Linux Coworker Ui

linux-coworker-ui

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A Linux desktop GUI for the Claude Code agent — a Linux counterpart to Anthropic's macOS/Windows-only Claude Cowork.

The app wraps claude (Claude Code CLI) as the agent loop and adds a Linux desktop control layer (screenshot, click, type, launch apps) via a bundled MCP server.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Tauri shell  ◀──── stream-json ────▶  claude (CLI)     │
│  (Rust + Solid)                            │            │
│                                            ▼            │
│                                   mcp-linux-control     │
│                                   (screenshot, xdotool, │
│                                    wmctrl, launch)      │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Prerequisites

System packages (Ubuntu 24.04 / Debian):

sudo apt install -y \
  libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev \
  librsvg2-dev \
  libdbus-1-dev \
  libgtk-3-dev \
  libayatana-appindicator3-dev \
  libsoup-3.0-dev \
  pkg-config \
  build-essential \
  xdotool \
  wmctrl \
  maim

Toolchain:

• Rust >= 1.93
• Node >= 20 (or Bun)
• claude CLI on $PATH (Claude Code 2.x)

Build

# 1. Build the MCP server
cargo build -p mcp-linux-control

# 2. Install frontend deps
bun install

# 3. Run the app (dev mode)
bun run tauri dev

Set MCP_LINUX_CONTROL_BIN=/path/to/mcp-linux-control if the auto-locator can't find the binary (default is target/debug/mcp-linux-control relative to the app binary).

Layout

linux-coworker-ui/
├── Cargo.toml                       workspace root
├── package.json                     frontend (Vite + Solid + TS)
├── src/                             Solid frontend
│   ├── App.tsx                      chat UI shell
│   ├── stream.ts                    parse stream-json -> display blocks
│   └── types.ts
├── src-tauri/                       Tauri app
│   ├── Cargo.toml
│   └── src/
│       ├── lib.rs                   `run()` + Tauri commands
│       ├── agent.rs                 spawn/supervise `claude` subprocess
│       └── mcp_config.rs            write `.mcp.json` for `--mcp-config`
└── crates/
    └── mcp-linux-control/           MCP server: screenshot/xdotool/wmctrl
        └── src/main.rs

How it works

1. The Tauri backend spawns `claude --print --input-format stream-json

--output-format stream-json --mcp-config .json --permission-mode bypassPermissions`.

1. Each user message is written to claude's stdin as one NDJSON line of the

form {"type":"user","message":{...}}.

1. claude streams NDJSON events back on stdout (assistant turns, tool calls,

tool results). The backend forwards every line to the frontend via the claude://event Tauri event.

1. The frontend parses each event into display blocks (text bubble, tool-call

card, tool-result card) and renders them.

1. When claude calls one of our MCP tools (e.g. mcp__linux_control__screenshot),

the Claude Code CLI launches the mcp-linux-control binary as a stdio subprocess and routes the call there.

MVP tools exposed by mcp-linux-control

| Tool | Backed by | Notes | |----------------|---------------------|------------------------------------------------| | screenshot | maim / scrot | Returns base64 PNG image content to the model. | | xdo_click | xdotool click | Optional x/y, optional double. | | xdo_move | xdotool mousemove | | | xdo_type | xdotool type | Configurable per-char delay. | | xdo_key | xdotool key | Accepts chords like ctrl+s. | | launch_app | spawn() | Detached, returns immediately. | | list_windows | wmctrl -l | | | focus_window | wmctrl -a | Substring match on title. |

File operations (Read/Write/Edit), shell (Bash), search (Grep/Glob) come for free from Claude Code's built-in tools.

Known limitations / next steps

• Permission flow is YOLO right now. Backend defaults to

--permission-mode bypassPermissions. The "approve destructive only" UX needs a --permission-prompt-tool exposed by our MCP server that blocks on a Tauri-side approval dialog. See agent.rs -> permission_mode.

• X11 only. Screenshots, xdotool, and wmctrl rely on X11. Wayland support

would swap in grim/slurp/ydotool and a portal-based screenshot path.

• No session persistence. Conversations are in-memory and reset on app

close. Add --resume plumbing.

• No streaming partials. We render finalized assistant messages only.

Toggle --include-partial-messages and handle stream_event in src/stream.ts to get token-level streaming.

Contributing

See [docs/DEVELOPMENT.md](docs/DEVELOPMENT.md) for architecture, protocols, how to add a new MCP tool, the permission model roadmap, and the testing plan.

License

MIT.

Source & license

This open-source MCP server is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: jkhas8
• Source: jkhas8/linux-coworker-ui
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.