# sidekar

> The sidecar for AI agents. A coordination and automation substrate with four capability pillars: browser automation (CDP + Chrome extension), desktop automation (macOS), an agent communication bus, and background automation (monitor + cron).

## What is sidekar?

sidekar is a single binary that gives AI agents real browser and desktop control plus a shared coordination substrate. It equips autonomous agents without replacing their control loop.

## Getting started (step by step)

1. **Install:** `curl -fsSL https://sidekar.dev/install | sh` (installs the binary and runs `sidekar install` for agent skills).
2. **Chrome extension (optional):** Load unpacked from the repo `extension/` directory, run `sidekar device login`, sign in from the extension popup, then use `sidekar ext ...` commands. Automates your everyday Chrome profile through the local bridge.
3. **`sidekar device login` (optional):** Authenticate this machine with sidekar.dev to control or attach to sessions from the web dashboard and remote workflows.
4. **Launch an agent:** `sidekar <agent> [args…]` with any agent CLI on your PATH (e.g. `sidekar claude`, `sidekar codex`). Wraps the PTY and agent bus.

## The four pillars

1. **Browser automation:** Full Chrome DevTools Protocol; optional Chrome extension for the same automation story. Search (`search`), parallel reads (`read-urls`), and batch runs are **use cases** on this stack.

2. **Desktop automation:** macOS Accessibility API for native apps, windows, UI elements, and screenshots without requiring the browser.

3. **Agent communication bus:** Local bus (SQLite broker): `bus who`, `bus send`, `bus done`, registration, handoffs.

4. **Background automation:** Tab monitoring (title/favicon) and cron-scheduled tool runs; results via the bus.

## Supported agents

Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, ChatGPT Desktop, OpenCode, and others via the skill installer or `npx skills add kilospark/sidekar`.

## Pricing

- Personal: Free (all features, no limits)
- Professional: $9/month (honor system, for work that pays)

## Links

- Website: https://sidekar.dev
- Install: https://sidekar.dev/install
- Full reference: https://sidekar.dev/llms-full.txt