# Window Controller

> Find, activate, and screenshot macOS windows across Spaces. Use when you need to list windows, activate a specific window, take screenshots, filter windows by app name, title, process path, or command line, automate window workflows, or distinguish between production and sandbox/dev instances (e.g., JetBrains IDEs).

- Skill: `diegosouzapw/window-controller` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add diegosouzapw/window-controller`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/diegosouzapw/window-controller/raw
- Safety review: pending (external: skill-scanner PASS, skillspector PASS)
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: diegosouzapw (https://skillmd.com/u/diegosouzapw)
- Updated: 2026-09-08
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/diegosouzapw/window-controller

---


# macOS Window Controller

Find, activate, and screenshot macOS windows across Spaces. Supports filtering by application name, window title (regex), process path, and command line arguments.

## Quick Start

```bash
# List ALL windows
/window-controller list

# Find windows by app name (partial match)
/window-controller find "GoLand"

# Find windows by title pattern (regex)
/window-controller find --title "research.*"

# Activate window (switches to its Space)
/window-controller activate "GoLand"

# Take screenshot of window (saves to artifacts by default)
/window-controller screenshot "GoLand"

# Get window info as JSON (for automation)
/window-controller find "GoLand" --json
```

## Filtering Options

### By Application Name

```bash
# Partial match on kCGWindowOwnerName
/window-controller --find "GoLand"
/window-controller --find "Chrome"
```

### By Window Title (Regex)

```bash
# Match window title with regex
/window-controller --find --title "monokai-islands"
/window-controller --find --title ".*\.py$"
/window-controller --find "GoLand" --title "research"
```

### By Process Path

```bash
# Filter by executable path
/window-controller --find "GoLand" --path-contains "Applications"
/window-controller --find "GoLand" --path-excludes "~/Applications/"
```

### By Command Line Arguments

```bash
# Filter by process command line
/window-controller find "Main" --args-contains "idea.plugin.in.sandbox.mode"
```

### By PID

```bash
# Find window by specific process ID
/window-controller find --pid 12345
```

## JetBrains Sandbox IDEs

JetBrains sandbox IDEs (launched via `./gradlew runIde`) have a key difference:

**Sandbox IDEs appear as "Main" (Java process name), NOT "GoLand" or "IntelliJ IDEA"!**

```bash
# Find sandbox IDE (reliable method)
/window-controller find "Main" --args-contains "idea.plugin.in.sandbox.mode"

# Find by Gradle cache path
/window-controller find "Main" --path-contains ".gradle/caches"

# Find by project name in title
/window-controller find "Main" --title "my-project"
```

## How It Works

### Window Detection

Uses `CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo` with `kCGWindowListOptionAll` to list ALL windows including:

- Off-screen windows
- Windows on other Spaces
- Hidden/minimized windows

### Process Information

Uses `psutil` to get detailed process information:

- Executable path (`exe()`)
- Command line arguments (`cmdline()`)

### Space Detection

Parses the macOS Spaces configuration plist to map windows to Space indexes and identify which Space is currently active:

```
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.spaces.plist
```

### Window Activation

Uses AppleScript to activate applications:

```bash
osascript -e 'tell application "GoLand" to activate'
```

macOS automatically switches to the Space containing the activated window (when enabled in System Settings).

## Artifact Output Path

> **CRITICAL**: NEVER use `--output` unless the user EXPLICITLY states the artifact MUST be at a specific location. This should be EXTREMELY rare. Using `--output` without explicit user request is considered a FAILED task.

Screenshots are automatically saved to `claude-code/artifacts/window-controller/` with timestamped filenames (e.g., `251216120000-screenshot_GoLand.png`). The artifact path is always returned in the JSON output - use that path for subsequent operations.

## Screenshot Capture

```bash
# Take screenshot - path is returned in output
/window-controller screenshot "GoLand" --json
# Returns: {"screenshot": "/path/to/artifacts/.../251216120000-screenshot_GoLand.png", ...}

# Screenshot without activating first
/window-controller screenshot "GoLand" --no-activate

# Control settle time (default 1000ms)
/window-controller screenshot "GoLand" --settle-ms 2000
```

### Capture Backends

Two capture backends are available for screenshots:

| Backend            | Availability | Cross-Space         | Notes                            |
|:-------------------|:-------------|:--------------------|:---------------------------------|
| `quartz`           | All macOS    | Requires activation | Legacy `CGWindowListCreateImage` |
| `screencapturekit` | macOS 12.3+  | Yes                 | No activation needed             |

**ScreenCaptureKit (macOS 12.3+):**

- Captures windows on ANY Space without switching
- Works with occluded (covered) windows
- No window activation required
- Cannot capture minimized windows
- Requires Screen Recording permission

The screenshot command automatically uses ScreenCaptureKit when available (macOS 12.3+) and falls back to Quartz on older systems. Use `--no-activate` with ScreenCaptureKit to capture windows on other Spaces without switching.

## JSON Output

For automation and scripting, use `--json` with `find`:

```bash
/window-controller find "GoLand" --json
```

Output:

```json
{
  "app_name": "GoLand",
  "window_title": "research – models.py",
  "window_id": 190027,
  "pid": 57878,
  "exe_path": "/Users/.../Applications/GoLand.app/Contents/MacOS/goland",
  "cmdline": ["goland", "."],
  "layer": 0,
  "on_screen": null,
  "bounds": {"x": 0, "y": 39, "width": 2056, "height": 1290},
  "space_index": 3
}
```

## Permissions Required

### Screen Recording (required for window names on macOS 10.15+)

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Screen Recording → Add Terminal/Python

### Accessibility (required for AppleScript activation)

System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility → Add Terminal/Python

## Testing

Verify the skill works by running:

```bash
# Should list all windows with titles
/window-controller list

# Should show info for a running app
/window-controller find "Finder"

# If you have an app in full-screen, this should switch and return:
/window-controller activate "GoLand"
```

Expected `list` output:

```
App                  Title                                    Space  PID
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GoLand               research – window_controller.py          3      57878
Ghostty              ~ - fish                                 2      12345
Finder               Documents                                1      456
```

## Troubleshooting

### "No windows found"

1. Check if app is running: `ps aux | grep -i goland`
2. Grant Screen Recording permission
3. Try without filters first: `--find "GoLand"`

### Window names are empty

Grant Screen Recording permission to the terminal/Python process.

### Activation doesn't switch Spaces

Enable "When switching to an application, switch to a Space with open windows" in System Settings → Desktop & Dock → Mission Control.

### Can't find sandbox IDE

1. Ensure `./gradlew runIde` is running
2. Sandbox IDEs appear as **"Main"**, not "GoLand"!
3. Use: `--find "Main" --args-contains "idea.plugin.in.sandbox.mode"`
4. List all windows: `--list | grep -i main`

## Technical References

- [ScreenCaptureKit](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/screencapturekit) - Apple's modern capture API (macOS 12.3+)
- [CGWindowListCopyWindowInfo](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coregraphics/1455137-cgwindowlistcopywindowinfo)
- [CGWindowListCreateImage](https://developer.apple.com/documentation/coregraphics/1454852-cgwindowlistcreateimage) - Legacy screenshot API (deprecated macOS 15)
- [Identifying Spaces in Mac OS X](https://ianyh.com/blog/identifying-spaces-in-mac-os-x/)
- [psutil Documentation](https://psutil.readthedocs.io/)
- [PyObjC Quartz Framework](https://pyobjc.readthedocs.io/en/latest/apinotes/Quartz.html)