11 KiB
@elizaos/capacitor-desktop
Capacitor plugin that exposes desktop OS capabilities (system tray, global shortcuts, notifications, window management, clipboard, auto-launch, power monitor, and system permissions) to Eliza agent UIs running in Electrobun or a browser.
Purpose / role
This is a Capacitor plugin (not an elizaOS Plugin-type action/provider). It provides the Desktop singleton that renderer code calls to drive native OS features via Electrobun's RPC bridge. On web/browser it falls back gracefully using Web APIs (Web Notifications, Clipboard API, Fullscreen API) or unavailable results. It is consumed by the agent desktop app UI — not registered as an elizaOS Plugin object.
Registration: registerPlugin("Desktop", { web: loadWeb }) in src/index.ts. The Electrobun host implements the native side; DesktopWeb in src/web.ts covers the browser fallback.
Plugin surface
This package exports a typed API object, not elizaOS actions/providers. The full interface is DesktopPlugin in src/definitions.ts. Grouped by area:
System Tray (createTray, updateTray, destroyTray, setTrayMenu) — create/manage a system tray icon with menu. Node only; unavailable return on web.
Global Shortcuts (registerShortcut, unregisterShortcut, unregisterAllShortcuts, isShortcutRegistered) — register OS-level keyboard accelerators. Node only; web returns { success: false }.
Auto Launch (setAutoLaunch, getAutoLaunchStatus) — configure login-item / startup behavior. Node only; unavailable return on web.
Window Management (setWindowOptions, getWindowBounds, setWindowBounds, minimizeWindow, maximizeWindow, unmaximizeWindow, closeWindow, showWindow, hideWindow, focusWindow, isWindowMaximized, isWindowMinimized, isWindowVisible, isWindowFocused, setAlwaysOnTop, setFullscreen, setOpacity) — control the Electrobun window. Web fallbacks use window.close(), window.focus(), fullscreen API.
Notifications (showNotification, closeNotification) — show OS notifications. Node: Electrobun native; web: Web Notification API with permission prompt.
Power Monitor (getPowerState) — battery level, charging state, idle time/state. Web: Battery API where available.
App (quit, relaunch, getVersion, isPackaged, getPath) — app-level controls. getPath throws on web (filesystem paths unavailable).
Clipboard (writeToClipboard, readFromClipboard, clearClipboard) — text/HTML/RTF/image clipboard. Web: Clipboard API (text + HTML only).
Shell (openExternal, showItemInFolder, beep) — open URLs externally, reveal files in Finder/Explorer, system beep. Web: window.open; showItemInFolder reports unavailable.
System Permissions (checkPermission, requestPermission) — non-dialog probing of OS permissions via DesktopPermissionId. Delegates to the Electrobun host's prober registry (see packages/agent/src/services/permissions/probers/). Web covers camera, microphone, location, notifications via browser APIs; all others return not-applicable.
Events (via addListener) — trayClick, trayDoubleClick, trayRightClick, trayMenuClick, shortcutPressed, notificationClick, notificationAction, notificationReply, windowFocus, windowBlur, windowMaximize, windowUnmaximize, windowMinimize, windowRestore, windowClose, powerSuspend, powerResume, powerOnAC, powerOnBattery.
Layout
plugins/plugin-native-desktop/
src/
index.ts Entry: registerPlugin("Desktop", …) + re-exports from definitions
definitions.ts All TypeScript interfaces + DesktopPlugin interface
web.ts DesktopWeb — browser fallback implementation
web.test.ts Vitest tests for the web fallback
rollup.config.mjs Builds IIFE (dist/plugin.js) and CJS (dist/plugin.cjs.js) from tsc output
tsconfig.json
package.json
Commands
Scripts are defined in package.json; run them from the repo root with bun run --cwd:
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop clean # remove build output
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop build # build package artifacts
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop typecheck # TypeScript typecheck
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop lint # mutating Biome check
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop lint:check # read-only Biome check
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop format # write formatting
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop format:check # read-only formatting check
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop test # run package tests
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop prepublishOnly # publish-time build hook
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop watch # watch TypeScript sources
bun run --cwd plugins/plugin-native-desktop build:unlocked # bun run clean && tsc && bunx rollup -c rollup.config.mjs
Config / env vars
None. This package reads no env vars and has no runtime configuration. All behavior is determined by which Capacitor platform implementation is active (Electrobun native vs. web fallback).
How to extend
Add a method to the plugin:
- Add the method signature to
DesktopPlugininsrc/definitions.ts. - Add the browser fallback implementation to
DesktopWebinsrc/web.ts. - The Electrobun host implementation lives in the consuming app's native plugin registration code (outside this package).
- Re-export any new types from
src/index.ts(it re-exports./definitionsviaexport *).
Add a new event:
- Add the overloaded
addListenersignature toDesktopPlugininsrc/definitions.tswith the event name and listener type. - If the event has a browser equivalent, wire the
windowevent listener inDesktopWeb.addListener(and remove it inremoveAllListeners).
Conventions / gotchas
- npm name is
@elizaos/capacitor-desktop, not@elizaos/plugin-native-desktop. The directory name and the package name differ. - This is NOT an elizaOS
Pluginobject. It does not register actions, providers, or services withAgentRuntime. It is a Capacitor plugin consumed by the UI layer. - Electrobun bridge: The native side is wired by the host app via
window.__ELIZA_ELECTROBUN_RPC__. The web fallback (DesktopWeb) first checks for this RPC bridge before falling back to Web APIs. - Platform availability: System tray, global shortcuts, auto-launch,
getPath, andshowItemInFolderare Node/Electrobun only. Calling them on web returns unavailable results or throws. Theelizaos.platformDetailsfield inpackage.jsondocuments exactly what is available per platform. DesktopPermissionIdmirrorsPermissionIdfrom@elizaos/shared/contracts/permissions. The type is defined inline here to keep this package free of cross-package type imports.- Build pipeline:
tsccompiles todist/esm/, then rollup bundles todist/plugin.js(IIFE) anddist/plugin.cjs.js(CJS). Thebuildscript useswith-package-build-lock.mjsto serialize concurrent builds;build:unlockedruns the actual steps.watchonly runs tsc, not rollup. - See root
AGENTS.mdfor repo-wide architecture rules, logger conventions, and ESM standards.
⛔ NON-NEGOTIABLE — evidence, trajectories & real end-to-end tests
The binding, repo-wide standard is AGENTS.md. Read it. Nothing in this package is done until it is proven done — a reviewer must confirm it works without reading the code, from the artifacts you attach. This applies to every feature, fix, refactor, and chore here. "Tests pass" is not proof; "CI is green" is not proof.
- Record AND read model trajectories. Capture the actual inputs and outputs of the model
from a live LLM — not the deterministic proxy, not a mock: the prompt, the
providers/context, the raw model output, every tool/action call, and the result. Then open
the trajectory and review it by hand. A captured-but-unread trajectory is not evidence
(
packages/scenario-runner/bin/eliza-scenarios run <scenario> --report <out>). - Real, full-featured E2E — no larp. Every feature ships detailed end-to-end tests that drive the real path end to end. Not the happy "front door" only: cover error paths, edge/empty/invalid input, concurrency, roles/permissions, and adversarial input. A test that asserts against a mock/stub/fixture standing in for the thing under test does not count. If the real model/device/chain/connector/account is hard to reach, make it reachable — that is the work, not an excuse to mock. If the existing tests here are shallow or mocked, fixing them is part of your change.
- Screenshots + logs at every phase, plus a complete walkthrough video/run-through of
the entire feature or view, start to finish (
bun run test:e2e:record). - Manually review every artifact the change touches — never just the green check: client
logs (console + network), server logs (
[ClassName] …), the model trajectories in and out, before/after full-page screenshots, and the domain artifacts listed below for this package. - No residuals. No shortcuts. The goal is not "done" — it is everything done. Clear every blocker by the hard path: build the real architecture, stand up the real model/device/service, actually test it. Never leave a TODO, a stub, a stepping-stone, or a "follow-up." When unsure, research thoroughly, weigh the options, and ship the best, highest-effort, production-ready version. Keep going until every possibility is exhausted.
Artifacts → attached inline in the PR (MP4 video, JPG screenshots, logs in <details>); attach each evidence type or
explicitly mark it N/A with a reason — never leave it blank. If develop moved and changed
behavior, re-capture evidence; stale proof is worse than none.
Capture & manually review for this package — native / on-device bridge:
- The capability run on a real device or simulator — not desktop Chromium against a mocked bridge (see #9967/#9580): device logs + the captured output (photo, OCR text, detection boxes, transcript, sensor reading).
- Parity vs the reference implementation where one exists (e.g. the Python/Ultralytics reference), with the numeric tolerances actually met.
- Permission-denied, no-hardware, and background/foreground lifecycle paths.
- A short recording of the on-device run; confirm the build under test is yours (versionName / a known on-screen change), not a stale install.