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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. The skill does not replace MCP or ACP. It gives the host better instructions for deciding when to call HoloDesktop CLI and how to write a useful task string.

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Install the skill

Use holo install for hosts that support skill auto-loading: 
cd /path/to/your/claude-code-workspace
uv run holo install claude-code
or install into every detected supported host: 
uv run holo install
If Claude Code is detected, run this from the workspace where Claude Code should use HoloDesktop 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:
HostSkill location
Claude Code~/.claude/skills/holo-desktop
Codex~/.agents/skills/holo-desktop
OpenClaw~/.openclaw/skills/holo-desktop
OpenCode~/.config/opencode/skills/holo-desktop
Hosts that do not support skill loading still use HoloDesktop CLI through MCP config.

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What the skill teaches

The skill tells the host that HoloDesktop 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 HoloDesktop CLI a self-contained task string. The CLI does not see the host conversation, previous tool calls, or hidden context. The host has to include the relevant app, workspace, account, person, and success condition in the task.

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Safety boundary

HoloDesktop CLI works in the user’s real apps with the user’s real data. For actions the user might regret, such as sending messages, deleting data, paying, or changing system settings, the host should confirm with the user first or ask the CLI to observe and report instead.
Do not rely on a skill alone as a safety boundary. The host should still ask before irreversible actions, and the HoloDesktop CLI task 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: 
Use HoloDesktop CLI to open TextEdit and write a short note saying the HoloDesktop CLI skill is installed.
If the host does not mention or use HoloDesktop CLI, check whether the host supports skill loading and whether the holo-desktop skill exists in the expected directory.

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What’s next

Use MCP for the tool connection that the skill usually points the host toward.