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Contributing to Ghost OS

Ghost OS is open source and we welcome contributions.

What We Need Help With

Recipes

The most impactful contribution is a new recipe. Pick an app, figure out the workflow, save it as a recipe JSON, test it 3+ times, and submit a PR.

Good recipe candidates:

  • Slack: send a message, reply to a thread
  • Google Calendar: create an event
  • Finder: organize files, create folders
  • System Settings: toggle settings
  • Any web app: login, fill forms, extract data

Testing on Different Apps

Ghost OS should work with every app. Test it with apps you use daily and report what works and what doesn't. File issues with:

  • Which app and version
  • What tool you called
  • What happened vs what you expected
  • The output from ghost doctor

Bug Fixes

Check the issues page. Issues labeled good first issue are a great starting point.

Development Setup

git clone https://github.com/ghostwright/ghost-os.git
cd ghost-os
swift build

Requirements:

  • macOS 14+
  • Swift 6.2+ (install via swiftly)
  • Accessibility permission for your terminal app
  • Screen Recording permission (optional, for screenshots)

The project depends on AXorcist which is referenced as a local package at ../AXorcist. Clone it alongside ghost-os:

your-workspace/
├── AXorcist/      # git clone https://github.com/steipete/AXorcist
└── ghost-os/      # this repo

Project Structure

Sources/
├── GhostOS/                    # Library (the MCP server logic)
│   ├── MCP/                    # MCPServer, MCPTools, MCPDispatch
│   ├── Perception/             # ghost_context, ghost_find, ghost_read, etc.
│   ├── Actions/                # ghost_click, ghost_type, ghost_hotkey, etc.
│   ├── Recipes/                # RecipeEngine, RecipeStore, RecipeTypes
│   ├── Screenshot/             # ScreenCaptureKit wrapper
│   └── Common/                 # Logger, Types, LocatorBuilder
└── ghost/                      # CLI (thin entry point)
    ├── main.swift              # ghost mcp, setup, doctor, status
    ├── SetupWizard.swift       # Interactive first-run setup
    └── Doctor.swift            # Diagnostic tool

Writing a Recipe

Recipes are JSON files stored in ~/.ghost-os/recipes/. Here's the structure:

{
    "schema_version": 2,
    "name": "my-recipe",
    "description": "What this recipe does",
    "app": "Google Chrome",
    "params": {
        "query": {
            "type": "string",
            "description": "What to search for",
            "required": true
        }
    },
    "preconditions": {
        "app_running": "Google Chrome",
        "url_contains": "example.com"
    },
    "steps": [
        {
            "id": 1,
            "action": "click",
            "target": {
                "criteria": [{"attribute": "AXRole", "value": "AXButton"}],
                "computedNameContains": "Search"
            },
            "wait_after": {
                "condition": "elementExists",
                "value": "Results",
                "timeout": 5
            },
            "note": "Click the search button"
        }
    ],
    "on_failure": "stop"
}

Actions: click, type, press, hotkey, focus, scroll, wait

Wait conditions: elementExists, elementGone, urlContains, titleContains, urlChanged, titleChanged, delay

Tips:

  • Use computedNameContains for fuzzy matching ("Compose" matches "Compose" button)
  • Add criteria with AXRole to narrow matches (e.g., only buttons)
  • Always include "criteria": [] even if empty (required by the Locator decoder)
  • Use wait_after instead of fixed delays
  • Test your recipe at least 3 times before submitting

Code Style

  • Swift 6.2 with strict concurrency
  • All logging to stderr (stdout is the MCP protocol channel)
  • No force unwraps except in tests
  • Functions over 80 lines get split
  • Errors tell the agent what to do next, not just what went wrong

Commit Messages

  • Concise but informative
  • Anyone reading the git log should understand what changed
  • No AI attribution lines