How do I install the Using Ao skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add untrivial-ai/using-ao in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Using Ao safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Using Ao?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Using Ao free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Using Ao?

Untrivial-ai (@untrivial-ai) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Using Ao by untrivial-ai — Agent Skill

Name: Using Ao
Author: Untrivial-ai

Using Ao

Catalog of the AO (Agent Orchestrator) `ao` CLI: spawning workers, managing sessions and projects, sending messages, controlling the shared browser, previewing pages, and daemon control. Use when using the ao CLI, spawning workers, or managing AO sessions in an AO workspace.

Untrivial-ai Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

AO CLI Catalog

ao is a thin CLI over the local AO daemon. Every command is ao <command> --help for the authoritative flag list.

Command	What it does	When to use	Details
`spawn`	Spawn a worker agent in a fresh git worktree	Starting a new task or issue	commands/spawn.md
`session`	Manage agent sessions (list, kill, rename, restore, etc.)	Inspecting or controlling running/terminated sessions	commands/session.md
`project`	Register, inspect, configure, or remove projects	Setting up or managing repos AO knows about	commands/project.md
`orchestrator`	List orchestrator sessions	Viewing which sessions are orchestrators	commands/orchestrator.md
`review`	Submit a reviewer result for a worker's PR	Completing a code review loop	commands/review.md
`send`	Send a message to a running agent session	Correcting or directing a live agent	commands/send.md
`preview`	Start a session-owned app or open an exact URL/file	Running and showing the worker's relevant app, Markdown, HTML, PDF, or image	commands/preview.md
`browser`	Inspect and control the session's shared live browser	Verifying a web app through snapshots, interactions, waits, screenshots, console, and errors	commands/browser.md
`start`	Fetch (if needed) and open the AO desktop app	Launching the app	commands/start.md
`stop`	Stop the AO daemon	Shutting down AO	commands/stop.md
`status`	Show daemon status	Verifying the daemon is up and healthy	commands/status.md
`doctor`	Run local health checks	Diagnosing AO setup problems	commands/doctor.md
`import`	Import projects from a legacy AO install	Migrating from the old flat-file store	commands/import.md
`version`	Print version information	Checking installed version	-
`completion`	Generate shell completion scripts	Setting up tab completion	-

Conventions

Most read commands accept --json for machine-readable output.
-p / --project scopes session subcommand lookups to one project.
Session and project ids are shown by ao session ls and ao project ls.
--agent is an alias for --harness on ao spawn.
Every command accepts -h / --help for the full flag list.
For frontend launch, preview selection, or artifact handoff, read commands/preview.md before acting. Its static-file, project-runtime, and automatic-handoff rules are load-bearing.
For page inspection, interaction, or request diagnosis, read commands/browser.md. It defines shared-tab behavior and the opt-in network policy.

Use references.md only when a natural-language request does not map clearly to a command above.

---name: using-aodescription: Catalog of the AO (Agent Orchestrator) `ao` CLI: spawning workers, managing sessions and projects, sending messages, controlling the shared browser, previewing pages, and daemon control. Use when using the ao CLI, spawning workers, or managing AO sessions in an AO workspace.---# AO CLI Catalog`ao` is a thin CLI over the local AO daemon. Every command is `ao <command> --help` for the authoritative flag list.| Command | What it does | When to use | Details ||---|---|---|---|| `spawn` | Spawn a worker agent in a fresh git worktree | Starting a new task or issue | [commands/spawn.md](commands/spawn.md) || `session` | Manage agent sessions (list, kill, rename, restore, etc.) | Inspecting or controlling running/terminated sessions | [commands/session.md](commands/session.md) || `project` | Register, inspect, configure, or remove projects | Setting up or managing repos AO knows about | [commands/project.md](commands/project.md) || `orchestrator` | List orchestrator sessions | Viewing which sessions are orchestrators | [commands/orchestrator.md](commands/orchestrator.md) || `review` | Submit a reviewer result for a worker's PR | Completing a code review loop | [commands/review.md](commands/review.md) || `send` | Send a message to a running agent session | Correcting or directing a live agent | [commands/send.md](commands/send.md) || `preview` | Start a session-owned app or open an exact URL/file | Running and showing the worker's relevant app, Markdown, HTML, PDF, or image | [commands/preview.md](commands/preview.md) || `browser` | Inspect and control the session's shared live browser | Verifying a web app through snapshots, interactions, waits, screenshots, console, and errors | [commands/browser.md](commands/browser.md) || `start` | Fetch (if needed) and open the AO desktop app | Launching the app | [commands/start.md](commands/start.md) || `stop` | Stop the AO daemon | Shutting down AO | [commands/stop.md](commands/stop.md) || `status` | Show daemon status | Verifying the daemon is up and healthy | [commands/status.md](commands/status.md) || `doctor` | Run local health checks | Diagnosing AO setup problems | [commands/doctor.md](commands/doctor.md) || `import` | Import projects from a legacy AO install | Migrating from the old flat-file store | [commands/import.md](commands/import.md) || `version` | Print version information | Checking installed version | - || `completion` | Generate shell completion scripts | Setting up tab completion | - |## Conventions- Most read commands accept `--json` for machine-readable output.- `-p / --project` scopes session subcommand lookups to one project.- Session and project ids are shown by `ao session ls` and `ao project ls`.- `--agent` is an alias for `--harness` on `ao spawn`.- Every command accepts `-h / --help` for the full flag list.- For frontend launch, preview selection, or artifact handoff, read [commands/preview.md](commands/preview.md) before acting. Its static-file, project-runtime, and automatic-handoff rules are load-bearing.- For page inspection, interaction, or request diagnosis, read [commands/browser.md](commands/browser.md). It defines shared-tab behavior and the opt-in network policy.Use [references.md](references.md) only when a natural-language request doesnot map clearly to a command above.

Frequently asked questions