AgentControl is a Windows desktop launcher that lets a company distribute proprietary
AI-agent configuration (Copilot/agentic-CLI instruction files, standards, templates, and
skills) alongside public source repositories, without ever committing that proprietary
content to source control. A developer picks a repo from a recent-repos list, AgentControl
makes sure the repo's .github/agents, .github/standards, .github/templates, and
.github/skills folders match the version pinned in that repo's .agentcontrol.json file,
then launches the developer's preferred agentic CLI tool (for example, GitHub Copilot CLI)
in that repo's working directory.
- Recent-repos list: add repos via a folder-browse button; each repo is shown as a card with its display name, path, pinned package/version, and current git branch
- Version-pinned agent packages: every repo names an exact agent package name and
semantic version in its
.agentcontrol.jsonpin file — there is no floating "latest" mode, so upgrades are always a deliberate, visible action - Status badges: each repo card shows an upgrade-available badge, a committed-agent-files
warning (advisory only — flags when the managed folders were accidentally committed to
git), and a missing-repo indicator when the path no longer exists on disk. Separately,
AgentControl now proactively ensures the repo's
.gitignorecovers the four managed folders immediately after every "Select Package..."/Upgrade, making an accidental commit much less likely in the first place - Ensure-synced-before-launch: clicking Launch attempts a best-effort sync of the four managed agent folders before starting the agent tool; if they are missing (for example, a fresh clone) it silently re-extracts the currently pinned version first — it never auto-upgrades to a newer version on your behalf. This sync attempt is purely informational and never blocks the launch: repos with committed agent files skip it entirely, repos with no pin launch anyway, and a failed re-extraction only surfaces a warning
- Git integration: pull the latest commits for a repo directly from its card (offered only when the working tree is clean), with a configurable git executable override
- Configurable agent tool: choose GitHub Copilot CLI, Cursor, Claude Code, or a custom command line, plus a shell/terminal preference
- Configurable package source: agent packages are fetched from a configurable filesystem path (local drive, mapped drive, or UNC share)
- Upgrade notifications: a badge and release-notes viewer let you see when a newer agent package version is available and what changed before you apply it
- About dialog: reachable from the main window, shows the running app's version, copyright, and license
See architecture.md for the full system design.
AgentControl is distributed as a Windows MSI installer, built from
src/DemaConsulting.AgentControl.Msi/.
- Download the latest
AgentControl-{version}.msifrom the releases for this repository. - Run the installer and follow the prompts.
- Launch AgentControl from the Start menu.
The installed application is self-contained and single-file — it bundles its own copy of the .NET 10 runtime, so the target machine needs no pre-installed runtime.
Click the folder-plus icon button on the toolbar and browse to a repository's root folder. The repo is added to the recent-repos list as a card showing its display name, path, pinned package/version (if any), and current git branch.
A repo that has never been synced shows a Select Package... action (in place of Upgrade) in its card's "..." menu. This lists the distinct package names discoverable at the configured package source, lets you pick one, then lists that package's available versions (defaulting to the latest) before extracting and pinning it into the repo.
Once a repo is pinned, its card's "..." menu instead shows Upgrade whenever a newer
version of the pinned package is discoverable at the package source. Upgrading re-runs the
same validate → delete → extract → pin sequence and then shows the new package's
release-notes.md (when present) in a non-modal window.
Click Launch to start your configured agentic CLI tool in the repo's working directory. Launch is never blocked by agent-package sync state — before launching, AgentControl makes a best-effort attempt to sync the four managed agent folders for a pinned repo (silently re-extracting the currently pinned version, never a newer one, if any are missing), but this is purely an informational side action. A repo with committed agent files skips the sync entirely (the managed folders are never touched), and a repo with no pin at all still launches — an agentic CLI tool remains useful even with zero managed agent files present, and can help with migrating away from committed agent files.
The Pull button on a repo card runs git pull in that repo, and is only offered when the
working tree is clean.
The Settings window lets you configure:
- Package source path — the filesystem path (local, mapped drive, or UNC) from which agent package zip files are discovered
- Git executable override — a specific
gitexecutable to use instead of resolving it fromPATH - Agent tool selection — GitHub Copilot CLI, Cursor, Claude Code, or a custom command
- Shell/terminal preference — which shell to launch the agent tool in, or leave unset to let AgentControl auto-detect the best available shell
The About dialog (reachable from the main window) shows the running build's version, copyright, and license, so it can be identified without inspecting file properties.
Agent packages are plain zip files following a naming and content convention that AgentControl's package source scanner and extractor understand. See the Authoring Agent Packages section of the User Guide for the full, source-verified guide to naming, versioning, and structuring a package zip.
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines on reporting bugs, suggesting features, and submitting pull requests.
Copyright (c) DEMA Consulting. Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.
By contributing to this project, you agree that your contributions will be licensed under the MIT License.