| name | capture-windows-screen |
| description | Capture the current Windows desktop from this WSL/OpenClaw environment and return the PNG path for inspection or delivery. Use when the user asks to screenshot the current screen, show what is on the Windows desktop, inspect a visible app/window, or send the latest screen image back to them. |
Permission Setup Review
python scripts/_setup_logs.py is an optional setup helper for the Capture Windows Screen skill. It may apply broad filesystem permissions for compatibility. Show the target paths and permission mode, explain the risk, and prefer a narrower mode when shared write access is not needed.
Capture Windows Screen
Use the bundled script for screenshot requests in this environment. It calls the Windows PowerShell helper, copies the PNG into a chosen staging folder, and prints the staged path.
Use two staging modes:
- Analysis / inspection: keep the default workspace
tmp-media/ staging.
- Messaging-surface delivery: prefer
~/.openclaw/media/outbound/ so the file is already in OpenClaw's managed outbound media store.
Quick workflow
- For analysis or inspection, run
bash scripts/capture-windows-screen.sh from this skill directory.
- For delivery back to a chat app, run
STAGE_DIR=/home/lhs/.openclaw/media/outbound bash scripts/capture-windows-screen.sh.
- Treat the printed path as the staged screenshot to use next.
- If the user wants the image in chat, prefer the managed outbound path from step 2 and send it with a bare
MEDIA: line when possible.
- If the user wants analysis, inspect the staged image after capture.
Commands
Analysis / inspection path:
bash scripts/capture-windows-screen.sh
Delivery-safe path for chat apps:
STAGE_DIR=/home/lhs/.openclaw/media/outbound bash scripts/capture-windows-screen.sh
Expected output:
/home/lhs/.openclaw/workspace/tmp-media/latest-screen-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png
or, for delivery-safe staging:
/home/lhs/.openclaw/media/outbound/latest-screen-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png
Environment assumptions
This skill assumes these host-side paths exist:
- PowerShell:
/mnt/c/Windows/System32/WindowsPowerShell/v1.0/powershell.exe
- Capture helper:
C:\OpenClaw\capture-screen.ps1
- Screenshot output:
C:\OpenClaw\latest-screen.png
- WSL mirror path:
/mnt/c/OpenClaw/latest-screen.png
- Workspace staging directory for inspection copies:
/home/lhs/.openclaw/workspace/tmp-media
- Managed outbound media store for delivery retries / chat attachments:
/home/lhs/.openclaw/media/outbound
Failure handling
- If PowerShell or the helper script is missing, check local machine-specific notes before changing paths.
- If the command succeeds but the PNG is missing, rerun once, then verify the helper still writes to
C:\OpenClaw\latest-screen.png.
- If the browser shows the image but Telegram or another chat app does not receive it, assume the file stayed at local-preview level. Restage it into
/home/lhs/.openclaw/media/outbound and retry using only the managed outbound path.
- Do not assume a workspace
tmp-media/ path is delivery-safe just because the web UI can preview it.
- Do not invent alternate screenshot commands unless the configured path is clearly broken.