sctl

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sctl connects AI clients and command-line workflows to the ScriptCat browser extension and to its own sctl Browser browser extension. One cross-platform binary provides a local bridge daemon, a stdio MCP server, and script-management and browser-control commands.

AI client ── stdio MCP ──▶ sctl mcp ── local control API ──▶ sctl serve ── WebSocket ──▶ ScriptCat
CLI ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────▲

ScriptCat remains the authority: source disclosure and every write request are governed by the policies and confirmation UI in the extension.

Features

• Exposes ScriptCat operations and browser tab/window control as discoverable, schema-typed MCP tools.
• Lists scripts and reads metadata or source, including line windows and source search.
• Requests installation, content-anchored editing, enable/disable, and deletion through browser approval.
• Lists, opens, closes, and activates tabs and lists windows across one or more paired sctl Browser instances.
• Uses JSON-RPC 2.0 over a WebSocket with mutual authentication; the listener defaults to loopback.
• Ships as one binary; no browser automation or Native Messaging host is required.

Quick start

Install the latest release with one command — macOS and Linux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scriptscat/sctl/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

or Windows PowerShell:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/scriptscat/sctl/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

The installer downloads the hyphen-named release archive sctl-<version>-<os>-<arch>.<ext> for your platform, verifies its sha256 against checksums.txt, and installs sctl into ~/.local/bin (macOS/Linux) or %LOCALAPPDATA%\sctl\bin (Windows). SCTL_VERSION pins a specific version; SCTL_INSTALL_DIR overrides the install directory. If the install directory is not on your PATH, the installer prints the exact PATH hint for your platform — it never edits your shell profile or user PATH for you.

Or download a sctl-<version>-<os>-<arch>.<ext> archive manually from GitHub Releases and put it on PATH, or build sctl from source; plain source builds identify themselves as 0.0.0-dev.

Choose one absolute data directory and export it for every sctl process:

export SCTL_DATA_DIR=/absolute/path/to/sctl-data

# Terminal 1: keep the daemon running
sctl serve

# Terminal 2: enroll once, then verify the connection
sctl connect
sctl status

Enable External Access in ScriptCat and enter the one-time code printed by connect.

To also pair the sctl Browser extension (tab/window control), download sctl-browser-extension-<version>.zip from GitHub Releases, unzip it, and load the unzipped folder as an unpacked extension from your browser's extensions page. Open its popup and enter a one-time code from sctl connect; a code pairs only one extension, so run connect again if ScriptCat already used it. Full steps, including the browser's "developer mode" toggle, are in docs/mcp.md.

Then configure the AI client to launch:

/absolute/path/to/sctl mcp --name my-ai-client

sctl mcp does not start the daemon. It and sctl serve must resolve to the same data directory and, when overriding the default listener, use the same --listen-address <host:port>. See the complete MCP installation guide for client JSON, verification, security notes, and troubleshooting.

Commands

Command	Purpose
sctl serve	Run the local bridge daemon.
sctl connect	Open a one-time enrollment window for ScriptCat or sctl Browser.
sctl mcp [--name <label>]	Serve ScriptCat and sctl Browser tools over stdio MCP.
sctl status	Show daemon and extension connection status.
sctl get [<uuid>]	List scripts or read one script.
sctl grep <uuid> <query>	Search one script's source.
sctl install <url|file>	Request script installation.
sctl edit <uuid>	Request a content-anchored source edit.
sctl enable <uuid> / sctl disable <uuid>	Request an enabled-state change.
sctl delete <uuid>	Request script deletion.
sctl browsers [list] / sctl browsers forget <name|id>	List paired sctl Browser instances, or forget one.
sctl tabs list|open|close|activate	List, open, close, or activate tabs on a paired sctl Browser instance.
sctl windows list	List windows on a paired sctl Browser instance.

Run sctl --help or sctl <command> --help for usage and flags. Write operations block until the user approves, rejects, or closes the confirmation flow in ScriptCat; browser control commands run immediately with no approval step (see docs/threat-model.md). tabs and windows accept --browser <name|id> (or SCTL_BROWSER) to pick an instance when more than one is online.

License

GPL-3.0, the same license as ScriptCat. See LICENSE.