/software / sidescreen

  • Windows
  • Free / MIT
  • v0.2.0
  • Early release
  • Source available

SideScreen

Another Windows display for agent windows.

Move an agent’s windows onto a virtual display and preview that display without sending it your mouse or keyboard input. Supported native controls can be operated in the background.

Download

Requires a separately installed MTT virtual display and .NET Framework 4.8. Background input supports classic native controls, not arbitrary browser pages. This is not a separate Windows session.

v0.2.0 / Windows x64 / 57.5 KiB / early release / released

WINDOWS / TWO WORKSPACES
you keep workingpassive preview
Workspace diagram · supported controls only

README / sidescreen

Why it exists

Desktop agents tend to want the same screen and focus you are using. SideScreen gives their windows somewhere else to live.

What it does

Window placement

Manage an existing MTT virtual monitor, move normal windows there without requesting foreground activation, and bring them back when needed.

Passive preview

See the side display from a preview window that sends no keyboard or pointer input to it.

Capture and inspect

A local JSON command interface reports display and window state, places windows and captures screenshots of the agent monitor.

Supported background controls

Inspect and act on supported classic Windows controls: text fields, push buttons, system checkboxes and list items. Unsupported controls are refused.

Focus checks

Placement receipts and input monitoring report foreground or keyboard-focus changes. Actions use fresh inspections and checks of the target window and display.

Requirements & release status

  • Windows x64 with .NET Framework 4.8.
  • One active MTT virtual monitor, installed separately using VirtualDrivers' Virtual Display Driver.
  • An active physical display, with Windows set to extend the desktop.
  • Windows PowerShell for the agent command interface.

Get the driver from the official Virtual Display Driver project. It is a separate prerequisite, not bundled with SideScreen.

Read the v0.2.0 release notes ↗

Installation

  1. Install the virtual display driver from its official project and choose Extend these displays in Windows Settings.
  2. Extract SideScreen's Windows x64 ZIP and run SideScreen.exe.
  3. For a per-user installation, tray startup and the included Codex skill, run the installer below from the extracted directory.
  4. Use View screen for a passive preview. Read the agent guide before controlling windows.

Optional per-user installation, from PowerShell in the extracted directory:

.\install-user.ps1 -StartTray -StartAtLogin

SideScreen-0.2.0-win-x64.zip / 57.5 KiB
Downloads come directly from the project’s GitHub release.

Privacy & data

SideScreen has no network listener, telemetry, credential store or model connection. Screenshot files stay at the path you specify. Window titles and captured screens can contain private information; agents receive the command output you give them.

Known limitations

This is a separate display, not a separate Windows input session or security sandbox. Background actions support classic native controls; arbitrary browser pages, WPF/WinUI controls, canvases and gestures are unsupported. Applications can still change focus themselves.

Docs & support

Read the setup guide before reporting a bug. Include the version, your Windows configuration, and steps to reproduce; remove private information from screenshots and logs.

Documentation ↗Report an issue ↗Release notes ↗
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