# Install Muse (instructions for AI agents) You were asked to install Muse, a winamp-style music player for mac, on the user's Mac. Follow these steps in order. Each one says how to check it worked. Keep the user informed in plain words. Muse is a tiny music player for macOS in the spirit of Winamp. It plays your own music files (MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF), floats above other windows, shrinks to just the cover, lives in the menu bar, and changes its whole look with a skin: a single JSON file that you, or an AI agent, can write. It comes with a `muse` command-line tool so agents can install it, control playback, and create, check and preview skins. ## 1. Check the Mac Run: ```bash sw_vers -productVersion # must be 14 or higher uname -m # must be arm64 (Apple silicon) ``` If either doesn't match, stop and tell the user: Muse needs macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later on Apple silicon. ## 2. Install Run the installer. It takes a few seconds, needs no sudo, and prints each step: ```bash curl -fsSL https://tinymuse.app/install.sh | sh ``` It downloads https://tinymuse.app/download/Muse.zip, checks its SHA-256, puts Muse.app in /Applications (or ~/Applications), links the `muse` command to ~/.local/bin/muse, adds the skin skill for Claude Code (~/.claude/skills/muse-skins) and Codex (~/.codex/skills/muse-skins) when those exist, and opens Muse. Read it first if you like: https://tinymuse.app/install.sh If you can't pipe to sh, do the same by hand: ```bash curl -fsSL https://tinymuse.app/download/Muse.zip -o /tmp/Muse.zip curl -fsSL https://tinymuse.app/download/Muse.zip.sha256 # compare with: shasum -a 256 /tmp/Muse.zip ditto -x -k /tmp/Muse.zip /Applications mkdir -p ~/.local/bin && ln -sf /Applications/Muse.app/Contents/Helpers/muse ~/.local/bin/muse open -g /Applications/Muse.app ``` ## 3. Check it works ```bash muse status --json ``` If `muse` isn't found, ~/.local/bin isn't on PATH yet: use `~/.local/bin/muse` for the rest of this session and tell the user to add `export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"` to ~/.zshrc. A JSON answer with `"playing"`, `"volume"` and `"skin"` means Muse is running and listening. ## 4. Play the user's music ```bash muse add ~/Music --play ``` This adds every audio file in the folder (MP3, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, WAV, AIFF) and starts playing. If ~/Music has no audio files (`muse status` then says nothing is playing), ask the user where their music is and add that folder instead. Muse plays local files only; it doesn't stream. ## 5. Make skins Muse's look is a skin: one JSON file that sets colours, fonts and the whole layout. The full guide for agents is the skill at https://tinymuse.app/skills/muse-skins/SKILL.md; read it before making a skin. The short loop: ```bash muse skin reference # node types and properties muse skin new "" --from # prints the skin.json path to edit muse skin validate "" # fix every reported problem muse skin snapshot /tmp/preview.png --skin "" # look at the image, improve, repeat muse skin apply "" # only once the user is happy with it ``` Start from the built-in skin closest to the idea. These have their own layouts: Default (cover beside the controls), Pill, Card, Turntable (a spinning record), Tape (a cassette). Midnight, Paper and Mono only recolour the Default layout. User skins live in ~/Library/Application Support/Muse/Skins//skin.json, next to any images they use. Backgrounds are a colour, a gradient `{ "gradient": ["#2b2b2b", "#111"], "angle": 90 }`, a material `{ "material": "translucent" }`, an image `{ "image": "bg.png" }` or blurred cover art `{ "artwork": { "blur": 40 } }`. When unsure of a property's shape, check https://tinymuse.app/skin.schema.json. Their files: https://tinymuse.app/skins/.json. Format reference: https://tinymuse.app/skins.md and https://tinymuse.app/skin.schema.json. ## 6. Everything the muse command does ``` muse — control the Muse music player and its skins Playback (starts Muse if needed): muse status Now playing, position, volume, skin (use --json for scripts) muse play | pause | toggle | next | prev | stop muse volume <0-100> muse seek muse add … [--play] muse mini [on|off] Toggle or set the mini player muse pin [on|off] Toggle or set always-on-top muse edit Open Edit Info for the current song muse menubar [on|off] Move Muse into the menu bar (window and Dock icon hide) or back Skins: muse skin list Installed skins (★ = current) muse skin current The current skin's id muse skin apply Switch skin. A path to a skin folder or .json installs it first muse skin new [--from ] Copy a skin (default: Pill) into your skins folder to edit muse skin validate Check a skin (by name, folder or skin.json); prints each problem muse skin snapshot [--skin ] [--mini | --menubar] Screenshot the player (optionally with another skin), its mini player, or its menu bar popover muse skin reference Short list of node types and properties (easier to read) muse skin schema Full JSON Schema for skin.json muse skin folder Where your skins live muse skin reload Re-read all skins and list problems Options: --json Machine-readable output -h, --help This help Skin format: SKINS.md in the Muse repository, or `muse skin schema`. ``` ## 7. Tell the user - Muse is in Applications and floats above other windows (the pin button or ⌥⌘T turns that off). - ⌥⌘M switches to the mini player; ⌥⌘B moves Muse to the menu bar. - Click a song's cover to edit its title, artist or artwork. - The Skins menu previews a skin on hover. - What you installed, and how to undo it (below). ## Uninstall ```bash curl -fsSL https://tinymuse.app/install.sh | sh -s -- --uninstall ``` This removes the app, the `muse` link and the skills. The user's skins and settings stay in ~/Library/Application Support/Muse. ## If something goes wrong - **"Muse didn't answer":** open it with `open -b com.ionprodan.Muse` and try again. - **A snapshot comes out without the blur or shadows:** the terminal lacks Screen Recording permission, so Muse drew the window itself. That's fine for checking a layout. - **"Muse can't be opened" after a browser download:** right-click Muse in Applications and choose Open. (The installer above avoids this.)