Agent skill

Desktop App Driving with Reticle

Drives and verifies Electron or Tauri desktop apps through Reticle, which sees the renderer and the IPC calls that a browser-based testing tool cannot observe.

Apache-2.0Auto-check passedTesting & QA

Install Desktop App Driving with Reticle

skills CLI

$ npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install reticlehq/reticle drive-desktop-app --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/drive-desktop-app .claude/skills/drive-desktop-app && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "drive-desktop-app" agent skill from https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app into .claude/skills/drive-desktop-app/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "drive-desktop-app", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install reticlehq/reticle drive-desktop-app --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/drive-desktop-app .agents/skills/drive-desktop-app && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "drive-desktop-app" agent skill from https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app into .agents/skills/drive-desktop-app/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "drive-desktop-app", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install reticlehq/reticle drive-desktop-app --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/drive-desktop-app .cursor/skills/drive-desktop-app && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "drive-desktop-app" agent skill from https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app into .cursor/skills/drive-desktop-app/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "drive-desktop-app", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git --path skills/drive-desktop-app

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install reticlehq/reticle drive-desktop-app --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/drive-desktop-app .gemini/skills/drive-desktop-app && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "drive-desktop-app" agent skill from https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app into .gemini/skills/drive-desktop-app/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "drive-desktop-app", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install reticlehq/reticle drive-desktop-app

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/drive-desktop-app .github/skills/drive-desktop-app && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "drive-desktop-app" agent skill from https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app into .github/skills/drive-desktop-app/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "drive-desktop-app", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install reticlehq/reticle drive-desktop-app --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/skills/drive-desktop-app .opencode/skills/drive-desktop-app && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "drive-desktop-app" agent skill from https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle/tree/main/skills/drive-desktop-app into .opencode/skills/drive-desktop-app/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "drive-desktop-app", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: drive-desktop-app
GitHub stars: 1.2k
Token cost: ~1.3k tokens
SKILL.md length: 529 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 19
Repo updated: Oct 9, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: Apache-2.0

At a glance

Drives and verifies Electron or Tauri desktop apps through Reticle, which sees the renderer and the IPC calls that a browser-based testing tool cannot observe.

Testing an Electron or Tauri app from the inside
SKILL.md covers Electron: two lines, none in…, Tauri: the CSP step is…, Verify and What a missing observer looks…, plus 1 more section
Calls curl and npx; reaches docs.reticle.sh
Debugging a feature that works in the browser but not in the packaged app

What it does

A desktop app talks to its backend over IPC and not HTTP, so a tool that patches `fetch` or XHR sees an empty network log and can report success for calls it never saw. Reticle watches both the renderer and the IPC boundary, which makes a desktop result as meaningful as a web one. The skill tells you how to install it with `npx @reticlehq/server@latest init` and follow up with the `install-and-verify` skill.

For Electron the setup is two lines outside your app code: a desktop flag in the Vite config so the connection can start in a packaged renderer, and a `require` of the Reticle preload as the first line of your preload file, since `contextBridge` freezes what the page receives. A sandboxed preload cannot resolve `node_modules`, so bundle it or set `sandbox: false`. For Tauri the required step is loosening the default CSP, which otherwise blocks the bridge WebSocket so the app runs but never connects. That change is for development only, and `ipc: http://ipc.localhost` must stay. IPC observation needs nothing on the Rust side; the `reticle-tauri` crate is for screenshots and headless runs.

When your agent uses it

Testing an Electron or Tauri app from the inside
Debugging a feature that works in the browser but not in the packaged app
Proving that an IPC or invoke call actually happened
Taking desktop screenshots or running a headless desktop UI test in CI

Example prompts

“Set up Reticle for my Electron app and verify the save-file IPC call fires.”
“My Tauri app runs but Reticle never connects, so check the CSP.”
“Take a screenshot of the packaged desktop app and compare it to the last run.”
“Run the desktop UI headless in CI and prove the invoke call succeeds.”

Requirements

An Electron or Tauri desktop app
Node.js with npx to install Reticle

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit 178e5c0. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves nothing: there is no allowed-tools line, so your agent's usual permission prompts apply.
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
Shell commands in SKILL.md call:
- curl
- npx
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
Hosts in commands or code, which the agent is likely to contact:
- docs.reticle.sh
Also links to:
- crates.io
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Desktop App Driving with Reticle loads about 1.3k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 102 tokens; SKILL.md has 529 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~102
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~1.3k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check passed

The automated check found no risky patterns in SKILL.md.

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from reticlehq/reticle at commit 178e5c0, republished under its Apache-2.0 licence (© reticlehq). 529 words, ~1,304 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/drive-desktop-app/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: drive-desktop-app
description: Drive and verify an Electron or Tauri desktop app from the inside, including the main-process and Rust IPC calls a browser tool cannot see. Use when a desktop app needs testing, when a feature works in the browser but not in the packaged app, when an IPC or invoke call needs proving, when a desktop screenshot or visual diff is wanted, or when you need a headless run of a desktop UI in CI.
license: Apache-2.0
metadata.version: 3.7.0
metadata.homepage: https://www.reticle.sh
metadata.repository: https://github.com/reticlehq/reticle

Drive a desktop app and prove what happened

A desktop app reaches its backend over IPC, not HTTP. Patching fetch/XHR cannot see that, so a browser-shaped tool is blind to every backend call the app makes: the network log reads empty, an action has no in-flight request to settle on, and asserting on the network is vacuously true. That is a false green by construction.

Reticle observes the renderer and the IPC boundary, so a desktop verdict means what a web one does. Not installed? RETICLE_INSTALL_SOURCE=npx_skill npx @reticlehq/server@latest init, then the install-and-verify skill.

Electron: two lines, none in your app code

// vite.config.ts — desktop:true lets connect() start in a packaged renderer (NODE_ENV=production).
// A default (production-mode) `vite build` ships no Reticle code; to drive a packaged
// renderer with no dev server, build it with `vite build --mode development`
export default defineConfig({
  base: './', // file:// needs relative asset paths
  plugins: [react(), reticle({ desktop: true })],
});

// electron/preload.cjs — FIRST line. This is what makes main-process IPC visible.
require('@reticlehq/electron/preload');

It must be in the preload and it must be first. contextBridge.exposeInMainWorld hands the renderer a deeply frozen object, so nothing in the page can instrument it afterwards. The preload is the last point where ipcRenderer.invoke is still writable, and the shim has to run before your preload captures its own reference.

A sandboxed preload cannot resolve node_modules, so the bare require fails. Either bundle the preload (electron-vite and Forge do by default) or set sandbox: false.

Tauri: the CSP step is required and its failure is silent

The frontend is the same as any web app. The part people miss is that Tauri's default CSP blocks the bridge WebSocket before it opens, so the app runs perfectly and simply never connects:

json

{
  "app": {
    "security": {
      "csp": "default-src 'self' ipc: http://ipc.localhost; connect-src 'self' ipc: http://ipc.localhost ws://localhost:4400 ws://127.0.0.1:4400"
    }
  }
}

Keep ipc: http://ipc.localhost: Tauri v2 needs it for invoke itself. Dev-only; drop the ws:// entries from your release config.

IPC observation needs nothing on the Rust side: an invoke('load_todos') already reaches Reticle as ipc://load_todos. The reticle-tauri crate is only for screenshots and headless, and it is versioned independently of the npm packages.

Also: use a hash router. A packaged renderer is served from file://, where history-based routing does not resolve.

Show full SKILL.md (236 more words)Show less

Verify

Same loop as the web, with IPC in the predicates:

reticle_act_and_wait({ sessionId, ref, action: "click", until: { kind: "allOf", predicates: [
  { kind: "net",     urlContains: "ipc://todos:archive", status: 200 },
  { kind: "element", query: { testid: "..." } },
  { kind: "console", level: "error", absent: true },
]}})

IPC has no status code. 200/500 are synthetic, mapped from whether the command succeeded, precisely so the same predicates keep working. On Tauri you will see status: 500 next to statusText: "OK". That is not a bug: the transport answered fine and the 500 is the command's own verdict. ok is authoritative.

reticle_look { action: "state" } reads the live store exactly as on the web. reticle_screenshot and reticle_visual_diff work once the platform's capture step is wired. Electron needs nothing extra; Tauri needs the crate. Headless on Tauri is RETICLE_HEADLESS=1, and screenshots keep working because the capture renders the webview rather than the screen.

What a missing observer looks like

A missing Electron preload is declared, not silent: verdicts come back with coverage: partial naming the line you did not add, instead of reading clean over a blind spot. If you see that, add the preload line before trusting anything.

If IPC calls never appear while the app works fine: on Electron, the shim's require is not first. On Tauri, invoke from @tauri-apps/api/core is observed, but a hand-rolled postMessage protocol is not.

Honesty

unknown is not a pass on the desktop either. And do not weaken an IPC assertion to make a red verdict green: a desktop false green is the exact failure this wiring exists to remove.

Full desktop reference: curl https://docs.reticle.sh/desktop.md. Everything else: curl https://docs.reticle.sh/llms.txt.

Files

Just SKILL.md in skills/drive-desktop-app of reticlehq/reticle.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit 178e5c0

Compare with similar skills

Desktop App Driving with Reticle next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Desktop App Driving with Reticle compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Desktop App Driving with Reticle this skillreticlehq/reticle	1.2k	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	yesterday
Handsontable Visual Test Demoshandsontable/handsontable	22k	—	~1.3k	Automated safety check: Pass	Custom licence	yesterday
Test Specialisttravisjneuman/.claude	100	—	~3.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	today
Rust Project Validatebifrost-proxy/bifrost	160	—	~466	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	yesterday
Flowfile Build and Environment SetupEdwardvaneechoud/Flowfile	389	—	~7.3k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	today
Refactoratilladeniz/Kubeli	387	—	~7.7k	Automated safety check: Warn	MIT	5 days ago

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Questions about Desktop App Driving with Reticle

What does Desktop App Driving with Reticle do?

Drives and verifies Electron or Tauri desktop apps through Reticle, which sees the renderer and the IPC calls that a browser-based testing tool cannot observe. A desktop app talks to its backend over IPC and not HTTP, so a tool that patches `fetch` or XHR sees an empty network log and can report success for calls it never saw. Reticle watches both the renderer and the IPC boundary, which makes a desktop result as meaningful as a web one.

When should I use Desktop App Driving with Reticle?

Desktop App Driving with Reticle fits situations like: testing an Electron or Tauri app from the inside; debugging a feature that works in the browser but not in the packaged app; proving that an IPC or invoke call actually happened; taking desktop screenshots or running a headless desktop UI test in CI.

How do I install Desktop App Driving with Reticle in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/drive-desktop-app in reticlehq/reticle) into .claude/skills/drive-desktop-app in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Desktop App Driving with Reticle in Codex?

Run `npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (skills/drive-desktop-app in reticlehq/reticle) into .agents/skills/drive-desktop-app in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Desktop App Driving with Reticle in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add reticlehq/reticle --skill drive-desktop-app -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/drive-desktop-app, .gemini/skills/drive-desktop-app, .github/skills/drive-desktop-app and .opencode/skills/drive-desktop-app in your project.

What does Desktop App Driving with Reticle need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Desktop App Driving with Reticle needs the command-line tools its instructions call (curl and npx). Our summary lists: An Electron or Tauri desktop app; Node.js with npx to install Reticle.

Does Desktop App Driving with Reticle access the network?

SKILL.md names 2 domains. In commands or code: docs.reticle.sh; the agent is likely to contact it when it follows the instructions. As links in the text: crates.io. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Desktop App Driving with Reticle safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found no risky patterns, such as piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files or hidden Unicode. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Desktop App Driving with Reticle use?

Desktop App Driving with Reticle is published under the Apache-2.0 licence (declared in SKILL.md). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Desktop App Driving with Reticle use?

About 1.3k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 5.2k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Desktop App Driving with Reticle?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Desktop App Driving with Reticle: Handsontable Visual Test Demos (handsontable/handsontable, 22k stars), Test Specialist (travisjneuman/.claude, 100 stars), Rust Project Validate (bifrost-proxy/bifrost, 160 stars) and Flowfile Build and Environment Setup (Edwardvaneechoud/Flowfile, 389 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Desktop App Driving with Reticle?

reticlehq (a GitHub organization) maintains it in reticlehq/reticle, which has 1,199 GitHub stars. The repository holds 19 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 9, 2026.

Source: reticlehq/reticle on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Desktop App Driving with Reticle

Install Desktop App Driving with Reticle

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Drive a desktop app and prove what happened

Electron: two lines, none in your app code

Tauri: the CSP step is required and its failure is silent

Verify

What a missing observer looks like

Honesty

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

Handsontable Visual Test Demos

Test Specialist

Rust Project Validate

Flowfile Build and Environment Setup

Refactor

Drive MiMo Code

More from reticlehq/reticle

Agentic TDD

Whole-App Health Sweep

Broken UI Debugger

False Green Test Detection

Fix What I Pointed At

Reticle Flow Replay

Questions about Desktop App Driving with Reticle

Install Desktop App Driving with Reticle

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Drive a desktop app and prove what happened

Electron: two lines, none in your app code

Tauri: the CSP step is required and its failure is silent

Verify

What a missing observer looks like

Honesty

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from reticlehq/reticle

Related

Questions about Desktop App Driving with Reticle