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Some hosts can load skills: small instruction packages that teach the host when and how to use an external tool. HoloDesktop CLI ships a holo-desktop skill for hosts with skill loading. MCP tells the host how to reach HoloDesktop CLI; the skill tells it when to. Without it, a host tends to either never delegate or delegate everything. With it, the host hands off screen-bound work (native apps, 2FA prompts, UI checks) and keeps the rest.

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Install the skill

Use holo install for hosts that support skill auto-loading:
or install into every detected supported host:
If Claude Code is detected, run this from the workspace where Claude Code should use the CLI. When the host supports skills, holo install links or copies the bundled holo-desktop skill into that host’s skill directory. For Claude Code, the skill is installed under ~/.claude/skills/, while the MCP server registration uses Claude Code’s default local scope for the workspace where you ran the command. Known skill locations include: Hosts that do not support skill loading still use the CLI through MCP config.

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What the skill teaches

The skill tells the host that the CLI is useful for work that has to happen on the user’s real machine:
  • operating native apps;
  • navigating system UI;
  • using the user’s logged-in browser profile;
  • reading what is visible on screen;
  • completing GUI work that the host cannot do through files, shell commands, APIs, or web fetches.
It also tells the host to pass a self-contained task string. The CLI does not see the host conversation, previous tool calls, or hidden context, so the host has to include the relevant app, workspace, account, person, and success condition in the task.

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Safety boundary

The CLI works in the user’s real apps with the user’s real data. A skill is guidance, not a safety boundary, so:
  • For actions the user might regret (sending messages, deleting data, paying, changing system settings), the host should confirm first or ask the CLI to observe and report instead.
  • The task string should say exactly what may be changed.

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Check it worked

After installing, restart the host if needed and ask for a task that clearly requires the desktop, such as:
If the host does not mention or use the CLI, check whether the host supports skill loading and whether the holo-desktop skill exists in the expected directory.

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Next steps

Agent hosts

The MCP connection the skill points the host toward.

Customize the agent

Memories and rules loaded into every run.