DesktopManager 4.4.0

DesktopManager - C# Library and PowerShell Module

DesktopManager is a Windows desktop automation toolkit available as a .NET library, PowerShell module, CLI, MCP server, and tray app.

You can also download it from PowerShell Gallery

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What it's all about

<img height="256" align="right" src="Assets/Images/DesktopManager.jpg">

DesktopManager provides one shared Windows automation core through five surfaces:

• C# library for .NET applications and services
• PowerShell module for scripts and operator workflows
• CLI executable for terminal and JSON automation
• MCP server for inspect-first agent automation
• Windows tray app for daily hotkeys and monitor actions

It has following features:

• Get information about monitors
• Get information about display devices
• Get information about wallpapers
• Set wallpapers
• Get/Set desktop background color
• Get/Set monitor position
• Get/Set window position
• Get/Set window state (minimize, maximize, restore)
• Capture desktop screenshots from all monitors, a single monitor or a custom region
• Manage monitor brightness
• Start/Stop/Advance wallpaper slideshows
• Track wallpaper history
• Adjust monitor resolution and orientation
• Move monitors around the virtual desktop
• Save and restore window layouts
• Snap or move windows between monitors
• Subscribe to resolution, orientation or display changes
• Keep inactive windows awake using periodic input
• Manage keep-alive sessions for windows
• Save and restore cohesive workstation profiles across displays, audio, personalization, and taskbars
• Enumerate Core Audio render/capture endpoints, change volume and mute, set default roles, and observe endpoint changes
• Inspect power and interactive-session state; lock, sign out, sleep, hibernate, or hold a bounded keep-awake lease
• Capture and restore personalization snapshots and configure taskbar visibility, position, and auto-hide
• Enumerate, observe, and explicitly enable or disable Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, mobile broadband, and FM radios through the supported Windows radio API
• List saved Windows Wi-Fi profiles and connect an exact saved profile without scanning nearby networks or exposing credentials
• Inspect a window's virtual desktop and move it to a known desktop through the public Windows virtual-desktop API
• Inspect and manage Plug and Play devices and Driver Store packages through documented native Windows APIs

Desktop state and controls

The workstation profile is the high-level entrypoint when you want to move between repeatable setups. It captures connected monitor modes and placement, monitor wallpaper and supported brightness/HDR state, active audio endpoint state and default roles, personalization, and taskbars. Applying a profile matches monitors by stable identity, stages display changes together, and rolls back the selected sections when a required step fails. Machine-wide personalization policies are captured but only restored when explicitly requested.

Save-DesktopWorkstationProfile -Name 'office'
Get-DesktopAudioEndpoint -DataFlow Render -State Active
Get-DesktopPowerStatus
Get-DesktopSession
Get-DesktopRadio
Get-DesktopWifiProfile
Connect-DesktopWifiProfile -Name 'Corporate WiFi'
Get-DesktopDevice -Present -Problem
Get-DesktopDriverPackage
Restore-DesktopWorkstationProfile -Name 'office' -Confirm

The same capabilities are available from the CLI:

desktopmanager workstation save --name office
desktopmanager audio list --flow render --active
desktopmanager system power
desktopmanager system session
desktopmanager radio list
desktopmanager wifi profiles
desktopmanager wifi connect --profile "Corporate WiFi"
desktopmanager device list --present --problem
desktopmanager driver list
desktopmanager workstation apply --name office

Radio control has two deliberately separate APIs. RadioService and the normal radio list / radio set commands use the supported Windows.Devices.Radios contract for individual radios. Global airplane mode uses an undocumented Windows shell COM contract, so it lives under ExperimentalAirplaneModeService and requires --experimental in the CLI, -Experimental in PowerShell, or --allow-experimental in MCP.

Wi-Fi profile connection is separate from radio control. WifiProfileService, Get-DesktopWifiProfile, and desktopmanager wifi profiles enumerate only profiles already stored by Windows. Connecting an exact profile uses the Native Wi-Fi profile API and ACM completion notifications; it does not scan nearby networks, return BSSIDs, expose profile XML or credentials, or query location-sensitive current-connection details. Windows still requires location consent for nearby-network scanning and related Wi-Fi information APIs. See Changes to API behavior for Wi-Fi access and location.

VirtualDesktopService exposes only the public Windows operations: check whether a top-level window is on the current desktop, get its desktop ID, and move it to a known desktop ID. Desktop enumeration, creation, renaming, switching, and removal are intentionally not presented as supported APIs.

Additional operator-focused docs for the newer CLI and MCP surfaces:

• Docs/DesktopManager.Cli.md
• Docs/DesktopManager.Mcp.md
• Docs/DesktopManager.Architecture.md
• Docs/DesktopManager.DesktopState.md
• Docs/DesktopManager.DeviceManagement.md
• Docs/DesktopManager.AutomationBasics.md
• Docs/DesktopManager.Plugin.md
• .agents/skills/desktopmanager-operator/SKILL.md
• .agents/skills/desktopmanager-build/SKILL.md

Which Surface Should You Use?

How It Fits Together

DesktopManager now has one shared core and several operator-facing surfaces on top of it.

flowchart LR
    A["Your .NET app"] --> B["DesktopManager library"]
    C["PowerShell module"] --> B
    D["desktopmanager.exe CLI"] --> B
    E["MCP server"] --> D
    J["DesktopManager.App tray app"] --> B
    B --> F["Windows desktop APIs"]
    F --> G["Monitors / wallpapers / brightness"]
    F --> H["Windows / controls / input"]
    F --> I["Layouts / snapshots / targets"]

If you want the fuller component and request-flow diagrams, see Docs/DesktopManager.Architecture.md.

The practical way to think about this:

• use the library when DesktopManager is part of your own application
• use PowerShell when you want scriptable admin/operator automation
• use the CLI when you want a human-friendly or JSON-friendly command surface
• use MCP when an agent should inspect first and mutate only through an explicit server session

Common Entry Points

Request Flow at a Glance

flowchart LR
    A["User, script, or agent"] --> B{"Surface"}
    B -->|".NET"| C["DesktopManager library"]
    B -->|"PowerShell"| D["Cmdlets"]
    B -->|"CLI"| E["desktopmanager.exe"]
    B -->|"MCP"| F["desktopmanager mcp serve"]
    B -->|"Tray app"| J["DesktopManager.App.exe"]

    D --> C
    E --> G["DesktopOperations"]
    F --> G
    J --> C
    G --> C
    C --> H["Win32, UI Automation, monitor, screenshot, and input services"]

The important part is that CLI, MCP, and PowerShell are meant to stay aligned by reusing the same shared C# behavior rather than inventing separate desktop logic in each surface.

Available PowerShell Cmdlets

Cmdlet to C# method map

The table below shows the most relevant API methods behind each PowerShell cmdlet.

Installation

For using in PowerShell you can install it from PowerShell Gallery

Install-Module DesktopManager -Force -Verbose

For the daily Windows tray app, use the DesktopManager MSI release artifact when available. The installer creates a Start Menu shortcut, and the app's Startup toggle registers the current user for minimized tray startup.

From source, the app and MSI are built through PowerForge:

.\Build\Build-DesktopManagerApp.ps1
.\Build\Build-DesktopManagerApp-MSI.ps1
msiexec.exe /i .\Artefacts\PowerForge\Msi\DesktopManager.App\win-x64\net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0\PortableCompat\output\DesktopManager.msi

Verified mutation examples

When you want more than "the call did not throw", prefer -Verify together with -PassThru so the cmdlet returns the observed postcondition.

# Verify a window move against the observed geometry
Set-DesktopWindow -Name "*Visual Studio Code*" -Left 0 -Top 0 -Width 1600 -Height 1200 -Verify -PassThru

# Verify exact text after a control text update
Set-DesktopControlText -Control $ctrl -Text "Hello world" -Verify -PassThru

# Verify the observed check state
Set-DesktopControlCheck -Control $checkbox -Check $true -Verify -PassThru

# Return a structured record after a control click
Invoke-DesktopControlClick -Control $button -PassThru

# Return a structured record after sending keys
Send-DesktopControlKey -Control $editor -Keys @([DesktopManager.VirtualKey]::VK_RETURN) -PassThru

Verification behavior is action-aware:

• window mutations verify geometry, state, topmost, close, or foreground conditions when those postconditions are meaningful
• Set-DesktopControlText -Verify verifies the observed text/value when the control can be re-queried
• Set-DesktopControlCheck -Verify verifies the observed check state
• control click/key actions return honest presence and foreground evidence when exact semantic verification would be misleading

Testing notes

UI-impacting tests are opt-in to avoid opening windows or changing the desktop during local development. Use the environment variables below to control behavior:

• RUN_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_UI_TESTS=true) enables the top-level UI test pack.
• RUN_OWNED_WINDOW_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_OWNED_WINDOW_UI_TESTS=true) enables owned-window UI tests that use repo-created harness windows.
• RUN_DESTRUCTIVE_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_DESTRUCTIVE_UI_TESTS=true) enables owned-window mutation tests such as move, resize, hide, snap, and transparency changes against repo-created harness windows.
• RUN_FOREGROUND_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_FOREGROUND_UI_TESTS=true) enables tests that intentionally steal foreground focus, even when they only target repo-created harness windows.
• RUN_SYSTEM_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_SYSTEM_UI_TESTS=true) enables system-wide desktop changes such as wallpapers, brightness, resolution, and other monitor-level mutations that can affect your current session.
• RUN_EXTERNAL_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_EXTERNAL_UI_TESTS=true) enables live external-application UI tests and MCP end-to-end harnesses that launch real desktop apps.
• RUN_EXPERIMENTAL_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_RUN_EXPERIMENTAL_UI_TESTS=true) enables experimental live UI harnesses that are useful for manual validation but are not part of the stable regression pack.
• SKIP_UI_TESTS=true (or DESKTOPMANAGER_SKIP_UI_TESTS=true) forces UI tests to skip, even if enabled elsewhere.

The gates compose intentionally:

# Run owned-window UI tests
$env:RUN_UI_TESTS = "true"
$env:RUN_OWNED_WINDOW_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Run repo-owned window mutation tests
$env:RUN_DESTRUCTIVE_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Run tests that intentionally steal foreground focus
$env:RUN_FOREGROUND_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Run system-wide desktop mutations
$env:RUN_SYSTEM_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Run live external-application harnesses
$env:RUN_EXTERNAL_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Run experimental live UI harnesses
$env:RUN_EXPERIMENTAL_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Force skip
$env:SKIP_UI_TESTS = "true"

# Run the repo-owned window mutation slice
dotnet test Sources/DesktopManager.Tests/DesktopManager.Tests.csproj -f net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0 --no-build --filter "WindowPositionTests|WindowStateHelpersTests|WindowVisibilityTests|WindowTransparencyTests|WindowStyleModificationTests|WindowLayoutTests"

# Run the foreground-window slice
dotnet test Sources/DesktopManager.Tests/DesktopManager.Tests.csproj -f net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0 --no-build --filter "DesktopAutomationAssertionTests|WindowManagerFilterTests|WindowTopMostActivationTests"

# Run the live MCP desktop pack backed by the repo-owned DesktopManager.TestApp harness
dotnet test Sources/DesktopManager.Tests/DesktopManager.Tests.csproj -f net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0 --no-build --filter "McpServer_TestApp"

When the hosted-session or experimental live harnesses skip because focus or discoverability never stabilize, they now leave structured diagnostics and artifacts rather than failing silently. See Docs/Build.Runbook.md for the hosted-session artifact flow and gate guidance.

Usage

Example in C#

The DesktopManager.Example project contains additional examples. Its default mode is read-only; mutation demos require the explicit --run-mutations option.

var monitors = new Monitors();
foreach (var monitor in monitors.GetMonitors(connectedOnly: true)) {
    MonitorPosition bounds = monitor.GetMonitorPosition();
    Console.WriteLine($"{monitor.Index}: {monitor.DeviceName} at {bounds.Left},{bounds.Top} " +
        $"({bounds.Right - bounds.Left}x{bounds.Bottom - bounds.Top})");
}

// Moving a monitor changes only its top-left coordinate. Change resolution separately.
// monitors.SetMonitorPosition(selected.DeviceId, left: -1920, top: 0);

Example in C# - Getting/Setting Window Position

var manager = new WindowManager();
WindowInfo? window = manager.GetWindows(processName: "notepad").FirstOrDefault();
if (window != null) {
    manager.SetWindowPosition(window, left: 100, top: 100, width: 1000, height: 700);
    manager.ActivateWindow(window);
}

Platform notes

When retrieving a window's style the library uses a helper method that calls GetWindowLong on 32-bit processes and GetWindowLongPtr on 64-bit ones. The method returns an IntPtr, so callers should convert the value to the appropriate numeric type.

Example in PowerShell - Getting Monitor Information

Get-DesktopMonitor | Format-Table

Get-DesktopWallpaper -Index 0

Set-DesktopWallpaper -Index 1 -WallpaperPath "C:\Wallpapers\Landscape.jpg" -Position Fit
Set-DesktopWallpaper -Index 0 -WallpaperPath "C:\Wallpapers\Portrait.jpg"
Set-DesktopBackgroundColor -Color 0x0000FF
Get-DesktopBackgroundColor

Example in PowerShell - Wallpaper Slideshow

Start-DesktopSlideshow -ImagePath 'C:\Wallpapers\img1.jpg','C:\Wallpapers\img2.jpg' -Shuffle -SlideshowTick 300000
Get-DesktopSlideshow
Set-DesktopSlideshowOptions -NoShuffle -SlideshowTick 600000
Step-DesktopSlideshow -Direction Forward
Stop-DesktopSlideshow

$Desktop1 = Get-DesktopMonitor
$Desktop1 | Format-Table

$Desktop2 = Get-DesktopMonitor -ConnectedOnly
$Desktop2 | Format-Table

$Desktop3 = Get-DesktopMonitor -PrimaryOnly
$Desktop3 | Format-Table

$Desktop4 = Get-DesktopMonitor -Index 1
$Desktop4 | Format-Table

$Desktop5 = Get-DesktopMonitor -DeviceName "\\.\DISPLAY2"
$Desktop5 | Format-Table

Example in PowerShell - Setting Monitor Position

$Desktop2 = Get-DesktopMonitor -ConnectedOnly
$Desktop2 | Format-Table

Set-DesktopPosition -Index 0 -Left -3840 -Top 0 -WhatIf
Set-DesktopPosition -Index 1 -Left 0 -Top 0 -WhatIf

Example in PowerShell - Getting/Setting Window Position

Get-DesktopWindow | Format-Table *

$np = Start-Process notepad -PassThru
Get-DesktopWindow -ProcessId $np.Id
$np | Stop-Process

Set-DesktopWindow -Name '*Zadanie - Notepad' -Height 800 -Width 1200 -Left 100
Set-DesktopWindow -Name '*Zadanie - Notepad' -State Maximize

Set-DesktopWindowText -Name '*Notepad*' -Text 'Hello world'

# Send Ctrl+S to Notepad
$notepad = Get-DesktopWindow -Name '*Notepad*'
Invoke-DesktopKeyPress -Window $notepad -Keys @(
    [DesktopManager.VirtualKey]::VK_CONTROL,
    [DesktopManager.VirtualKey]::VK_S
)
# See Examples/KeyboardActions.ps1

Example in PowerShell - Activating and Setting Window Top-Most

Set-DesktopWindow -Name '*Notepad*' -TopMost -Activate

Example in C# - Activating and Setting Window Top-Most

var manager = new WindowManager();
var window = manager.GetWindows().First();
manager.SetWindowTopMost(window, true);
manager.ActivateWindow(window);
#### Example in PowerShell - Monitoring Display Changes

Use `Register-DesktopMonitorEvent` to react when monitors are plugged in or the display configuration changes.

```powershell
Register-DesktopMonitorEvent -Duration 30 -Action { Write-Host 'Display settings changed' }

Use Register-DesktopOrientationEvent or Register-DesktopResolutionEvent to handle orientation or resolution changes individually.

Register-DesktopResolutionEvent -Duration 30 -Action { Write-Host 'Resolution changed' }
Register-DesktopOrientationEvent -Duration 30 -Action { Write-Host 'Orientation changed' }

Example in C# - Monitoring Display Changes

Applications can subscribe to the MonitorWatcher.DisplaySettingsChanged event.

MonitorWatcherExample.Run(TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));

Example in PowerShell - Saving and Restoring Window Layout

Save-DesktopWindowLayout -Path './layout.json'
# ... move windows around ...
Restore-DesktopWindowLayout -Path './layout.json' -Validate

Example in C# - Saving and Restoring Window Layout

var manager = new WindowManager();
manager.SaveLayout("layout.json");
// ... move windows around ...
manager.LoadLayout("layout.json", validate: true);

Examples in PowerShell - Window Keep-Alive Cmdlets

# Keep Notepad alive for one minute
Start-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -Name '*Notepad*' -Interval 00:01:00

# List active sessions
Get-DesktopWindowKeepAlive

# Stop the session
Stop-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -Name '*Notepad*'

# Keep Notepad and Calculator alive
Start-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -Name '*Notepad*'
Start-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -Name '*Calculator*' -Interval 00:00:30
Start-Sleep -Seconds 5
Get-DesktopWindowKeepAlive | Format-Table Title, Handle
Stop-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -All

# Monitor RDP windows
Start-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -Name '*RDP*' -Interval 00:00:30
1..3 | ForEach-Object {
    Start-Sleep -Seconds 10
    Get-DesktopWindowKeepAlive | ForEach-Object { "Active: $($_.Title)" }
}
Stop-DesktopWindowKeepAlive -Name '*RDP*'

Examples in C# - Window Keep-Alive

var manager = new WindowManager();
var notepad = manager.GetWindows("*Notepad*").FirstOrDefault();
if (notepad != null) {
    WindowKeepAlive.Instance.Start(notepad, TimeSpan.FromMinutes(1));
}

foreach (var window in new WindowManager().GetWindows("*Chrome*")) {
    WindowKeepAlive.Instance.Start(window, TimeSpan.FromSeconds(30));
}

foreach (var handle in WindowKeepAlive.Instance.ActiveHandles) {
    Console.WriteLine($"Keeping {handle} alive");
}
WindowKeepAlive.Instance.StopAll();

C# API Highlights

DesktopManager ships as a .NET library targeting net472, netstandard2.0, net8.0-windows10.0.19041.0, and net10.0-windows10.0.19041.0. The main entry points are:

• Monitors for monitor enumeration, wallpaper management, brightness, resolution, orientation and slideshow control.
• WindowManager for window enumeration, positioning, resizing and layout persistence.
• MonitorWatcher to receive events when display settings change.
• ScreenshotService to capture the desktop or custom regions.
• WorkstationProfileService and WorkstationProfileStore for cohesive named workstation state.
• AudioService and AudioEndpointWatcher for Core Audio endpoints, default roles, volume, mute, and changes.
• SystemPowerService, DesktopSessionService, and DesktopSessionWatcher for power and session state/actions.
• PersonalizationService, PersonalizationStateStore, and TaskbarService for reversible user settings and taskbars.
• RadioService for supported per-radio operations and ExperimentalAirplaneModeService for the separately acknowledged undocumented global switch.
• WifiProfileService for saved-profile inventory and exact profile connection without nearby-network scanning.
• VirtualDesktopService for the supported window-to-desktop operations.