Automation
Control your Mac with detailed mouse, keyboard, screen, and window management capabilities.
What is Automation?
Automation is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to control your mac with detailed mouse, keyboard, screen, and window management capabilities.
Control your Mac with detailed mouse, keyboard, screen, and window management capabilities.
This server falls under the Browser Automation category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Control your Mac with detailed mouse, keyboard, screen, and
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx automationConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Automation
Automation MCP gives Claude and other MCP-compatible clients full control over a macOS desktop — mouse clicks, drags, keyboard input, screenshots, window management, and image-based element detection all through natural language. It uses Bun to run a TypeScript server that bridges OSC-style commands to native macOS accessibility APIs, making it practical for automating repetitive GUI workflows, QA testing, or building AI-driven desktop assistants without writing AppleScript or Automator rules.
Prerequisites
- macOS (the server uses native macOS accessibility APIs)
- Bun runtime installed (https://bun.sh)
- An MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop
- Accessibility permissions granted to the terminal / Bun process in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
- Git to clone the repository
Clone the repository
Clone the automation-mcp repository to a local directory. The project uses Bun as its runtime so there is no npm/Node dependency.
git clone https://github.com/ashwwwin/automation-mcp.git
cd automation-mcpInstall dependencies
Use Bun to install all project dependencies declared in package.json.
bun installGrant Accessibility permissions
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and add your terminal application (e.g. Terminal, iTerm2, or Warp) to the allowed list. Without this the server cannot send mouse/keyboard events to other applications.
Start the MCP server (manual test)
Run the server in stdio mode to confirm it starts without errors before wiring it into a client.
bun run index.ts --stdioConfigure Claude Desktop
Add the server to your Claude Desktop configuration file at ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Replace /path/to/automation-mcp with the actual clone directory.
{
"mcpServers": {
"automation": {
"command": "bun",
"args": ["run", "/path/to/automation-mcp/index.ts", "--stdio"]
}
}
}Restart Claude Desktop
Quit and reopen Claude Desktop so it picks up the new MCP server entry. A small hammer icon in the toolbar confirms the server connected successfully.
Automation Examples
Client configuration
Full Claude Desktop config entry for the Automation MCP server running via Bun.
{
"mcpServers": {
"automation": {
"command": "bun",
"args": ["run", "/Users/yourname/automation-mcp/index.ts", "--stdio"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example natural-language commands you can send once the server is connected.
- "Take a screenshot of the entire screen and describe what you see"
- "Click the search bar in the Finder window and type 'Documents'"
- "Move the active window to the top-left corner of the screen"
- "Press Command+Tab three times to switch applications"
- "Double-click the file named report.pdf on the Desktop"Troubleshooting Automation
Mouse and keyboard events are silently ignored or produce an error about accessibility
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility and ensure your terminal application (the one running Bun) is checked. You may need to remove and re-add it after changing permissions.
Claude Desktop shows the server as disconnected or the hammer icon is missing
Verify the absolute path to index.ts in claude_desktop_config.json is correct, that Bun is on your PATH (run 'which bun' to confirm), and that you fully quit and relaunched Claude Desktop after saving the config.
bun install fails with a lockfile or platform error
Make sure you are running a recent version of Bun ('bun --version' should be 1.x or later). Run 'bun install --no-frozen-lockfile' if the lockfile is out of date.
Frequently Asked Questions about Automation
What is Automation?
Automation is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that control your mac with detailed mouse, keyboard, screen, and window management capabilities. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Automation?
Follow the installation instructions on the Automation GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with Automation?
Automation works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Automation free to use?
Yes, Automation is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
Automation Alternatives — Similar Browser Automation Servers
Looking for alternatives to Automation? Here are other popular browser automation servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
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Chrome
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LAMDA
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Browse More Browser Automation MCP Servers
Explore all browser automation servers available in the MCPgee directory. Each server includes setup guides for Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
Set Up Automation in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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