Automate workflows across multiple displays with Qontinui Runner
Qontinui Runner provides full support for multi-monitor setups, allowing you to target specific displays or automate across multiple screens simultaneously. Whether you have a dual-monitor setup, a triple-monitor workstation, or an ultrawide display, the Runner handles coordinate mapping and screen capture seamlessly.
Key Capability: The Runner can capture and automate across the bounding region of multiple selected monitors, treating them as a unified workspace.
Windows (and other operating systems) use a 'virtual desktop' coordinate system where all monitors are combined into one large coordinate space.
Example: Example: Left monitor at (-1920, 0), Primary at (0, 0), Right at (1920, 0)
The Runner automatically detects all connected monitors and their properties:
When multiple monitors are selected, the Runner captures the bounding rectangle:
Example: Selecting left and right monitors captures all three monitors in between
There are several ways to specify which monitor(s) to use for automation:
Use the monitor selector in the Runner interface:
Reference monitors by their spatial position:
monitors: ['left', 'right'] // Automate across left and right displaysReference monitors by their numerical index:
monitors: ['0', '2'] // Automate on monitors 0 and 2Run a workflow on a specific monitor using the MCP tool:
mcp__qontinui__run_workflow(
workflow_name="My Workflow",
monitors=["left"]
)Run a workflow across multiple monitors:
mcp__qontinui__run_workflow(
workflow_name="Multi-Screen Workflow",
monitors=["left", "right"]
)Use the HTTP API with monitor indices:
POST http://localhost:9876/run-workflow
{
"workflow_name": "Trading Dashboard",
"monitor_indices": [0, 1, 2]
}Query available monitors via MCP:
mcp__qontinui__list_monitors()
// Returns:
{
"count": 3,
"monitors": [
{
"index": 0,
"position": "left",
"width": 1920,
"height": 1080,
"is_primary": false
},
// ...
]
}Monitor multiple trading terminals across displays, executing trades based on signals from different screens.
Automate workflows that span multiple applications on different monitors (e.g., email on left, CRM on right).
Automate testing across IDE, browser, and terminal windows spread across monitors.
Read data from a reference document on one monitor while entering it into a system on another.
Keep your physical monitor arrangement stable. Qontinui Runner relies on monitor positions, so moving monitors may require updating workflows.
When developing multi-monitor workflows, test on a single monitor first to ensure basic automation logic works before adding complexity.
Prefer 'left', 'right', 'primary' over numeric indices when possible. Position labels are more portable across different setups.
When selecting non-adjacent monitors (e.g., monitors 0 and 2), remember the capture includes the bounding region, which may include monitor 1.
If monitors have different resolutions or DPI scaling, test image recognition carefully. You may need to adjust similarity thresholds.
Solutions:
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Understanding how Qontinui Runner handles multi-monitor coordinates:
The Runner calculates the virtual desktop origin as the minimum X and minimum Y coordinates across all monitors. This is NOT necessarily (0, 0).
// Example: 3 monitors
Left: (-1920, 702) 1920x1080
Primary: (0, 0) 3840x2160
Right: (3840, 702) 1920x1080
Virtual Desktop Origin: (-1920, 0)
Virtual Desktop Size: 7680 x 2160When finding images, the Runner captures the entire bounding region of selected monitors. Image coordinates are relative to the virtual desktop origin, ensuring clicks land correctly regardless of which monitor contains the target.
The Python executor (qontinui library) handles coordinate translation using MSS (multi-monitor screenshot library), ensuring consistency between screenshot capture and mouse positioning.