desktop-control-mint

name	desktop-control-mint
version	1.7.0
description	Control the Linux Mint desktop via PyAutoGUI MCP. Implements a screenshot-reason-act-verify loop: take a screenshot, analyze what is visible, determine where to click or type, act, then immediately screenshot again to assess the result before proceeding. Use when the user asks to click, type, automate, or interact with any Linux GUI.
tags	["linux","mint","desktop","automation","pyautogui","mcp","mouse","keyboard"]
metadata	{"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🖥️","requires":{"bins":["mcporter"]}}}
env	{"DESKTOP_MCP_URL":{"description":"URL of the PyAutoGUI MCP server running on localhost","default":"http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp"}}

Desktop control — Linux Mint (PyAutoGUI MCP)

Controls the Linux Mint desktop from OpenClaw via a PyAutoGUI MCP server running locally. All commands run via mcporter call in a bash shell. You MUST use bash to run these commands — they are CLI commands, not special tool calls.

---

Setup (run once per session)

1. Start the MCP server (if not already running)

# Check if server is running
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp > /dev/null && echo "Server running" || echo "Server not running"

# Start the server (if needed)
python3 -m pyautogui_mcp --transport http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8765 &
sleep 2

2. Configure the mcporter server alias

Check if the mint mcporter alias exists, and create it if missing:

mcporter list mint 2>&1 || mcporter config add mint --url "${DESKTOP_MCP_URL:-http://127.0.0.1:8765/mcp}" --allow-http --yes

3. Verify connectivity and get screen dimensions

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_size

Returns {"width": 1920, "height": 1080} (or similar). Record these values — you will need them for coordinate reasoning.

4. Add screenshot helper to PATH

export PATH="$PATH:$(dirname "$(find ~/.openclaw/workspace/skills/desktop-control-mint/bin -name desktop-screenshot -type f 2>/dev/null)")"

5. Take an initial screenshot to understand current desktop state

desktop-screenshot /tmp/desktop_screenshot.png

Then read the saved image file to view it.

---

Architecture — how calls work

Each mcporter call is an independent HTTP request to the MCP server. The server runs PyAutoGUI locally. This has critical implications:

• Each call is atomic and stateless. There is no session persistence between calls.
• Mouse button state (mouseDown) does NOT persist across separate calls. A mouseDown in one call is effectively released before the next call's moveTo executes. Only use mouseDown/mouseUp within the context of a single operation (like shape tools where the OS handles the drag internally).
• Keyboard modifier state (keyDown) does NOT persist across calls for the same reason. Use hotkey for key combinations.
• The dragTo and drag functions are atomic — they perform the full mouseDown → move → mouseUp within a single call. These are the reliable way to drag.

---

Perception-Action Loop (REQUIRED)

Every desktop interaction MUST follow this loop. Never execute a blind sequence of clicks. Every action must be preceded and followed by observation.

The two-pass observation model

A full-screen screenshot is 1920x1080 pixels but is displayed to you at roughly 480px wide — a 4x downscale. At that scale, toolbar icons are ~8px across and individual buttons are indistinguishable. You CANNOT reliably identify small UI elements from a full-screen screenshot alone.

Every observation therefore requires two passes:

1. SURVEY — full-screen screenshot. Gives you the overall layout: which app is open, where the toolbar is, where the canvas is, roughly where menus and buttons are.
2. ZOOM — cropped region screenshot of the area you need to interact with. Gives you pixel-level detail: which icon is which, which tool is selected (highlighted), what text says, exact coordinates for clicking.

You MUST zoom before clicking any UI element smaller than ~100px. Toolbars, ribbons, menus, dialog buttons, and icon grids all require a zoom pass. Only large, unambiguous targets (a maximized canvas, a large dialog button, the desktop background) can be clicked from a survey screenshot alone.

The loop

LOOP:
  1. SURVEY    — full-screen screenshot → read the image
                 Identify: which app, window layout, approximate
                 location of the target area
  2. ZOOM      — cropped region screenshot of the target area
                 Identify: exact element positions, which tool/button
                 is selected, text labels, icon details
                 You may need MULTIPLE zooms if the area is complex
                 (e.g. zoom toolbar, then zoom a subsection of it)
  3. REASON    — from the zoomed view, determine exact coordinates
                 for the next action. State them explicitly.
  4. PLAN      — decide the single next action
  5. ACT       — execute that one action via mcporter call
  6. VERIFY    — zoom into the affected area again to confirm
                 the action had the expected effect
                 (e.g. did the tool highlight change? did the
                 shape appear on the canvas?)
                 if yes → continue to next step
                 if no  → re-examine and adjust
  REPEAT until the task is complete

Zoom requirements by target type

Target	Zoom required?	Recommended region size
Toolbar/ribbon icons	YES always	200-400px wide strip
Menu items	YES always	200-300px around menu
Dialog buttons (OK/Cancel)	YES always	300px around dialog
Color palette / swatches	YES always	200px around palette
Canvas / large content area	Only to verify	300-400px around drawn content
Desktop background	No	—
Full-window click (to focus)	No	—

The toolbar mapping procedure

When you need to interact with a toolbar or ribbon (e.g. selecting a tool, clicking a button in any app), follow this procedure:

1. Survey — full-screen screenshot to find the approximate toolbar position (e.g. "toolbar appears to be at y=55-110, x=0-800").
2. Zoom the full toolbar — take a region screenshot spanning the entire toolbar width with ~50px height.

   desktop-screenshot /tmp/toolbar.png --region 0,55,900,60
   

3. Read the zoomed toolbar image. Identify and label each visible section and icon. State what you see: "I see: File | Edit | [Save(highlighted)] [Open] | Tools..."
4. If icons are still ambiguous, zoom further into just that section (e.g. a 100x40px crop of just the tools area).
5. Map coordinates. For each icon you identified, note its approximate screen coordinate (region_x + crop_offset_x).
6. Click the target using the mapped coordinate.
7. Zoom the toolbar again to verify the correct tool is now highlighted/selected.

When you may skip the zoom pass

• Clicking a large, unambiguous area (full canvas, desktop background)
• Re-clicking a coordinate you already verified in a previous zoom
• Batching dragTo calls that form a single drawn shape
• Setup commands (configuring mcporter, setting PATH)
• A hotkey immediately followed by a sleep

---

Screenshots (primary observation tool)

Screenshots are the foundation of this skill. The MCP server returns base64-encoded image data. Because full-screen screenshots exceed shell output limits (~64KB), you MUST use the helper script.

Using the helper script (REQUIRED)

The helper script bin/desktop-screenshot captures, decodes, and saves screenshots in one step. Always use it instead of calling pyautogui_screenshot_encoded directly.

# SURVEY: full screen screenshot
desktop-screenshot /tmp/desktop_screenshot.png

# ZOOM: cropped region for detail (x, y, width, height)
desktop-screenshot /tmp/toolbar.png --region 0,55,900,60
desktop-screenshot /tmp/canvas_check.png --region 750,450,300,200

# JPEG for faster capture when quality isn't critical
desktop-screenshot /tmp/shot.jpg --quality 50

After running the script, read the saved image file to view it.

After every screenshot, explicitly state:

• What application or window is currently in focus
• What you can see (list specific UI elements, labels, icons)
• For zoomed screenshots: map each visible element to its screen coordinate (region offset + position in cropped image)
• What you intend to do next and why

Coordinate grounding protocol (MANDATORY)

Every click derived from a cropped screenshot MUST go through this explicit conversion. State the math out loud before clicking. This is the #1 source of errors — do not skip it.

The formula

screen_x = crop_origin_x + element_position_in_crop_x
screen_y = crop_origin_y + element_position_in_crop_y

Required format

When you identify a click target from a zoomed screenshot, you MUST state all four values explicitly before acting:

Crop region: --region 280,80,200,100
  → crop_origin = (280, 80)
Target element center in crop: (60, 30)
  → screen coordinate = (280+60, 80+30) = (340, 110)
Clicking at: (340, 110)

Never write just "clicking at (340, 110)" — always show the crop origin and the position within the crop so the math can be verified.

Common grounding mistakes

Mistake	Example	Correct
Using crop-relative coords as screen coords	Crop at (280,80), icon at crop pixel (60,30), clicking (60,30)	Click (340, 110)
Forgetting to add crop origin	"Icon is at pixel 60 in the toolbar crop" → clicks (60, 95)	Must add crop_origin_x: (280+60, 80+30)
Reusing coords from a different crop	Found icon in crop A at (340,110), but took a new crop B with different origin, still clicking (340,110)	Re-derive from crop B's origin
Estimating from full-screen screenshot	"The icon looks like it's around x=635" without zooming	Must zoom first, then derive exact coords

Screenshot strategy

Purpose	Type	Example
Understand layout	Survey	desktop-screenshot /tmp/screen.png
Identify toolbar icons	Zoom	desktop-screenshot /tmp/tb.png --region 0,55,900,60
Verify tool selected	Zoom	desktop-screenshot /tmp/tool.png --region 280,85,120,40
Verify drawing result	Zoom	desktop-screenshot /tmp/draw.png --region 800,400,350,300
Read dialog text	Zoom	desktop-screenshot /tmp/dlg.png --region 350,200,400,200
Find canvas bounds	Pixel	mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args '{"x":960,"y":350}'

---

Coordinate reasoning

1. Origin (0,0) is top-left. x increases right, y increases down.
2. 1:1 pixel mapping. The screen is 1920x1080. Screenshot images map 1:1 to screen pixels. If a button appears at pixel (350, 120) in the screenshot image, click at coordinates (350, 120). There is no scaling.
3. Click the center of the target element, not its edge.
4. Zoom when uncertain. Use a region screenshot before clicking: desktop-screenshot /tmp/zoom.png --region x-100,y-100,200,200
5. Verify with pixel color:

   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'
   

   Returns [R, G, B]. White canvas = [255, 255, 255], dark UI = [39, 39, 39].
6. Scan for boundaries. To find canvas edges or UI boundaries, check pixel colors at intervals:

   # Find where white canvas starts vertically at x=960
   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args '{"x":960,"y":300}'
   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args '{"x":960,"y":350}'
   

7. Check coordinates are on screen:

   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_onScreen --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'
   

8. App canvas bounds — MUST measure, never estimate. Do not eyeball canvas boundaries from a full-screen screenshot. The canvas position depends on window size, toolbar state, and whether a shape selection is active. You MUST scan pixel colors to find the actual white/content boundaries each time before drawing.

Canvas bounds measurement procedure

Do not estimate canvas bounds from a full screenshot. Measure them:

# 1. Scan vertically at screen center to find top/bottom of white area
for y in 200 250 300 350 400; do
  mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args "{\"x\":960,\"y\":$y}"
done
# White = [255,255,255]. First white pixel = canvas_top.

# 2. Continue scanning to find bottom
for y in 800 850 900 950; do
  mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args "{\"x\":960,\"y\":$y}"
done
# Last white pixel = canvas_bottom.

# 3. Scan horizontally at canvas vertical center to find left/right
for x in 400 450 500 550 600; do
  mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args "{\"x\":$x,\"y\":CANVAS_VMID}"
done
# First white pixel = canvas_left.

# 4. Narrow down with 10px increments once you find the boundary region

Record the four values: canvas_left, canvas_right, canvas_top, canvas_bottom. Calculate center and dimensions from these. These are your ground-truth coordinates for all drawing operations.

---

Window management

Identify active window (do this before every action sequence)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getActiveWindowTitle

List all visible windows

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getAllTitles

Find windows by title (substring match)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getWindowsWithTitle --args '{"title":"Calculator"}'

Returns: [{"left": 619, "top": 0, "width": 1309, "height": 1028}]

Find which window is at a screen coordinate

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getWindowsAt --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

Get full window object (position, size, state)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getActiveWindow
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getAllWindows

Bring a window to the foreground

There is no direct "activate window" function. Use one of these:

1. Click the window's title bar (use coordinates from getWindowsWithTitle)
2. Alt+Tab to cycle windows:

   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["alt","tab"]}'
   

3. Click the window in the panel/taskbar (identify position from screenshot)
4. Launch the app via Alt+F2 if it's not open:

   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["alt","f2"]}'
   # wait 0.5s
   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_typewrite --args '{"message":"gnome-calculator"}'
   mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["enter"]}'
   

---

Mouse

Click

# Left click at coordinates
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_click --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Right click
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_rightClick --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Double click
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_doubleClick --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Triple click (select entire line of text)
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_tripleClick --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Middle click
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_middleClick --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Multiple clicks with interval
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_click --args '{"x":500,"y":300,"clicks":3,"interval":0.1}'

Move (no click)

# Absolute position
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_moveTo --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_moveTo --args '{"x":500,"y":300,"duration":0.3}'

# Relative offset from current position
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_move --args '{"xOffset":100,"yOffset":-50}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_moveRel --args '{"xOffset":100,"yOffset":-50,"duration":0.2}'

Get current mouse position

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_position

Scroll

# Vertical scroll (positive=up, negative=down)
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_scroll --args '{"clicks":3}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_scroll --args '{"clicks":-3,"x":500,"y":300}'

# Horizontal scroll (positive=right, negative=left)
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hscroll --args '{"clicks":3}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hscroll --args '{"clicks":-3,"x":500,"y":300}'

---

Dragging

CRITICAL: duration must be > 0 for all drag operations. With duration=0 (the default), the drag happens instantly and most apps will not register it. Always set duration to at least 0.3 seconds.

Single-segment drag (straight line)

dragTo is atomic — mouseDown, move, and mouseUp in one call.

# Move to start point, then drag to end point
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_moveTo --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_dragTo --args '{"x":800,"y":400,"duration":0.5,"button":"left"}'

Relative drag (by offset)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_drag --args '{"xOffset":200,"yOffset":100,"duration":0.5}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_dragRel --args '{"xOffset":200,"yOffset":100,"duration":0.5}'

Multi-segment drag (curves and complex paths)

mouseDown state does NOT persist across separate mcporter calls. To draw curves or multi-point paths, chain dragTo calls. Each dragTo starts from the current mouse position (the endpoint of the previous call).

# Move to arc start
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_moveTo --args '{"x":400,"y":300}'

# Chain dragTo segments — each starts where the previous ended
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_dragTo --args '{"x":430,"y":330,"duration":0.2,"button":"left"}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_dragTo --args '{"x":465,"y":340,"duration":0.2,"button":"left"}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_dragTo --args '{"x":500,"y":330,"duration":0.2,"button":"left"}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_dragTo --args '{"x":530,"y":300,"duration":0.2,"button":"left"}'

Use 6-8 segments for smooth curves. More segments = smoother result.

---

Keyboard

Type text

# typewrite sends individual key presses for each character
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_typewrite --args '{"message":"Hello World"}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_typewrite --args '{"message":"slow typing","interval":0.05}'

# write is an alias for typewrite
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_write --args '{"message":"Hello World"}'

Note: typewrite/write only supports ASCII characters. For Unicode text, use clipboard: type the text into a file, then use ctrl+c / ctrl+v.

Press a single key (or sequence of keys)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["enter"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["tab"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["esc"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["f5"]}'

# Press a key multiple times
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["tab"],"presses":3,"interval":0.1}'

Hotkey combinations (simultaneous keys)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["ctrl","c"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["ctrl","v"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["ctrl","z"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["ctrl","shift","s"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["alt","f4"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["alt","tab"]}'
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["win","r"]}'

Hold keys (within a single call)

# hold keeps keys pressed for the duration of the call
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hold --args '{"keys":["shift"]}'

Note: keyDown/keyUp exist but their state does NOT persist across separate mcporter calls. Use hotkey for key combinations and hold when you need a modifier held during a single operation.

Key names reference

Category	Keys
Modifiers	ctrl shift alt win
Navigation	up down left right home end pageup pagedown
Actions	enter esc tab space backspace delete insert
Function	f1 f2 f3 f4 f5 f6 f7 f8 f9 f10 f11 f12
Other	printscreen capslock numlock scrolllock

Validate a key name:

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_isValidKey --args '{"key":"enter"}'

---

Timing and waits

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_sleep --args '{"seconds":1}'

You can also use bash sleep between mcporter calls:

sleep 0.5

Recommended wait times

After...	Wait
Alt+F2 (Run dialog)	0.5s
Launching an application	1.5–2s
Clicking a menu item	0.3s
Opening a dialog/modal	0.5–1s
Alt+Tab (window switch)	0.5s
Typing text before pressing Enter	0.2s
Shape tool drag completion	0.3s

---

Launching applications

Via Run dialog (Alt+F2 on Mint)

mcporter call mint.pyautogui_hotkey --args '{"keys":["alt","f2"]}'
sleep 0.5
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_typewrite --args '{"message":"gnome-calculator"}'
sleep 0.2
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["enter"]}'
sleep 2
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getActiveWindowTitle

Common app commands: gnome-calculator, gedit, nemo, firefox, gnome-terminal, xed, gimp.

Via menu

# Click the Mint menu (typically at bottom-left or top-left)
# Then type to search
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_typewrite --args '{"message":"calculator"}'
sleep 1
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_press --args '{"keys":["enter"]}'

---

Diagnostic tools

# Server health and PyAutoGUI availability
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_diagnose

# List registered tools on the server
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_tools

# System info (PyAutoGUI version, screen size, etc.)
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_getInfo

# Check if coordinates are within screen bounds
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_onScreen --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Get pixel RGB color at a coordinate
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixel --args '{"x":500,"y":300}'

# Check if pixel matches an expected color (with tolerance)
mcporter call mint.pyautogui_pixelMatchesColor --args '{"x":500,"y":300,"expectedRGBColor":[255,255,255],"tolerance":10}'

---

Error recovery

If an action does not produce the expected result:

1. Do NOT retry the same action blindly. Take a screenshot first.
2. Take a screenshot and re-examine current state. What changed?
3. Check common failure modes:
   • Did window focus shift? → Use getActiveWindowTitle to verify.
   • Did a dialog or popup appear? → Dismiss it or interact with it.
   • Did the window move or resize? → Re-identify coordinates.
   • Is the wrong tool selected? → Check toolbar state with a zoomed screenshot.
   • Did Ctrl+A or another shortcut change the tool mode? → Re-select the intended tool.
4. Adjust coordinates or approach based on what you actually see.
5. If stuck after 3 attempts at the same step, report the current screenshot to the user and ask for guidance. Do not blindly retry.

Common issues and fixes

Problem	Cause	Fix
Drawing produces nothing	Wrong tool selected	Screenshot toolbar, click correct tool, click canvas
Drawing produces straight line only	Using mouseDown/moveTo/mouseUp across calls	Use chained dragTo calls instead
Click hits wrong element	Coordinates are off	Zoom in with region screenshot, use pixel color to verify
App doesn't respond to typing	Wrong window focused	getActiveWindowTitle, then click correct window
dragTo doesn't draw	duration is 0 (default)	Always set "duration":0.3 or higher

---

Safety

• Failsafe: move mouse to corner (0,0) to abort PyAutoGUI automation
• Never assume coordinates from a previous session are still valid
• Always verify active window with getActiveWindowTitle before typing — typing into the wrong window can cause unintended actions
• Always screenshot before and after every action
• Avoid destructive hotkeys like Alt+F4 unless you are certain of the active window — it will close whatever is focused