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.