Anode v0.11.2

What's new in 0.11.2

This patch fixes bugs found after 0.11.1, most of them by AI agents using Anode every day.

• Typing keeps pace with the program. seat_type and anode type sent characters as fast as
  Windows took them, so a busy program, such as Chrome editing a long field, could drop and reorder
  them while the call reported success. Characters now go out 15 ms apart by default, and typing
  pauses while the program is busy; perCharMs sets the pace. A call that stops partway reports
  exactly how many characters were typed.
• set_value checks that the value took. On a Chrome drop-down list (<select>), set_value
  reported success while the list kept its old choice. Anode now reads the control back and fails,
  saying to expand the list and pick the option, if the control still shows its old value.
• Observation copes with more windows. seat_observe failed on File Explorer windows ("Object
  reference not set to an instance of an object"), and repeated a Chrome window's tree while one of
  its drop-down lists was open. Both are fixed; a control listed twice now appears once.
• Queued requests keep their deadline. A request that waited behind a long operation, such as
  typing, could lose its reply and leave the seat detached. It now answers, or fails, in time.
• Running out of time is reported as such. A desktop action stopped at its deadline answered
  with a bare "A task was canceled." It now fails with errorCode: "timed_out" and says whether
  anything ran (started).
• A finished job's reply holds all its output. seat_job and anode job could answer
  finished: true with the end of the command's output missing. finished: true now comes only
  with the output to its end.
• Browser sign-in is clearer. anode browser --sign-in explains its window in its first tab
  and opens several addresses. When the seat's profile is open on the other desktop, seat_browser
  and --sign-in refuse and name the process holding it, instead of reporting a window.
• Faster startup. CLI and MCP skip their first connection wait when no daemon is running, and
  waiting callers wake as soon as the seat is ready (measurements).
• Clearer records of what Anode keeps. A daemon started by a desktop app that redirects AppData,
  such as the Claude desktop app, keeps its files in that app's package folder, which the privacy,
  install and troubleshooting pages now say; anode rendering --restore finds a backup saved there.
  The uninstaller ends with everything it leaves on the machine and how to remove each item.

Known issues. A Chrome window's first observation can come back without the page, and the
page's controls sit deeper than the default maxDepth of 8: observe again with maxDepth 16. On
Windows' "Open File - Security Warning" dialog, invoke reports success without running anything:
focus the dialog with seat_window, then click. seat_window raise can leave a UWP app behind
the foreground window: use focus. anode type has no option for a slower pace. Fixes are planned
for a later release.

Validation. All 99 quick checks, 102 environment checks inside the seat, and the documentation
check passed. Windows CI repeated the build, packaging, installation and distribution checks.
Live native controls, Chrome forms and real input, File Explorer, display changes, an isolated
Xbox controller and a read-only Android emulator passed on Windows 11. Results and coverage limits
(including audio and foreground pointer phases not repeated) are in the
validation record.
See the changelog for every
change.

Install or upgrade

Download anode-windows-x64.zip for the portable executable, agent connector and docs. Release
builds include .NET 10.0.12; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

It adds Anode to your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps. For a first
installation, open a new terminal and run:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs and backs up their settings. Restart the
agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

Upgrading: save seat work, run anode quit (which closes every program in the seat), and close
agent sessions using Anode. Install 0.11.2, start Anode again and restart those agent sessions.
Run anode configure to refresh the installed skill.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported; ARM64 is not validated. setup asks for administrator permission
to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions and can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS. Binaries and scripts remain unsigned, so Windows may display
a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption; build attestations identify the release
workflow. Anode is desktop isolation for trusted agents, not a security sandbox.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.11.1

What's new in 0.11.1

This patch fixes issues found after 0.11.0 and adds live Windows validation of the merged changes.

• Safer Android automation. adb commands cannot change the shared server or replace/remove
  another device's forwarded local port, including through repeated wait-for-* prefixes. Emulator
  boot probes stay within the caller's reply deadline, even when adb hangs.
• Reliable display recovery. The viewer remembers the display Windows confirmed. A lost reply
  is never replayed or treated as success, and lease cleanup restores a change that finishes late.
• Recovery after an agent is killed. A generated MCP session's desktop lease ends when its
  process is gone and any admitted action finishes. Stable ANODE_AGENT_ID leases retain their
  existing release-or-expiry behavior.
• Older MCP audio clients work. Clients using protocol 2024-11-05 receive recordings as WAV
  resources; newer clients continue to receive native audio blocks.
• MCP Registry publication. Anode's initial metadata listing is live. Release CI now builds and
  attests the optional MCPB bundle for owner testing; it remains a workflow artifact until its
  separate Claude Desktop validation passes.

Validation. All 83 quick checks passed. Live on Windows 11 Pro build 26200, native desktop
controls, actual mouse/keyboard delivery to Chrome, portrait and scaled displays, audio playback
and recording, Android boot/capture/stop, hidden-viewer pointer isolation and a seat-only Xbox
controller passed. Killing an MCP client cleared its lease in 406 ms and restored the display
before the next client acquired it. Both legacy and modern MCP audio formats passed against the
running seat. Package, installation and distribution checks are also part of the release workflow.
See the validation record
for evidence and remaining coverage limits, including the untested live display reconnect fallback.

Install or upgrade

Download anode-windows-x64.zip for the portable executable, agent connector and docs. Release
builds include .NET 10.0.12; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

It adds Anode to your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps. For a first
installation, open a new terminal and run:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs and backs up their settings. Restart the
agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

Upgrading: save seat work, run anode quit (which closes every program in the seat), and close
agent sessions using Anode. Install 0.11.1, start Anode again and restart those agent sessions.
Run anode configure to refresh the installed skill.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported; ARM64 is not validated. setup asks for administrator permission
to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions and can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS. Binaries and scripts remain unsigned, so Windows may display
a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption; build attestations identify the release
workflow. Anode is desktop isolation for trusted agents, not a security sandbox.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.11.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell. It adds Anode to
your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.11.0

Test Android apps in the seat. android_emulator (anode android start) boots an AVD on an
emulator inside the seat, so its window never opens on your screen, and returns its serial once it
has booted. Agents install and drive apps with adb for that serial, take the device's own
screenshots and stop it when done. Emulators start read-only: what a test does is dropped when the
emulator stops, and the AVD can run in the seat while you have it open on your desktop. Every Android
action checks that its emulator runs in the seat, so your own emulators and phones, which share the
adb server, stay out of reach. android_status (anode android) lists the SDK, AVDs, running
emulators and Android Studio without starting anything, and the android_test prompt walks a release
test.

Android Studio and signed-in web consoles. android_studio opens Android Studio in the seat on a
profile of its own, with its setup wizard skipped, so it never hands projects to a Studio on your
desktop. seat_browser opens Chrome or Edge in the seat on a persistent seat profile. Sign in once
from your own terminal with anode browser --sign-in https://play.google.com/console, and agents find
the sites signed in. Anyone holding the desktop lease can use those sites as you, so sign in only to
what agents should act on.

Test other displays. seat_display (anode display) changes the running seat's resolution and
Windows scaling, from 640x480 to 8192x8192 at 100-500%, portrait included, while its apps keep
running. A change lasts while the agent holds the desktop lease; the display the seat started with
comes back when the lease ends. The display_test prompt runs an app through a set of displays and
asks what breaks at each. Screenshots, input and control bounds now use physical pixels at every
scaling.

Agent audio. Agents can listen to the seat's audio as WAV clips and play WAV files in it, in a
seat started with --audio, which is also audible on your speakers.

Upgrading. Save seat work, run anode quit (it closes every program in the seat) and close the
agent sessions that use Anode, then install 0.11.0 and start Anode again. Restart agent sessions to
get the new tools, and run anode configure to update the installed skill.

Validation and limits. The candidate passes all 78 local quick checks, which drive the emulator,
Studio and browser code with stand-ins for every process, plus package, installation and distribution
checks. Live, on Windows 11 Pro build 26200 with emulator 36.2.12, a Pixel 9 Pro AVD booted in the
seat in 12.2 s on the graphics card, adb reported its 1280x2856 screen, a screenshot came back at that
size and it shut down cleanly; Android Studio opened at its Welcome screen on its own profile; Chrome
opened on the seat profile, and run refused Chrome and links while Chrome ran on the desktop; and
every display change, up to 2560x1440 at 125%, 1920x1080 at 150% and 1080x1920 portrait, applied live
in 156-173 ms. Audio has not been tested live, and the display change's reconnect fallback has not run
live. Known issues, with fixes awaiting review: android_emulator's adb guard lets some server
commands through, such as one after a wait-for-device prefix; seat_audio_listen fails for MCP
clients on protocol 2024-11-05; and a display change Windows did not apply can come back when the
viewer reconnects. See the
validation record.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.10.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell. It adds Anode to
your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.10.0

Play your own games while agents test games in the seat. A virtual controller is a device on
the machine, so a game on your desktop read the input an agent sent to a game in the seat. With
HidHide installed, Anode keeps every virtual
controller plugged in while the seat runs inside the seat: games, Steam and the Xbox Game Bar on your
desktop cannot open it, and games in the seat use it as before. That includes controllers a program
in the seat plugs in on its own. While a ViGEm program such as DS4Windows runs on your desktop, only
Anode's own controllers are kept in the seat, so yours keep working. After plugging a controller in,
Anode checks from your desktop that it cannot be opened there, and unplugs it again (not_isolated)
rather than let your desktop read it. gamepad_attach reports seatOnly, anode gamepad state
shows every controller, and anode doctor checks for HidHide. Without HidHide, controllers are
machine-wide as before, and each attach says so.

The viewer opens fitted to the seat. The viewer measures its frame and bars and opens with the
seat at its own size, or the largest that fits your screen, instead of scaling it slightly with white
strips at its sides. A resized, maximized or full-screen viewer keeps the seat's shape on its dark
background.

Upgrading. Save seat work, run anode quit (it closes every program in the seat) and close the
agent sessions that use Anode, then install 0.10.0 and start Anode again. To keep controllers in the
seat, install HidHide from its releases and restart
Windows when it asks; anode doctor then reports Controller isolation. Anode changes only its own
HidHide entries and switches HidHide on only when nothing else is listed. Run anode configure to
update the installed skill.

Validation and limits. The candidate passes all 61 local quick checks, including new checks of
HidHide's lists, jail entries, reserved controller names, your own HidHide entries and settings, ended
seats, ViGEm programs outside the seat, controller attach against stand-ins and the fitted viewer,
plus package, installation and distribution checks. Live, with HidHide 1.5.230, Anode's controller
and one plugged in by a program in the seat were in XInput slot 0 in the seat, while the desktop saw
no controller and was refused both of its devices; stopping the seat removed its HidHide entries; and
the viewer opened with the 1280x720 seat filling it. HidHide checks each attempt to open a device, so
a device name Windows has never used before is hidden once Windows announces it, and a desktop
program that opens HID devices the moment they arrive could open that one first; XInput is always
covered. Programs on HidHide's application list can open hidden devices anywhere. The browser suite
with real input on .NET 10 has still not run. See the
validation record.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.9.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell. It adds Anode to
your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.9.0

Steam stays on your desktop. A Steam game launched through Anode (anode steam <appid>,
steam_launch) now runs in the seat and uses the Steam client already running on your desktop, which
stays there. Before, a launch started a Steam client in the seat, and that took Steam over from your
desktop. When Steam is not running, Anode starts it on your desktop, minimized, and starts the game
once Steam could serve it. The game's program comes from Steam's own launch configuration; --exe
(MCP: exe) names another. Games started this way run without the Steam overlay and Steam Input.
--force launches through a Steam client in the seat, as before.

Agents can tell who has the desktop. MCP names each agent after its client and project folder,
for example "Claude Code in WebShop", instead of giving every session of a client one name. An agent
asking about a lease it holds is told "You hold the desktop lease", so it no longer mistakes its own
lease for another agent's. The log records who took, released or let the desktop expire.

.NET 10. Anode moves to .NET 10, the current long-term support release, before .NET 8 support
ends on 10 November 2026. The download still includes the runtime, so no .NET installation is needed.

A separate dev Anode. Debug builds run as their own dev channel, with separate pipes, logs and a
viewer labelled "(dev)", so a development build cannot reach or stop the installed Anode. Windows
allows one seat per session, so only one channel runs a seat; the others say which one has it.

Upgrading. Save seat work, run anode quit (it closes every program in the seat) and close the
agent sessions that use Anode, then install 0.9.0 and start Anode again. Older MCP servers work with
the 0.9.0 daemon and are told when they hold the desktop, but only 0.9.0 MCP servers name agents
after their project folder. Run anode configure to update the installed skill. steam_launch no
longer refuses while Steam runs on your desktop, and force now means launching through a Steam
client in the seat.

Validation and limits. The candidate passes all 59 local quick checks, including new checks of
Steam launch configurations, every launch path, namespace links, agent names and status as the asking
agent sees it, plus package, installation and distribution checks. Live on a real seat, Liftoff ran
in the seat against the Steam client on the desktop, which never moved, and two MCP agents in
different project folders were told apart. On .NET 10, the native desktop suite and the
pointer-isolation script passed. The browser suite with real input did not run, because a GameInput
helper held the new seat's foreground. Games wrapped in Steam's DRM stub or needing its overlay are
untested. See the
validation record.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.8.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell. It adds Anode to
your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.8.0

Agents take turns without bookkeeping. Several agents share one background desktop, one at a
time. When another agent is using it, seat_lease acquire now waits in a first-come line, for up
to 30 seconds by default (waitSeconds, up to 300; anode lease acquire --wait on the CLI),
instead of failing at once. An agent keeps its place only while it keeps asking, so the desktop
never goes to an agent that gave up or went away.

Leases that follow the work. Each desktop action extends the lease, so an agent that keeps
working no longer renews; renew covers long pauses. Desktop tools take the lease themselves when
the desktop is free, and never start a seat to do it. Pointer, keyboard and gamepad input that
arrives without a lease is refused once with a request to observe first, because it was aimed at a
screen another agent may have changed. An MCP session whose identity Anode generated releases its
lease when it ends; a stable ANODE_AGENT_ID still keeps it for recovery.

See who has the desktop. Lease status, seat_status, anode status and the viewer's footer
name the owner (the MCP client's name, such as Claude Code or Codex, or ANODE_AGENT_NAME) and
list who is waiting. While others wait, the owner's desktop results say so, so it can hand the
desktop on.

Upgrading. Save seat work, run anode quit (it closes every program in the seat) and close the
agent sessions that use Anode, then install 0.8.0 and start Anode again. The lease protocol gained
waitSeconds, agentName and startSeat, so a 0.8.0 MCP server cannot take leases from an older
running daemon. Run anode configure to update the installed skill. Over MCP, acquire now waits up
to 30 seconds while another agent works; pass waitSeconds: 0 for the previous immediate answer.

Validation and limits. The candidate passes all 53 local quick checks, including new checks of
the line, lapsed places, owner names, activity-extended leases, and MCP lease taking, look-first
input and hand-off with real MCP servers over private pipes, plus package, installation and
distribution checks. After release, the same code passed live checks on a real seat: two agents
waiting in line, handing over and observing after a take; the native and browser suites with real
input; and the 0.7.0 viewer. Start menu launch from a new installation and the pointer-isolation
script remain. See the
validation record.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.7.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell. It adds Anode to
your PATH, the Start menu and Settings → Apps → Installed apps:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.7.0

A calmer, more modern viewer. The title bar, header, details and footer form one dark surface:
the title bar is dark and, on Windows 11, matches the header, with no divider lines, separators or
sizing grip. Buttons carry icons and rounded hover, pressed and checked states, Stop seat is always
a tinted button, and the seat state has a colored dot that stays visible at the minimum width.
Until Remote Desktop connects, a dark screen shows the state, its message and progress instead of a
blank window, and it steps aside the moment the connection is up. The tray menu matches Windows 11.
Labels, control names, shortcuts and full-screen safety controls are unchanged.

Find, open and remove Anode like other apps. The installer adds Anode to the Start menu, so
Windows Search finds it, and to Installed apps. Opening Anode, or double-clicking anode.exe, shows
the viewer, starting Anode or a stopped seat first; when machine setup is missing, a dialog offers
to run it with one administrator prompt. Uninstall in Installed apps removes the installed
files, PATH entry, shortcut and entry, and the Codex and Claude Code registrations that run this
installation. It asks before quitting a running Anode or undoing machine setup.

Installing from an agent's desktop app. Windows can keep new files created by a packaged app,
such as Claude or Codex for Windows, private to that app. The installer now reports when that
happens to the shortcut or the installation instead of claiming success; run it from your own
terminal to fix it.

Upgrading. Before updating, save seat work, run anode quit (it closes every program in the
seat) and close MCP clients using Anode; the installer refuses to replace a running executable.
Run the new install.ps1: an existing installation gains its Start menu shortcut and Installed
apps entry. Start Anode again so both the daemon and seat host use the new build. MCP tools, CLI
commands and their arguments are unchanged.

Validation and limits. The candidate passes all 51 local quick checks, including hidden viewer
checks for the connecting screen and narrow layout, and package, installation, uninstallation and
agent-unregistration checks in disposable folders without real client settings. The viewer was
reviewed in offscreen renders of every state. Live checks of the new viewer and Start menu launch
against a running seat are pending. Broader Windows, DPI, screen-reader and client compatibility
checks remain outstanding. See the
validation record.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.6.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation with PATH setup, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.6.0

A clearer viewer and a new icon. The mark has a symmetric diagonal cursor. The viewer adds
consistent dark and high-contrast colors, clearer input and connection labels, and copyable status
details. Stop, Release control and Exit full screen remain visible in full screen. Connections
refuse to proceed if the desktop pointer guard cannot be installed.

More reliable agent connections. Duplicate JSON fields and malformed Unicode are rejected
without ending the connection. Cancelled requests cannot start or cancel jobs, while commands
already started remain recoverable. Command output uses UTF-8 and preserves Unicode characters
across buffer, pagination and history boundaries.

Better agent discovery. All 32 tools have titles, bounded argument schemas and explicit
annotations. Server instructions and the installed skill lead with the desktop lease workflow.
The desktop_test and desktop_guide prompts provide reusable workflows. Screenshot results no
longer duplicate their control trees, which could cause clients to discard the image.

Installation and packaging. Installation works when an agent runner omits the OS environment
variable. Packages include .NET 8.0.31, verified checksums and build-provenance attestations.
The Claude Code plugin marketplace and Scoop bucket provide additional installation options.

Upgrading (breaking for scripts and agents): Only seat_start and seat_lease acquisition
start a desktop over MCP. Status and diagnostics never start one, and stale leases cannot restart
Anode after the user quits. The CLI rejects unknown options and malformed arguments with exit code
2 before acting. Job maxChars counts Unicode code points; reuse output cursors exactly as returned.
Desktop work still requires a lease; see
multiple agents.

Before updating, save seat work, run anode quit (it closes every program in the seat) and close
MCP clients using Anode; the installer refuses to replace a running executable. Install the new
version, start Anode again so both the daemon and seat host use the new build, and run
anode configure to update the installed skill.
See the agent guide.

Validation and limits. The candidate passed all 51 local quick checks, package/installation
checks and live Windows Forms/WPF and Chrome tests on Windows 11 Pro 25H2, including delivered
mouse/keyboard input. The dedicated live pointer-isolation test was deferred to keep the user's
desktop/session available; its quick regression checks passed. Broader Windows, DPI, screen-reader
and client compatibility checks remain outstanding. See the
validation record.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.5.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation with PATH setup, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

What's new in 0.5.0

Desktop leases. seat_lease and anode lease give one agent exclusive use of the seat, with
renewal, idle expiry and scoped release. Desktop tools now require a lease: MCP clients acquire one
automatically, CLI workflows pass an agent ID and token. Stale queued actions are rejected while
in-flight operations finish, and Stop stays immediate and global.

The viewer no longer moves the real mouse pointer. A program in the seat calling SetCursorPos
(SDL games do it on every switch between relative and absolute mouse mode) teleported the pointer on
your own desktop, even with the viewer hidden or view-only. Anode now gates that call inside its own
process, and anode status reports pointerGuard.

Sign in… beside Reconnect in the viewer header retries a failed automatic sign-in, or
requests the Windows credential dialog, without restarting Anode or closing the seat's programs.

Upgrading: restart existing daemon and seat-host processes after installing, so they load the
new protocol and the pointer guard.
See the agent guide.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.

Anode v0.4.0

Install Anode on Windows

Download anode-windows-x64.zip below for the portable executable, agent connector and docs.
Release builds include .NET; no SDK or runtime installation is needed.

For a per-user installation with PATH setup, download install.ps1 and run it in PowerShell:

powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\install.ps1

Open a new terminal, then:

anode doctor | Out-Host
anode setup | Out-Host
anode configure | Out-Host
anode start --hidden | Out-Host
anode capabilities | Out-Host

configure finds installed Codex and Claude Code CLIs, backs up their settings, and installs
the discoverable anode-desktop skill. Use --no-skill for MCP registration alone.
Restart the agent afterward. Other MCP clients can launch anode.exe with the argument mcp.

Agent discovery in 0.4.0

Agents receive guidance for choosing Anode for native Windows UI work and headed app testing
while keeping direct tools for work that does not need a desktop. anode_guide and
anode guide --json work before setup. seat_status no longer starts a desktop; use
seat_start when needed. Customized skill copies are preserved during configuration.
See the agent guide.

Requires 64-bit Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise or Education, or Windows Server with a Remote Desktop
host. Windows Home is unsupported. ARM64 is not validated; this package targets x64.
setup asks for administrator permission to enable Remote Desktop and child sessions.
It does not add firewall rules; it can restart Remote Desktop Services.

The installer verifies SHA256SUMS before installing the archive. Binaries and scripts are
currently unsigned; Windows may display a SmartScreen warning. Checksums detect corruption and do
not establish publisher identity. Review the source and your organization's policy before running.

See installation, updates and removal,
agent configuration,
and the changelog.