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GNOME Desktop

v1.0.0•File Systems•stable

Grant the AI octopus access to a portion of your desktop

gnomeintegrationmcpmcp-server
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What is GNOME Desktop?

GNOME Desktop is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to grant the ai octopus access to a portion of your desktop

Grant the AI octopus access to a portion of your desktop

This server falls under the File Systems category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.

Features

  • Grant the AI octopus access to a portion of your desktop

Use Cases

Grant AI assistants access to portions of your GNOME desktop for system integration.
bilelmoussaoui

Maintainer

LicenseMIT
Languagerust
Versionv1.0.0
UpdatedMay 17, 2026
Statushealthy
Maintenanceactive

Works with

ClaudeOpenAIwindowsmacoslinux
View SourceBrowse All Servers

Installation

Manual Installation

npx gnome

Configuration

Configuration Details

Config File

claude_desktop_config.json

Performance

Response Metrics

Response Time< 200ms
ThroughputMedium

Resource Usage

Memory UsageLow
CPU UsageLow

How to Set Up and Use GNOME Desktop

GNOME MCP Server is a Rust-based Model Context Protocol server that gives AI assistants structured access to your GNOME desktop environment. It exposes your GNOME Calendar events, Tasks, and Contacts as readable resources, and provides tools to send desktop notifications, launch applications, open files, control media playback, manage windows across workspaces, adjust audio volume, toggle quick-settings (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, night light), take screenshots, set the wallpaper, and securely store or retrieve secrets from the GNOME keyring. It is designed for use with MCP clients that run on Linux, such as goose, LM Studio, and Claude Code.

Prerequisites

  • A Linux system running GNOME Shell (X11 or Wayland)
  • Rust toolchain installed (https://rustup.rs) — needed to build the binary from source
  • An MCP-compatible client that supports Linux, such as goose, LM Studio, or Claude Code
  • For window management features: GNOME Shell unsafe mode must be enabled via Alt+F2 → lg → global.context.unsafe_mode = true
1

Install the Rust toolchain

gnome-mcp-server is distributed as Rust source and must be compiled locally. Install Rust via rustup if you haven't already.

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh
2

Clone the repository

Fetch the source code from GitHub.

git clone https://github.com/bilelmoussaoui/gnome-mcp-server.git
cd gnome-mcp-server
3

Build and install the binary

Compile and install the server into ~/.cargo/bin. After this, gnome-mcp-server will be available on your PATH if ~/.cargo/bin is included in it.

cargo install --path .
4

(Optional) Create a configuration file to limit access

By default all tools and resources are enabled. Place a JSON config file at ~/.config/gnome-mcp/config.json to restrict what the AI can access — for example, limiting calendar look-ahead or disabling certain tools.

mkdir -p ~/.config/gnome-mcp
cat > ~/.config/gnome-mcp/config.json <<'EOF'
{
  "calendar": { "days_ahead": 14, "days_behind": 0 },
  "tasks": { "include_completed": false },
  "screenshot": { "interactive": true }
}
EOF
5

Configure your MCP client

Add gnome-mcp-server to your MCP client configuration. The transport is stdio with an empty args list. The exact config format varies by client — the example below uses Claude Code's mcpServers format.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnome": {
      "command": "gnome-mcp-server",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}
6

Enable GNOME Shell unsafe mode (for window management)

Some tools such as window_management require GNOME Shell's unsafe mode. Press Alt+F2, type 'lg', press Enter, then run the command in the console that appears.

global.context.unsafe_mode = true

GNOME Desktop Examples

Client configuration

stdio-based config for any MCP client running on Linux. Replace 'gnome-mcp-server' with the full path to the binary if ~/.cargo/bin is not in your PATH.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "gnome": {
      "command": "gnome-mcp-server",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Prompts to try

Example prompts that exercise the desktop resources and tools this server exposes.

- "What meetings do I have tomorrow according to my GNOME Calendar?"
- "Send me a desktop notification with the title 'Build complete' and body 'All tests passed'"
- "Take a screenshot of my current screen and save it to ~/Desktop"
- "Set the system volume to 40%"
- "List all open windows and move the Firefox window to workspace 2"
- "Retrieve the GitHub token I stored in my GNOME keyring under the label 'GitHub Token'"

Troubleshooting GNOME Desktop

cargo install fails with a compilation error

Make sure your Rust toolchain is up to date by running 'rustup update stable'. Some GNOME binding crates require a recent stable Rust version. Also ensure you have the glib and gio development headers installed (e.g. 'sudo apt install libglib2.0-dev' on Debian/Ubuntu).

Window management tools return an error about permissions

GNOME Shell window management requires unsafe mode. Press Alt+F2, type 'lg', and in the console run: global.context.unsafe_mode = true. This needs to be repeated after each GNOME Shell restart.

The server binary is not found when the MCP client tries to start it

Ensure ~/.cargo/bin is in your PATH by adding 'export PATH="$HOME/.cargo/bin:$PATH"' to your ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc. Alternatively, provide the full absolute path to the binary in your MCP client config.

Frequently Asked Questions about GNOME Desktop

What is GNOME Desktop?

GNOME Desktop is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that grant the ai octopus access to a portion of your desktop It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.

How do I install GNOME Desktop?

Follow the installation instructions on the GNOME Desktop GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.

Which AI clients work with GNOME Desktop?

GNOME Desktop works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.

Is GNOME Desktop free to use?

Yes, GNOME Desktop is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.

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Quick Config Preview

{ "mcpServers": { "gnome": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "gnome"] } } }

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json

Read the full setup guide →

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