argument but truncated portions could attempt to discover/configure a model client or use system credentials. No explicit environment-variable reads or network endpoints are present in the visible code, but the potential LLM integration is a place to check for undeclared credential usage.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request always:true, and does not declare any persistent system-wide modifications. It can be invoked by the model autonomously (disable-model-invocation is false), which is the platform default; combined with its ability to act on the user's desktop this increases potential impact but is expected for an automation skill. The code does not appear to modify other skills' configs.

What to consider before installing

This package appears to be a legitimate desktop automation skill that implements the features described, but there are a few red flags to consider before installing and running it: - Metadata mismatch: the registry owner/slug differ from the _meta.json inside the package. Confirm the author's identity and source before trusting the package. - Manual dependency installation: the skill expects pyautogui, opencv-python, pygetwindow, pyperclip, etc. Install these in a contained environment (virtualenv or VM) and inspect for platform-specific permission prompts (accessibility/access to control input on macOS, for example). - Powerful local capabilities: the skill can move your mouse, type into any active window, take screenshots, and read/modify clipboard contents. Only run it when you trust the code and on a non-sensitive session (or in a VM) and enable failsafe/require_approval. - Autonomy & LLM integration: the ai_agent component can execute multi-step tasks autonomously. Avoid providing an LLM client or credentials until you've reviewed any code paths that might send screenshots or other data to external services. - Safety tips: enable failsafe (DesktopController(failsafe=True)), prefer require_approval=True during testing, run demos step-by-step rather than 'run all', and test inside a disposable VM. If you plan to allow autonomous execution, review the full ai_agent.py to ensure it does not attempt to auto-detect or transmit credentials/data. If you want higher confidence: ask the publisher to reconcile the metadata, provide a provenance/source URL (repo or homepage), or provide a signed release. If you provide the truncated parts of ai_agent.py and __init__.py for review, I can re-evaluate any hidden behaviors.

Desktop Control Skill

The most advanced desktop automation skill for OpenClaw. Provides pixel-perfect mouse control, lightning-fast keyboard input, screen capture, window management, and clipboard operations.

🎯 Features

Mouse Control

• ✅ Absolute positioning - Move to exact coordinates
• ✅ Relative movement - Move from current position
• ✅ Smooth movement - Natural, human-like mouse paths
• ✅ Click types - Left, right, middle, double, triple clicks
• ✅ Drag & drop - Drag from point A to point B
• ✅ Scroll - Vertical and horizontal scrolling
• ✅ Position tracking - Get current mouse coordinates

Keyboard Control

• ✅ Text typing - Fast, accurate text input
• ✅ Hotkeys - Execute keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+C, Win+R, etc.)
• ✅ Special keys - Enter, Tab, Escape, Arrow keys, F-keys
• ✅ Key combinations - Multi-key press combinations
• ✅ Hold & release - Manual key state control
• ✅ Typing speed - Configurable WPM (instant to human-like)

Screen Operations

• ✅ Screenshot - Capture entire screen or regions
• ✅ Image recognition - Find elements on screen (via OpenCV)
• ✅ Color detection - Get pixel colors at coordinates
• ✅ Multi-monitor - Support for multiple displays

Window Management

• ✅ Window list - Get all open windows
• ✅ Activate window - Bring window to front
• ✅ Window info - Get position, size, title
• ✅ Minimize/Maximize - Control window states

Safety Features

• ✅ Failsafe - Move mouse to corner to abort
• ✅ Pause control - Emergency stop mechanism
• ✅ Approval mode - Require confirmation for actions
• ✅ Bounds checking - Prevent out-of-screen operations
• ✅ Logging - Track all automation actions

---

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

First, install required dependencies:

pip install pyautogui pillow opencv-python pygetwindow

Basic Usage

from skills.desktop_control import DesktopController

# Initialize controller
dc = DesktopController(failsafe=True)

# Mouse operations
dc.move_mouse(500, 300)  # Move to coordinates
dc.click()  # Left click at current position
dc.click(100, 200, button="right")  # Right click at position

# Keyboard operations
dc.type_text("Hello from OpenClaw!")
dc.hotkey("ctrl", "c")  # Copy
dc.press("enter")

# Screen operations
screenshot = dc.screenshot()
position = dc.get_mouse_position()

---

📋 Complete API Reference

Mouse Functions

move_mouse(x, y, duration=0, smooth=True)

Move mouse to absolute screen coordinates.

Parameters:

• x (int): X coordinate (pixels from left)
• y (int): Y coordinate (pixels from top)
• duration (float): Movement time in seconds (0 = instant, 0.5 = smooth)
• smooth (bool): Use bezier curve for natural movement

Example:

# Instant movement
dc.move_mouse(1000, 500)

# Smooth 1-second movement
dc.move_mouse(1000, 500, duration=1.0)

move_relative(x_offset, y_offset, duration=0)

Move mouse relative to current position.

Parameters:

• x_offset (int): Pixels to move horizontally (positive = right)
• y_offset (int): Pixels to move vertically (positive = down)
• duration (float): Movement time in seconds

Example:

# Move 100px right, 50px down
dc.move_relative(100, 50, duration=0.3)

click(x=None, y=None, button='left', clicks=1, interval=0.1)

Perform mouse click.

Parameters:

• x, y (int, optional): Coordinates to click (None = current position)
• button (str): 'left', 'right', 'middle'
• clicks (int): Number of clicks (1 = single, 2 = double)
• interval (float): Delay between multiple clicks

Example:

# Simple left click
dc.click()

# Double-click at specific position
dc.click(500, 300, clicks=2)

# Right-click
dc.click(button='right')

drag(start_x, start_y, end_x, end_y, duration=0.5, button='left')

Drag and drop operation.

Parameters:

• start_x, start_y (int): Starting coordinates
• end_x, end_y (int): Ending coordinates
• duration (float): Drag duration
• button (str): Mouse button to use

Example:

# Drag file from desktop to folder
dc.drag(100, 100, 500, 500, duration=1.0)

scroll(clicks, direction='vertical', x=None, y=None)

Scroll mouse wheel.

Parameters:

• clicks (int): Scroll amount (positive = up/left, negative = down/right)
• direction (str): 'vertical' or 'horizontal'
• x, y (int, optional): Position to scroll at

Example:

# Scroll down 5 clicks
dc.scroll(-5)

# Scroll up 10 clicks
dc.scroll(10)

# Horizontal scroll
dc.scroll(5, direction='horizontal')

get_mouse_position()

Get current mouse coordinates.

Returns: (x, y) tuple

Example:

x, y = dc.get_mouse_position()
print(f"Mouse is at: {x}, {y}")

---

Keyboard Functions

type_text(text, interval=0, wpm=None)

Type text with configurable speed.

Parameters:

• text (str): Text to type
• interval (float): Delay between keystrokes (0 = instant)
• wpm (int, optional): Words per minute (overrides interval)

Example:

# Instant typing
dc.type_text("Hello World")

# Human-like typing at 60 WPM
dc.type_text("Hello World", wpm=60)

# Slow typing with 0.1s between keys
dc.type_text("Hello World", interval=0.1)

press(key, presses=1, interval=0.1)

Press and release a key.

Parameters:

• key (str): Key name (see Key Names section)
• presses (int): Number of times to press
• interval (float): Delay between presses

Example:

# Press Enter
dc.press('enter')

# Press Space 3 times
dc.press('space', presses=3)

# Press Down arrow
dc.press('down')

hotkey(*keys, interval=0.05)

Execute keyboard shortcut.

Parameters:

• *keys (str): Keys to press together
• interval (float): Delay between key presses

Example:

# Copy (Ctrl+C)
dc.hotkey('ctrl', 'c')

# Paste (Ctrl+V)
dc.hotkey('ctrl', 'v')

# Open Run dialog (Win+R)
dc.hotkey('win', 'r')

# Save (Ctrl+S)
dc.hotkey('ctrl', 's')

# Select All (Ctrl+A)
dc.hotkey('ctrl', 'a')

key_down(key) / key_up(key)

Manually control key state.

Example:

# Hold Shift
dc.key_down('shift')
dc.type_text("hello")  # Types "HELLO"
dc.key_up('shift')

# Hold Ctrl and click (for multi-select)
dc.key_down('ctrl')
dc.click(100, 100)
dc.click(200, 100)
dc.key_up('ctrl')

---

Screen Functions

screenshot(region=None, filename=None)

Capture screen or region.

Parameters:

• region (tuple, optional): (left, top, width, height) for partial capture
• filename (str, optional): Path to save image

Returns: PIL Image object

Example:

# Full screen
img = dc.screenshot()

# Save to file
dc.screenshot(filename="screenshot.png")

# Capture specific region
img = dc.screenshot(region=(100, 100, 500, 300))

get_pixel_color(x, y)

Get color of pixel at coordinates.

Returns: RGB tuple (r, g, b)

Example:

r, g, b = dc.get_pixel_color(500, 300)
print(f"Color at (500, 300): RGB({r}, {g}, {b})")

find_on_screen(image_path, confidence=0.8)

Find image on screen (requires OpenCV).

Parameters:

• image_path (str): Path to template image
• confidence (float): Match threshold (0-1)

Returns: (x, y, width, height) or None

Example:

# Find button on screen
location = dc.find_on_screen("button.png")
if location:
    x, y, w, h = location
    # Click center of found image
    dc.click(x + w//2, y + h//2)

get_screen_size()

Get screen resolution.

Returns: (width, height) tuple

Example:

width, height = dc.get_screen_size()
print(f"Screen: {width}x{height}")

---

Window Functions

get_all_windows()

List all open windows.

Returns: List of window titles

Example:

windows = dc.get_all_windows()
for title in windows:
    print(f"Window: {title}")

activate_window(title_substring)

Bring window to front by title.

Parameters:

• title_substring (str): Part of window title to match

Example:

# Activate Chrome
dc.activate_window("Chrome")

# Activate VS Code
dc.activate_window("Visual Studio Code")

get_active_window()

Get currently focused window.

Returns: Window title (str)

Example:

active = dc.get_active_window()
print(f"Active window: {active}")

---

Clipboard Functions

copy_to_clipboard(text)

Copy text to clipboard.

Example:

dc.copy_to_clipboard("Hello from OpenClaw!")

get_from_clipboard()

Get text from clipboard.

Returns: str

Example:

text = dc.get_from_clipboard()
print(f"Clipboard: {text}")

---

⌨️ Key Names Reference

Alphabet Keys

'a' through 'z'

Number Keys

'0' through '9'

Function Keys

'f1' through 'f24'

Special Keys

• 'enter' / 'return'
• 'esc' / 'escape'
• 'space' / 'spacebar'
• 'tab'
• 'backspace'
• 'delete' / 'del'
• 'insert'
• 'home'
• 'end'
• 'pageup' / 'pgup'
• 'pagedown' / 'pgdn'

Arrow Keys

• 'up' / 'down' / 'left' / 'right'

Modifier Keys

• 'ctrl' / 'control'
• 'shift'
• 'alt'
• 'win' / 'winleft' / 'winright'
• 'cmd' / 'command' (Mac)

Lock Keys

• 'capslock'
• 'numlock'
• 'scrolllock'

Punctuation

• '.' / ',' / '?' / '!' / ';' / ':'
• '[' / ']' / '{' / '}'
• '(' / ')'
• '+' / '-' / '*' / '/' / '='

---

🛡️ Safety Features

Failsafe Mode

Move mouse to any corner of the screen to abort all automation.

# Enable failsafe (enabled by default)
dc = DesktopController(failsafe=True)

Pause Control

# Pause all automation for 2 seconds
dc.pause(2.0)

# Check if automation is safe to proceed
if dc.is_safe():
    dc.click(500, 500)

Approval Mode

Require user confirmation before actions:

dc = DesktopController(require_approval=True)

# This will ask for confirmation
dc.click(500, 500)  # Prompt: "Allow click at (500, 500)? [y/n]"

---

🎨 Advanced Examples

Example 1: Automated Form Filling

dc = DesktopController()

# Click name field
dc.click(300, 200)
dc.type_text("John Doe", wpm=80)

# Tab to next field
dc.press('tab')
dc.type_text("[e-mail]", wpm=80)

# Tab to password
dc.press('tab')
dc.type_text("SecurePassword123", wpm=60)

# Submit form
dc.press('enter')

Example 2: Screenshot Region and Save

# Capture specific area
region = (100, 100, 800, 600)  # left, top, width, height
img = dc.screenshot(region=region)

# Save with timestamp
import datetime
timestamp = datetime.datetime.now().strftime("%Y%m%d_%H%M%S")
img.save(f"capture_{timestamp}.png")

Example 3: Multi-File Selection

# Hold Ctrl and click multiple files
dc.key_down('ctrl')
dc.click(100, 200)  # First file
dc.click(100, 250)  # Second file
dc.click(100, 300)  # Third file
dc.key_up('ctrl')

# Copy selected files
dc.hotkey('ctrl', 'c')

Example 4: Window Automation

# Activate Calculator
dc.activate_window("Calculator")
time.sleep(0.5)

# Type calculation
dc.type_text("5+3=", interval=0.2)
time.sleep(0.5)

# Take screenshot of result
dc.screenshot(filename="calculation_result.png")

Example 5: Drag & Drop File

# Drag file from source to destination
dc.drag(
    start_x=200, start_y=300,  # File location
    end_x=800, end_y=500,       # Folder location
    duration=1.0                 # Smooth 1-second drag
)

---

⚡ Performance Tips

1. Use instant movements for speed: duration=0
2. Batch operations instead of individual calls
3. Cache screen positions instead of recalculating
4. Disable failsafe for maximum performance (use with caution)
5. Use hotkeys instead of menu navigation

---

⚠️ Important Notes

• Screen coordinates start at (0, 0) in top-left corner
• Multi-monitor setups may have negative coordinates for secondary displays
• Windows DPI scaling may affect coordinate accuracy
• Failsafe corners are: (0,0), (width-1, 0), (0, height-1), (width-1, height-1)
• Some applications may block simulated input (games, secure apps)

---

🔧 Troubleshooting

Mouse not moving to correct position

• Check DPI scaling settings
• Verify screen resolution matches expectations
• Use get_screen_size() to confirm dimensions

Keyboard input not working

• Ensure target application has focus
• Some apps require admin privileges
• Try increasing interval for reliability

Failsafe triggering accidentally

• Increase screen border tolerance
• Move mouse away from corners during normal use
• Disable if needed: DesktopController(failsafe=False)

Permission errors

• Run Python with administrator privileges for some operations
• Some secure applications block automation

---

📦 Dependencies

• PyAutoGUI - Core automation engine
• Pillow - Image processing
• OpenCV (optional) - Image recognition
• PyGetWindow - Window management

Install all:

pip install pyautogui pillow opencv-python pygetwindow

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Built for OpenClaw - The ultimate desktop automation companion 🦞