Desktop Editor

Agent Apps Desktop is a local web-based editor for Agent Apps projects. Edit skills in a rich document editor, run them with streaming output, chat with an AI assistant, and preview served web pages. It runs as a Node server that opens a browser tab — no Electron.

Install

git clone ssh://git.amazon.com/pkg/AgentAppsDesktop.git
cd AgentAppsDesktop
npm install
npm run snapshot

Launch

npm start -- /path/to/your/project

Opens http://localhost:3000 with your project loaded. Use npm run dev for auto-reload during development.

Desktop finds the Agent Apps CLI automatically using the standard resolution order: AGENT_APPS_ROOT env var → local node_modules install → ~/.agent-apps/cli → agent-apps on PATH. No configuration needed if you installed globally.

Editor

Rich Mode

The default view for markdown skills. Renders your skill as a document:

  • Title and description from frontmatter
  • Metadata properties displayed as inline rows below the title
  • Rich text body with headings, lists, bold/italic
  • Directive pills — colored chips for :arg[name] (blue), :skill[ref] (green), :env[VAR] (orange)
  • Slash commands (/) for formatting, (:) for inserting directives

Click Add property to add metadata keys. The editor suggests common fields based on the skill type (params, model, allowed-tools, tags, returns).

Source Mode

Press ⌘/ to toggle source mode — a full CodeMirror editor with syntax highlighting, line numbers, and direct YAML editing. Code skills (.skill.ts) always open in source mode.

Run Panel

Click Run… on any skill to open the run panel at the bottom.

  • Arguments — auto-generated form from the skill's JSON Schema. Required fields marked with *.
  • Config overlay — gear icon to set model overrides, private/public config (passed as --local/--global flags).
  • Options — toggle --verbose, --debug, --trace, --dry-run. Set environment variables under Advanced.
  • Output — streaming stdout/stderr in real-time. Stop button to terminate.

Chat

The Chat tab provides an AI assistant that knows your project. It communicates via MCP, giving it access to the same tools as the CLI. Ask questions, request skill modifications, debug errors, or search the hub.

Preview

When your project serves web pages (via web metadata), the Preview tab shows them in an iframe. The IDE channel bridge enables communication between the runtime and the editor.

Hub

Click the ⬡ icon to browse, search, install, and remove community skill packages. Installed packages appear in the sidebar under the Hub group.

Navigation

  • ⌘K — command palette (new skill, compile, test, clean, hub, save)
  • ⌘P — quick-open by skill name
  • ⌘1-9 — switch tabs by position
  • ⌘W — close active tab
  • ▤ icon — file browser for non-skill files

See Also

Ask AI