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Desk-Ops Agent

The small dot in your Windows tray that shows whether this machine's Desk-Ops service is healthy, and whether Desk-Ops is working on it right now.

Start here

What it is#

Desk-Ops Agent is a small program your IT or Desk-Ops installed on this PC. It only reads; the one thing it writes is the log zip you ask for, into a local folder. It puts one dot in the Windows tray and one panel behind it, so anyone at the desk can see whether the machine's Desk-Ops service is up and whether Desk-Ops is working on the machine at this moment.

IT questions live in Footprint and ceiling below.

WHAT IT IS swipe sideways to read the rest is a tray dot and a small panel, installed per machine by your IT or by Desk-Ops. This build is 0.2.0, public label Beta 1. does shows whether the machine's Desk-Ops service is up and whether your management plane still confirms this machine turns blue while a Desk-Ops session is connected zips diagnostic logs into a local folder when you ask states in its footer that runs on this machine are operated by AI never does restarts anything, or acts as a control over a run sends your logs anywhere on its own updates itself holds credentials or tokens
THE ONE-LINE VERSION swipe sideways to read the rest one dot in the tray, colored from a check the agent runs every 30 seconds one panel behind it, with the same facts spelled out and any run in progress one zip of the logs, only when you ask, written to a folder on this PC
At the desk · the dot

Five colors, one glance#

Match the tile in your tray to a row. The panel word and line are the exact words you will see.

Activegreen
"Listener up, reading fresh, Arc connected."
On an Azure-plane machine the line is shorter: "Listener up, reading fresh."
You: nothing. Nobody is connected.
Activeblue · pulses
"This machine is being operated by Desk-Ops."
You: nothing; the run cannot be paused or stopped from here. If the panel is open it moves on top and stays put; it does not open by itself. Its footer reads "This machine is being operated by AI." While the dot is blue, the run is recorded as evidence by Desk-Ops — not by the agent. Blue can trail the start of a session by up to 30 seconds, and at the end it can linger for about half a minute. It is an indicator, not a guarantee.
Checking
Staleamber
"Listener up — Azure Arc hasn't confirmed this machine."
"Reading is stale — no fresh check in the last 90 seconds."
You: wait a minute; Checking in the first minute on an Arc machine is normal. If amber stays, see When to act.
Downred
"The local listener service is down."
You: wait — setup normally starts it again, and the panel says so while the dot is red. If it does not come back, right-click the tray icon and choose Start listener: that asks the machine's own Desk-Ops setup to start it. The agent never starts the service itself. Still red? Collect logs and tell Desk-Ops.
Setupgray
"Not provisioned — Desk-Ops setup hasn't finished on this machine."
You: tell whoever is setting the machine up; see When to act.

A stale reading always wins over a confident one: a stale Down is not red and a stale Active is not blue.

At the desk · the panel

The panel, top to bottom#

Left-click the tray icon and the panel opens at the bottom right of your primary screen. It is one view: a status word, one line under it, two or three vitals, a run card when Desk-Ops is running something, and a footer. Every word on it comes from the agent's latest check.

THE PANEL, TOP TO BOTTOM swipe sideways for the notes ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ ● Desk-Ops Agent [ ] pin × │ header · wordmark, dot, pin, × │ │ badge slot: Down/Stale/Setup/Checking only, │ │ empty while Active · see the figure below ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Active v.0.2.0 │ status card: the word, the agent version, │ Listener up, reading fresh, Arc connected. │ the status line · see the figure below ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Listener Healthy · checked Ns ago │ vitals · see the figure below │ Azure Arc Connected · checked Ns ago │ │ Listener ver <version> · service build │ ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Couldn't save the log bundle to │ notice slot: red, only after a failed │ the Desk-Ops folder on this PC — <OS error>. │ Collect logs; names the folder and the │ Try again, or read this line to support. │ Windows error; clears on the next success │ │ or after 10 min ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ CURRENT RUN [ Executing ] │ run card, only while a run is active · │ <goal of the run> │ card label CURRENT RUN / RUN COMPLETE │ <ticket> · <run_id> · <host> │ / LAST RUN · chip Starting / Executing / │ █████░░░░░ N of M │ Unknown / the verdict verbatim (PASS, FAIL) │ Run status unknown — last update HH:MM UTC │ shown when a run stops updating │ │ │ STEPS one row per step, ticked as it runs │ ○ waiting · ▶ running · ✗ failed │ │ ✓ gray done, unverified · ✓ green verified ├────────────────────────────────────────────────┤ │ Runs on this machine are operated by AI │ footer · see the figure below │ EU Disclosure │ └────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Current · 0.2.0 Beta 1
Desk-Ops Agent panel, healthy and idle: green dot, the word Active, the line Listener up, reading fresh, Arc connected, vitals Listener Healthy, Azure Arc Connected, Listener ver 0.4.2, idle disclosure footer
The panel idle and healthy. The dark box above names every slot, including the ones this state leaves empty: badge, notice line, run card.
  1. Header dot The same color as the tray icon dot: gray while not provisioned, red when the listener is down, amber when a reading is stale or unconfirmed, green when healthy, blue and pulsing during an active session.
  2. Pin Keeps the panel on top of other windows. It lights by itself for the whole of an active session.
  3. Close Hides the panel to the tray. The agent keeps running.
  4. Status word Active, Down, Stale, Checking or Setup, decided by the same rule as the dot color. The small dot beside it repeats the health color and is left out in the blue active-session state.
  5. Status line One plain sentence about the evidence the agent has right now, shown word for word from the latest check.
  6. Listener vital Whether the machine's Desk-Ops service is answering: Healthy, Not responding, Stale, Checking or a dash, with the age of the last check.
  7. Azure Arc vital The management plane's view: Connected, Disconnected, Not installed or Unknown, with the age of its last read. The row is left out on Azure-native machines.
  8. Listener version The service build the agent currently sees, sub-line "service build".
  9. Disclosure line The EU AI Act Article 50 disclosure. It reads "Runs on this machine are operated by AI." while idle and "This machine is being operated by AI." during a session.
  10. EU Disclosure A hover target whose tooltip carries the full disclosure sentence.

Controls and behavior

  • Left-click the tray icon to open the panel; left-click again to hide it. Right-click opens the menu: Start listener, Collect logs and Open Desk-Ops folder. Start listener is enabled only when setup has finished and the service is down; it asks the machine's own Desk-Ops setup to start the service, and confirms "Start requested" in the panel.
  • The panel hides when you click elsewhere, unless you pinned it, the dot is blue, or a run is on. In those three cases it also stays on top of other windows.
  • The pin button reads Keep this window on top; once pinned it reads Pinned — click to release; while a session holds it up (blue) it reads On top automatically during this session.
  • × hides the panel to the tray. There is no Quit item: the agent is meant to stay running, and IT stops it by uninstalling.
  • Starting the agent a second time does not start a second copy; it shows the panel.
  • Hover the tray icon and the tooltip shows the current status line. On a fresh install the icon may sit behind the tray's overflow chevron.
At the desk · when to act

When to act#

The strip above covers the glance. Two situations need more than a glance: support asking for logs, and a dot that stays amber or gray.

Support asked for logs? Right-click the tray icon, one menu item; the agent zips its diagnostics into a local folder, and the zip stays on this PC. Steps below.

COLLECT LOGS swipe sideways to read the rest right-click the tray icon → Collect logs │ zip a timestamped zip in the Desk-Ops folder on this PC time stamp is UTC │ inside a manifest of what was collected, and what was missing the service log and the local health state the service publishes a missing input is a line in the manifest, not an error │ then Explorer opens the folder → read the file name to support, or attach the zip WHAT LEAVES THE PC nothing on its own. The agent never uploads log content. At most it sends a tiny receipt note (~300 B: file name, machine name, what was included), and only when your Desk-Ops setup has switched that on. IF THE ZIP CANNOT BE WRITTEN the panel opens with a red line naming the folder and the Windows error. Read that line to support. It clears on the next success or after 10 minutes.
Current · 0.2.0 Beta 1
Desk-Ops Agent panel, healthy, with a red notice line under the status card: Couldn't save the log bundle to the Desk-Ops folder on this PC, Windows error, try again or read this line to support
The same healthy panel after a Collect logs that could not write its zip: the red notice line names the folder and the Windows error.
  1. Dot still green A failed collect is not a health change. The dot, the status word and the vitals keep reporting the service.
  2. Notice line Shown only after a failed Collect logs. It reads: "Couldn't save the log bundle to the Desk-Ops folder on this PC — <Windows error>. Try again, or read this line to support." It names the folder and the Windows error, nothing else, and clears on the next successful collect or after 10 minutes.

Amber or gray that stays

Stale, Checking, Setup: what each means.
Stale
No fresh reading in the last 90 seconds; a stale reading is never shown as red or blue. If it lasts past the next check, collect logs and tell Desk-Ops.
Checking
The service is up but Azure Arc has not confirmed the machine. Past the first minute on an Arc machine, if the Arc row reads Disconnected or Not installed and stays that way, tell Desk-Ops.
Setup
Desk-Ops setup has not finished on this machine. The agent will not finish setup on its own. Tell whoever is setting the machine up; once setup finishes, the dot updates on the next check.

IT admin: what runs on the machine, and what never does, is in Footprint and ceiling below.

At the desk · first time

Your first green dot#

You do not install the agent yourself. IT or Desk-Ops puts it on the machine over a managed channel, and the dot appears at your next sign-in.

THE FIRST MINUTE swipe sideways to read the rest t+0 gray tile in the tray, tooltip Desk-Ops, panel hidden check 1 runs at start, so the dot takes its first real color right away Arc on an Arc machine the first green waits only for Arc's first answer, which can be slow on a loaded box no dot? sign out and back in; the agent starts at sign-in
Under the hood · how it flows

What a session looks like#

Every 30 seconds the agent runs the same short check and paints the dot from the result. Below is one Desk-Ops session as the panel tells it, from idle to a collected bundle.

Current · 0.2.0 Beta 1
Desk-Ops Agent panel during an active session: blue header dot, the line This machine is being operated by Desk-Ops, one-line vitals, a CURRENT RUN card with the Executing chip, goal, evidence line and meter 3 of 5, a steps list with three performed steps, the active step Restart the desktop shell with its narration, one pending step, and the footer This machine is being operated by AI
A Desk-Ops session in flight: the dot is blue, the pin is lit automatically, and the run card and steps show the run as it happens.
  1. Header dot Blue and pulsing: an operator session is connected to this machine.
  2. Pin Lit automatically for the whole session; its tooltip reads "On top automatically during this session". The panel stays on top and does not hide when you click elsewhere.
  3. Status line "This machine is being operated by Desk-Ops." The status card goes compact and the vitals collapse to one line.
  4. Run card header CURRENT RUN with the chip Executing. The chip reads Starting until the first step moves, then Executing, then the verdict word once the run completes.
  5. Goal The ordered change in the client's own words.
  6. Evidence line Ticket, run id and host, joined by dots.
  7. Meter Steps done over the total, here 3 of 5. After verification it becomes checks passed of checks total. The percentage is floored, never rounded up, so 5 of 6 reads 83%, not 100%.
  8. Active step The step happening now, highlighted, with the operator's one-line narration under it. Gray ticks above it are performed but not yet verified; the hollow circle below is pending.
  9. Disclosure line "This machine is being operated by AI." for as long as the session lasts.

Rail dot: green is automatic, coral is a person acting. Small pip: the tray color at that moment.

idleauto

Green, idle

The service is up, Arc has confirmed the machine, nobody is connected. The agent checks every 30 seconds and nothing changes.

connectdesk-ops

A Desk-Ops operator connects

The agent sees the new session at its next check, so blue can arrive up to 30 seconds after the session opens. The dot goes blue and, if the panel is open, it moves on top and stays put; it does not open by itself. The footer switches to "This machine is being operated by AI."

runningauto

The run card appears

A run begins. The card shows CURRENT RUN with the chip Starting, then Executing; steps tick ○ ▶ ✓; the meter counts N of M. The card can trail the start of the run by up to 30 seconds.

completeauto

The run completes

The chip shows the verdict, word for word: PASS, FAIL, or whatever the run reported. The card label reads RUN COMPLETE. If a run stops updating instead, the card says "Run status unknown — last update HH:MM UTC".

enddesk-ops

The operator disconnects, green follows

The agent keeps blue for a few seconds so a short gap does not flicker, then turns green on the next check. The panel drops back to normal. The card reads RUN COMPLETE for the run just finished; an older run shows LAST RUN.

lateryou

Support asks for logs

You right-click the tray icon and choose Collect logs (the recipe is in When to act, above). The zip lands in the Desk-Ops folder, which opens, and nothing leaves the PC unless your Desk-Ops setup has switched the receipt note on.

Desk readers can stop here; the sections below are for IT admins and support staff.

For IT · footprint and ceiling

Footprint and ceiling#

The agent is meant to be found. What it installs is visible with the tools already on the box.

You can see it yourself: the Startup entry and the Apps entry both read Desk-Ops Agent, the program lives in its own folder under Program Files, and the agent listens on no port.

What it does

  • shows five dot states
  • reads the local health state the service publishes
  • checks that the machine's Desk-Ops service is answering
  • confirms the machine is still enrolled with your management plane
  • zips logs locally and opens the folder
  • discloses AI operation in its footer

What it never does

  • restarts or supervises the service
  • uploads bundles or log text
  • holds credentials or tokens
  • records the screen, keystrokes, or video
  • acts as a remote control or off switch
  • updates itself (each release is a new installer)
  • hides its process or its Apps entry
  • listens on any port

The tray agent records nothing. A Desk-Ops operator run is screen-recorded as evidence and delivered with the run receipt.

Builds reach a machine only through your IT's managed channel, never a public download. Signed builds name Think Tank Consulting, LLC, the legal entity behind Desk-Ops. Never disable SmartScreen or Defender for an install — nothing from Desk-Ops will ever ask you to.

Support

Working with support#

Support cases start and end with the log zip. Here is the short version.

The short version

Four things to know.
logs
Right-click the tray icon, Collect logs. Read the zip's file name to support, or attach it yourself; the agent never uploads it for you.
uninstall
IT removes the agent through Windows Apps, like any program. There is no Quit in the tray; the agent is meant to stay running while installed.
updates
Each release is a new installer delivered by your IT. The agent never updates itself.
trust
Desk-Ops will never ask you to disable SmartScreen or Defender, or to run commands you do not understand. If anything claiming to be Desk-Ops does, stop and contact Desk-Ops support.
Road ahead

From Beta 1 to 1.0.0#

None of this has a date. GA adds no features; it is the point where the beta has proven everything out.

you are here0.2.0 · Beta 1

Full observation surface

Five dot states, the panel, the run card, Collect logs. Delivered by IT over a managed channel.

Beta 1 fixes

Only if checks find something

Patches only if the beta turns something up. A clean beta means no patch at all.

Beta 2

Broader machine coverage

More machine classes get the full managed view.

GA

Same features, proven

Promoted when the beta record is clean on both machine classes. Updates stay a new installer per release.

Desk-Ops Agent user guide · 0.2.0 (Beta 1) · Last updated 2026-08-31
Part of the Desk-Ops Agent beta documentation · desk-ops.com