Developer docs
Extend the desktop
DeskSSH is built to be extended. Teach it a new operating system with a declarative adapter, or add a new window to the desktop with a packaged app — both run inside the same transparent, agentless model, using only commands you can see.
Adapters
.json A declarative JSON manifest that teaches DeskSSH how to run capabilities on a new OS family. No code, no build. Apps .zip A packaged application that adds a window to the desktop, built on the app-runtime SDK and shipped as a .zip. What’s inside
- Adapters An adapter maps the DeskSSH capability catalog to the commands of a specific operating-system family. It is how the desktop reaches beyond the OSes it already knows.
- Apps An app is a packaged application that appears on the desktop like the built-in Files, Terminal or Monitor. It is a .zip: a manifest plus a bundled entry point.
- The app-runtime Apps compile against @deskssh/app-runtime — the same SDK the built-in apps use. It gives you a registration hook, session context, UI primitives, and typed gateway calls.
- Versioning DeskSSH versions five things independently: the Desk, the Contract, the app-runtime, each app, and each adapter. Plugins declare the ranges they need; the Desk resolves them at load.
These docs cover the shape and lifecycle of plugins. The authoritative capability catalog and generated types live in the core repository.
Full authoring guide on GitHub