vdisplay 0.1.28

Cross-platform virtual display orchestration with virtual and mirror sessions

vdisplay

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Cross-platform virtual display orchestration API for Python.

One unified API, multiple OS backends with different capabilities. Monitors and windows include an nl field — a natural-language description of what they contain.

CLI, DSL, REST, MCP, and the local vdisplay-agent broker all route through application.executor and shared application services (src/vdisplay/application/).

Quick start

pip install "vdisplay[pillow]"
# or from source (recommended for development):
pip install -e ".[pillow,dev]"
pip install -e "packages/vdisplay-agent[serve]"
pip install -e packages/dsl2vdisplay packages/rest2vdisplay packages/mcp2vdisplay

unset DISPLAY   # optional: auto-resolves host display to :0
vdisplay all
vdisplay monitors
vdisplay windows --apps-only

Documentation

Start	Description
docs/start-here.md	Entry point — install, local vs broker, choose your path

Guides	Reference
Desktop control today	Environment vars
Wayland control	CLI index
GUI Map Pack	API / SDK
Vision fallback	DSL · REST · MCP
Agent broker
Browser · Terminal

Architecture	Other
docs/architecture.md	Installation
Control plane	Examples index
Agent broker (full API)	Troubleshooting
Vision-only Wayland	packages/README.md

Full index: docs/index.md

Examples

Example	Mode	Host X11	Run
headless-virtual	virtual	No	cd examples/headless-virtual && docker compose up --build
agent-broker	broker	No	cd examples/agent-broker && ./run.sh
ci-agent	virtual	No	cd examples/ci-agent && docker compose run --rm ci-agent
dev-workspace	dev	No	cd examples/dev-workspace && docker compose run --rm dev
host-mirror	mirror	Yes	cd examples/host-mirror && ./run.sh
host-relay	relay	Yes	cd examples/host-relay && ./run.sh
run_all_examples.sh	mixed	varies	./examples/run_all_examples.sh

Details: docs/examples.md · per-example READMEs in each folder above.

Use cases

Goal	Start here
Desktop automation on GNOME Wayland	docs/guides/wayland-control.md
Persistent vision click targets	docs/guides/gui-map-pack.md
Broker + REST/MCP for agents	docs/guides/agent-broker.md
Headless CI screenshot	examples/headless-virtual
Semantic browser/terminal control	docs/control-plane.md

Common commands

vdisplay all
vdisplay monitors
vdisplay windows --apps-only
vdisplay diagnose
vdisplay screenshot -o out.png --source DP-1    # Wayland: agent + screencast first
vdisplay diagnose control
vdisplay control click --backend vision --map maps/chat.json --target chat

CLI index: docs/reference/cli.md

IDE & Desktop App Control

Launch applications and prompt IDEs from the command line.

Application Launcher:

vdisplay app list
vdisplay app show pycharm
vdisplay app open pycharm
vdisplay app open pycharm --variant default-xwayland

End-to-end IDE Prompting:

vdisplay ide list
vdisplay ide prompt --ide pycharm --text "Explain this stack trace"
vdisplay ide prompt --ide pycharm --open --map maps/pycharm-chat.json --submit

See Desktop control today for implementation details and limitations.

Output objects (nl)

Monitors and windows include nl — a natural-language summary of contents.

vdisplay all | jq '{monitors: .monitors[].nl, windows: .windows[].nl}'

Desktop workflows

Long-form GNOME / JetBrains / Firefox / screenshot workflows moved to guides:

• docs/guides/wayland-control.md
• docs/guides/gui-map-pack.md
• docs/start-here.md

Legacy detail: extended README sections (desktop workflows, control plane examples, screenshot recipes) remain in git history; prefer guides for maintenance.

Control plane

Unified AT-SPI, browser, terminal, vision, and map backends. See docs/control-plane.md and task guides above.

vdisplay diagnose control
vdisplay control list --backend auto
vdisplay control click --role button --name Save --verify

vdisplay-agent broker

# Terminal 1 — same GNOME session
export PYTHONPATH=src:packages/vdisplay-agent/src
vdisplay-agent serve --port 8765

# Terminal 2
export VDISPLAY_AGENT_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8765
export PYTHONPATH=src:packages/vdisplay-agent/src
vdisplay agent preflight
vdisplay agent screencast start --force   # portal → All Screens
vdisplay screenshot -o /tmp/host.png --source DP-1

GNOME Wayland 3-monitor: docs/guides/gnome-wayland-screencast.md
Dev automation on this PC: examples/dev-workflow/

Full API: docs/agent-broker.md · Guide: docs/guides/agent-broker.md

Control layer equivalents

Intent	CLI	DSL
Full state	vdisplay all	ALL DISPLAY :0
Monitors	vdisplay monitors	MONITORS DISPLAY :0
Windows	vdisplay windows --apps-only	WINDOWS DISPLAY :0
Adopt window	vdisplay relay adopt-window --app X	ADOPT APP X
Screenshot	vdisplay screenshot -o out.png	SCREENSHOT OUT out.png DISPLAY :99
Validate tools	vdisplay diagnose	VALIDATE DISPLAY :0

Modes

Mode	Purpose	Isolation	Screenshot	Window move
virtual	Private Xvfb session for agents	Yes	Yes	No (use launch())
mirror	Duplicate existing display output	No	Yes	N/A
relay	Move window within same X11 session	Partial	Yes (relay screenshot)	Yes
screencast	Portal ScreenCast in agent (Wayland)	No	Yes (after consent)	N/A

Requirements (Linux v0.1)

Component	Used by
Xvfb, xwd, scrot	virtual / X11 capture
xrandr	mirror mode
xdotool	relay + input
python3-dbus, python3-gi	portal ScreenCast (Wayland host)
ffmpeg (PipeWire) or GStreamer pipewiresrc	ScreenCast frame grab
Pillow (optional)	faster PNG encoding

sudo apt install xvfb x11-apps x11-utils xdotool scrot x11-xserver-utils
sudo apt install python3-dbus python3-gi   # Wayland ScreenCast in agent
pip install "vdisplay[pillow]"

Full setup: docs/installation.md

Python API

Sessions (backends)

from vdisplay import VirtualDisplaySession, MirrorSession, WindowRelaySession
from vdisplay.discovery import list_monitors, list_windows

# Inspect monitors and windows with nl descriptions
for monitor in list_monitors():
    print(monitor["nl"])

for window in list_windows(apps_only=True):
    print(window["nl"])

# Virtual isolated display
vd = VirtualDisplaySession.create(width=1920, height=1080)
vd.start()
vd.launch(["xterm"])
vd.save_screenshot("screen.png")
vd.stop()

# Mirror existing desktop (same session, no isolation)
# On GNOME Wayland: start agent screencast before save_screenshot, or use capture_host_to_file()
m = MirrorSession.create(source="primary", target="DP-1")
m.start()
m.save_screenshot("mirror.png")   # needs ScreenCast on Wayland
m.stop()

# Relay window off-screen and restore (persists across CLI calls)
r = WindowRelaySession.create()
r.start()
r.adopt_window(match_app="JetBrains")
r.release_window(match_app="JetBrains")
r.stop()

Application layer (shared by CLI / DSL / REST / MCP / agent)

from vdisplay.application.commands import CommandRequest
from vdisplay.application.executor import execute
from vdisplay.application.services import discovery, capture, session, info

# Single execution entry (routes to agent when VDISPLAY_AGENT_URL is set)
result = execute(CommandRequest.from_dsl({"verb": "MONITORS"}, line="MONITORS"))
print(result.data)

# Direct service use-cases (always in-process)
monitors = discovery.list_monitors(display=":0")
meta = capture.capture_screenshot(output="screen.png", monitor=1)
session.virtual_start(width=1280, height=720, display=":99")
caps = info.platform_info()

Via broker SDK:

from vdisplay.client import AgentClient

client = AgentClient("http://127.0.0.1:8765")
client.outputs()
client.start_screencast(interactive=True)

Window heuristics (testable submodules)

from vdisplay.windows import list_windows_enriched, find_windows, pick_best_window
from vdisplay.windows.rank import dedupe_app_windows
from vdisplay.windows.filter import is_internal_window

Project layout

src/vdisplay/
├── application/
│   ├── commands.py         # CommandRequest / CommandResult / CommandVerb
│   ├── executor.py         # single entry: execute() → local or agent
│   ├── handlers/           # local + agent command handlers
│   └── services/           # discovery, capture, session, info
├── commands/               # CLI registry (set_defaults per subcommand)
├── windows/                # scan → normalize → filter → rank → query
├── capture/
│   ├── providers/          # drm, fbdev, mss, x11, portal (opt-in)
│   └── portal_screencast.py  # persistent ScreenCast (Wayland)
├── backends/               # virtual, mirror, relay
├── client.py               # AgentClient SDK
└── cli.py                  # thin entry: register_all + args.func(args)

packages/
├── dsl2vdisplay/           # grammar + CQRS bus → executor
├── vdisplay-agent/         # localhost broker (privileged runtime)
├── rest2vdisplay/          # HTTP → DSL
├── mcp2vdisplay/           # MCP tools
└── nlp2vdisplay/           # NL → DSL

Control layer (DSL / MCP / REST / NL)

Programmatic interfaces on top of the same application services. All query results include nl on monitors and windows.

Package	Role
dsl2vdisplay	Grammar + CQRS bus (MONITORS, WINDOWS, ADOPT, …)
nlp2vdisplay	Natural language → DSL
uri2vdisplay	vdisplay://cmd/... → DSL
cli2vdisplay	REPL over DSL
mcp2vdisplay	MCP server tools
rest2vdisplay	REST API on port 8216
vdisplay-agent	Local broker — sessions, capture, relay

vdisplay-agent serve --port 8765
export VDISPLAY_AGENT_URL=http://127.0.0.1:8765

pip install -e packages/dsl2vdisplay packages/rest2vdisplay packages/mcp2vdisplay
rest2vdisplay serve --port 8216 --agent-url $VDISPLAY_AGENT_URL
mcp2vdisplay serve
curl -s http://127.0.0.1:8216/health | jq .
curl -s -X POST http://127.0.0.1:8216/v1/dsl -H 'content-type: text/plain' -d 'MONITORS' | jq .

Full reference: packages/README.md

Limitations

• Existing windows on DISPLAY=:0 cannot move into Xvfb :99 — different X servers.
• Use VirtualDisplaySession.launch() for apps on the virtual display.
• Use WindowRelaySession to hide/show windows on the current session.
• mirror controls the same desktop through a duplicated output, not an isolated copy.
• nl on monitors lists apps whose window center falls on that output geometry.
• On GNOME Wayland, Docker X11 forwarding often produces black screenshots — use vdisplay-agent on the host instead.
• Windows/macOS backends are planned; Linux/X11 + Wayland (via agent) supported in v0.1.

Troubleshooting: docs/troubleshooting.md

Development

pip install -e ".[pillow,dev]"
pip install -e "packages/vdisplay-agent[serve]"
pip install -e packages/dsl2vdisplay packages/rest2vdisplay packages/mcp2vdisplay
pytest tests/ -q
./examples/agent-broker/run.sh
./examples/run_all_examples.sh   # where host X11 is available

Architecture: docs/architecture.md

License

Licensed under Apache-2.0.