deskbrid

Install GNOME Shell extension

cp -r extensions/deskbrid@deskbrid ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/ gnome-extensions enable deskbrid@deskbrid

Build and run

cargo build --release ./target/release/deskbrid daemon &

Build with MCP support

cargo build --features mcp --release

Build and run

cargo build --release ./target/release/deskbrid daemon &

Build and run

cargo build --release ./target/release/deskbrid daemon &

Auto-setup

Deskbrid provides a setup subcommand that auto-detects your desktop and configures dependencies:

deskbrid setup

What it does per desktop:

Quick start

Example output on KDE

$ deskbrid setup Detected desktop: KDE ℹ Install dependencies: sudo apt install spectacle imagemagick wl-clipboard ydotool ℹ Add ydotoold autostart: see DEPENDENCIES.md ℹ Fix /dev/uinput permissions: sudo usermod -aG input $USER

Example config

```toml

Python example

```python from deskbrid import Deskbrid

client = Deskbrid()

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gsettings set org.gnome.shell disable-extension-version-validation "true"

Add ydotoold to your Hyprland config

echo 'exec-once = ydotoold' >> ~/.config/hypr/hyprland.conf

Config location

~/.config/deskbrid/permissions.toml

The extension needs its shell-version updated to match. Check yours:

cat ~/.local/share/gnome-shell/extensions/deskbrid@deskbrid/metadata.json

Real-world example: an AI agent controlling VS Code

→ {"action": "windows.list"}
← [{"title": "PatchHive — VS Code", "app_id": "code", ...},
   {"title": "praxis — VS Code", "app_id": "code", ...}]

→ {"action": "windows.focus", "window_id": "code"}
← {"type": "response", "status": "ok"}

→ {"action": "input.mouse", "action": "move", "x": 900, "y": 920}
→ {"action": "input.mouse", "action": "click", "button": "left"}
→ {"action": "input.keyboard", "action": "type", "text": "Fix the build errors\n"}

The agent picks the right window by title substring, brings it to front, clicks into the chat input, and types. Works identically on GNOME, Hyprland, and KDE.

Compared to alternatives

Deskbrid is the only tool that combines all of these into a single daemon with a structured protocol designed for programmatic use — and it works on GNOME, Hyprland, KDE, and shared X11 desktops.