Guide · Agent skill
How to use the Open a Desk agent skill (desk-open)
Updated · written with AI from the project's own documentation and checked against our catalogue data
Open a Desk is an agent skill that creates a new, named workstream folder inside an agent workshop. It is aimed at developers running several separate topics with an agent who want each topic to keep its own running notes. By the end of this guide you will know what the skill creates, how to install it, how to ask for it in plain language, and what it does and does not need to work.
Open a Deskgithub/awesome-copilot · MIT Download the skill Quick start
- 1Download and unzip. Download the desk-open ZIP from this page and unzip it so SKILL.md sits in its own folder.
- 2Place the skill. Move the folder into ~/.claude/skills/ for personal use, or into a project's .claude/skills/ folder. Alternatively, upload it under Settings → Capabilities → Skills in the Claude apps.
- 3Prepare the workshop. Make sure you have a workshop directory with a desks/ folder structure to hold your desks.
- 4Ask for a new desk. Describe the new workstream in plain language and name it in kebab-case, for example api-review.
- 5Check the result. Confirm that desks/<desk-name>/ contains journal.md and an empty .signals/ folder, and that the journal states the purpose and scope.
- 6Start a session at the desk. Tell the agent to sit at the desk so the next session reads journal.md before doing any work.
What is an agent skill, and what does desk-open do?
An agent skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md file that gives an AI agent instructions for a specific task. When the skill is installed, the agent can follow those instructions when a request matches them.
The desk-open skill sets up storage for a new desk. Given a workshop directory and a desk name, it creates a desks/<desk-name>/ folder containing a journal.md file and an empty .signals/ folder. The journal records the desk's purpose and scope and is meant to be read at the start of later sessions. The skill tells the agent not to overwrite an existing journal.
- Creates desks/<desk-name>/journal.md, the persistent notes file
- Creates desks/<desk-name>/.signals/, a folder for structured JSON output
- Writes a first journal entry with the desk's purpose, scope and next step
- Does not start or run any sessions itself
desks/<desk-name>/
journal.md
.signals/Install the desk-open skill
Download the ZIP for desk-open from this page and unzip it. The skill folder contains SKILL.md. Put the unzipped folder in one of these locations:
For a personal setup available across projects, place it in ~/.claude/skills/. For a single project, place it in that project's .claude/skills/ folder. Alternatively, in the Claude apps, open Settings, go to Capabilities, and upload the skill under Skills.
- Personal: ~/.claude/skills/
- Project only: .claude/skills/ inside your project
- Claude apps: Settings → Capabilities → Skills
Prepare a workshop directory
The skill expects a workshop directory that contains a desks/ folder. The source describes this as the standard structure, so create or identify your workshop directory before asking the agent to open a desk. Choose a short, descriptive, kebab-case name for each desk, such as security-scan, api-review or ops.
The skill also refers to two companion skills, signal-write and desk-journal. They are not included in these files, so the full workflow will not run from desk-open alone.
- Name examples from the source: security-scan, api-review, ops, cloud-workshop
- Keep one desk to one focus; open a second desk if the scope grows too broad
How to trigger the skill with a natural request
You do not need a special command. Describe the workstream you want in plain language, and name the desk if you have a name in mind. The agent matches the request against the skill description and the When to use situations: a new workstream, work that belongs to no existing desk, or a topic that needs its own history.
If a journal.md already exists for that desk name, the skill directs the agent to resume the desk and read the journal rather than overwrite it. A fresh start requires renaming or archiving the existing desk first.
- "Open a new desk called api-review for our REST API work."
- "Create a desk for the security scan of the payments service."
- "This is a new topic that doesn't fit any desk. Open one for it."
What a session does with the desk afterwards
A desk becomes active when a session is told to work at it, for example by saying "sit at the api-review desk". That session reads desks/api-review/journal.md to load earlier context, does its work, and then persists state to the journal at the end. The next session starts from the same journal.
The desk identity comes from which journal is read, not from a running process. Each session is independent; the journal carries the state forward.
- Session reads journal.md first to pick up where work left off
- Session emits structured output with signal-write (companion skill, not included)
- Session saves state with desk-journal (companion skill, not included)
Safety notes: scripts and network
According to the skill's assessment, desk-open runs no scripts and uses no network. Its work consists of creating folders and a Markdown file in the workshop directory.
The journal is plain Markdown and persists between sessions. If a shared or sensitive project is involved, anything the journal records, including confidential context, stays on disk and is read again in later sessions. Decide what goes in the journal before you use it on sensitive work, and review it regularly.
- Runs scripts: no
- Uses network: no
- Journals persist between sessions and can accumulate confidential context
Tips for getting good results
The journal is the desk's memory. Write enough in the first entry that someone starting from zero can find their way. Keep the purpose and scope specific, because a broad desk loses the focus that makes it useful.
If you want to start over on a topic, rename or archive the existing desk folder first, since the skill will not overwrite a live journal.
- Name the desk after its focus, in kebab-case
- Put the repos or areas the desk covers in the Scope line
- Open a separate desk rather than broadening an existing one
What people use it for
- Separate long-running topics such as security scanning, API review and operations, each with its own journal
- Keeping a per-project notes file that an agent reads at the start of every session
- Giving a new, unrelated piece of work its own clean history instead of mixing it into an existing desk
- Preparing a workshop layout for a team that uses the desk, journal and signals workflow
Frequently asked questions
Is the desk-open skill free to use?
The skill is published under the MIT licence, as stated on this page. The source does not mention pricing, so check the licence terms in the repository for the full details.
What do I need before I can use desk-open?
You need a workshop directory with a desks/ folder structure. The full workflow also needs the companion skills signal-write and desk-journal, which are not included in these files.
Does desk-open run scripts or use the internet?
No. According to the skill's assessment, it runs no scripts and uses no network. It only creates a folder, a journal.md file and a .signals folder.
Will desk-open overwrite my existing journal?
No. If the desk already has a journal.md, the skill tells the agent to resume the desk and not overwrite it. A fresh start requires renaming or archiving the existing desk first.
Can desk-open be used on its own?
It can create the folder structure on its own, but the workflow is incomplete without signal-write and desk-journal. Sessions that write signals and save state depend on those companion skills.
What is the alternative if I only need a notes file?
If you only want one notes file per project, you can create a single journal file yourself, since the source describes desk-open as storage setup and does not add anything beyond the folder structure. For one-off tasks, a plain chat request without this skill is enough.
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Our verdict
Open a Desk suits developers and teams who run several separate agent workstreams and want each one to keep a persistent journal and signals folder. It is a poor fit for one-off questions, single coding tasks, or anyone who cannot supply the companion signal-write and desk-journal skills, and it needs care on sensitive projects because journals persist between sessions.
Download the skill