v1.0.0 to v1.0.0

4 added, 0 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: cli-anything

description: Drive desktop apps (LibreOffice, GIMP, Blender, Inkscape, Audacity, Draw.io, Kdenlive, Shotcut, Krita, FreeCAD, MuseScore) headless through CLI-Anything harnesses with JSON output, instead of clicking through the app window with native_app.

version: "1.0.0"

metadata:

author: CoWork OS Contributors <info@coworkosapp.com>

source-author: "HKUDS"

source: https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything

pinned-commit: 34f519533bc175d2fe287ab8316b0dd99bb9cc43

---

# CLI-Anything

CLI-Anything harnesses are Python command-line tools named `cli-anything-<app>`. Each one

drives the app's real backend (headless LibreOffice, Blender's bpy, Pillow/GIMP batch, sox,

melt) and prints JSON with `--json`. They make the same file edits as clicking through the

app, but scripted, repeatable and verifiable.

## When to use

- The user wants a file produced or edited with one of the apps below, or in that app's

format (ODF documents, layered GIMP images, `.blend` scenes, Inkscape SVG, Draw.io

diagrams, audio/video edits).

- Prefer a harness over `native_app` UI control for that work. Use `native_app` only when

the user asks to operate or watch the app's window, or the harness lacks the operation.

- Do not use when the task forbids scripting, for Photoshop (use the local Photoshop

route), or when CoWork's built-in document tools already cover a plain DOCX/XLSX/PPTX

request that does not name one of these apps.

## 1. Find installed harnesses

```bash

for d in ${PATH//:/ } "$HOME/.local/bin"; do ls "$d"/cli-anything-* 2>/dev/null; done | sort -u

```

## 2. Install a missing harness (ask first)

Installing runs third-party code from GitHub. Ask the user before installing, name the

harness, and install the pinned commit with uv (falls back to `python3 -m pip install --user`):

```bash

uv tool install --python 3.11 \

"git+https://github.com/HKUDS/CLI-Anything.git@34f519533bc175d2fe287ab8316b0dd99bb9cc43#subdirectory=<dir>/agent-harness"

```

| App | `<dir>` | Command | Also needs |

|-----|---------|---------|------------|

+ Keep uv's default bin directory (`~/.local/bin`). CoWork's sandboxed shell only puts

+ standard locations on PATH (`~/.local/bin`, Homebrew, `bin` directories in your home folder).

+ A harness installed anywhere else gives "command not found" in run_command.

On macOS, install a missing app with Homebrew only after the user agrees, for example

`brew install --cask libreoffice`. Remove a harness with `uv tool uninstall <package>`.

## 3. Run commands

- Always pass `--json`, and run one subcommand per call. Never start the bare command or

`repl`: that opens an interactive REPL and hangs.

- Keep state in a project file in the workspace: create it with `-o <abs path>`, then pass

`--project <abs path>` to every later command. Each command saves the project.

- Read `cli-anything-<app> <group> <command> --help` before guessing flags.

- Failure: exit code 1 with `{"error": ..., "type": ...}` on stdout, or a Python traceback.

Read the error, fix the arguments, and do not retry blindly.

LibreOffice example:

```bash

L=cli-anything-libreoffice; P="$PWD/memo.lo-cli.json"

$L --json document new --type writer -n memo -o "$P"

$L --json --project "$P" writer add-heading -t "Q4 Plan" -l 1

$L --json --project "$P" writer add-paragraph -t "Summary text"

$L --json --project "$P" export render "$PWD/memo.pdf" -p pdf --overwrite

```

GIMP example:

```bash

G=cli-anything-gimp; P="$PWD/banner.gimp-cli.json"

$G --json project new -w 1200 -h 630 -bg "#1e293b" -o "$P"

$G --json --project "$P" layer new -n accent --type solid -w 1200 -h 120 --fill "#f97316"

$G --json --project "$P" layer set 0 offset_y 510

$G --json --project "$P" layer new -n title --type image -w 1200 -h 630 --fill transparent

$G --json --project "$P" draw text -l 0 -t "Launch" --x 80 --y 240 --size 72 --color "#ffffff"

$G --json --project "$P" export render "$PWD/banner.png" -p png --overwrite

```

## Known harness bugs (pinned commit)

- LibreOffice `export render` uses the `odt` preset unless you pass `-p`, whatever the file

extension says. Exporting a Calc project to `budget.ods` without `-p ods` silently writes

an empty Writer file. Always pass `-p` matching the extension (`odt`, `ods`, `odp`, `pdf`,

`docx`, `xlsx`, `pptx`, `csv`, `html`, `text`).

- LibreOffice Calc formulas from `calc set-cell --formula` evaluate to `Err:510`/`#VALUE!`

in LibreOffice and in XLSX. Compute values yourself and write them with `--type float`;

mention that the cells hold values, not live formulas.

- GIMP renders through Pillow when GIMP is absent; without Pillow it fails with

"Neither GIMP nor Pillow is available".

## 4. Verify the output

The JSON from a command acknowledges that it ran, not that the result is right. Check the

saved file before reporting success:

- Images: `cli-anything-gimp --json media probe <file>` for size and format, then view it.

- Documents: re-import with `cli-anything-libreoffice --json document open <file> -o <new project>`

and read cells with `calc get-cell` or content with `writer list`, or convert to CSV/text

with `soffice --headless --convert-to csv`.

- Confirm the type with `file <output>`.

Report the output paths, which harness and version produced them, and any limits you hit.