Native DevTools

native-devtools-mcp

An MCP server for computer use on native desktop and mobile apps — macOS, Windows, Android, and Chrome/Electron via CDP.

Add to your client in one click:

Claude Code: claude mcp add native-devtools -- npx -y native-devtools-mcp

native-devtools-mcp gives AI agents and MCP clients direct control over native desktop apps, Chrome/Electron browsers, and Android devices — screenshots, OCR, accessibility-first element lookup, input simulation, window management, Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP), and ADB — all in one local server. Works with Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible clients.

Quickstart

npx -y native-devtools-mcp

macOS Windows

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🚀 Features

• 👀 Computer Vision: Screenshots of screens, windows, or regions with built-in OCR (Vision on macOS, Windows Media OCR on Windows).
• 🖱️ Input Simulation: Click, drag, scroll, type — global coordinates, window-relative, and screenshot-relative targeting.
• 🎯 Element-Precise AX Dispatch (macOS): take_ax_snapshot → ax_click / ax_set_value / ax_select — dispatch against Accessibility-tree elements without moving the mouse or stealing focus. The preferred path for native macOS apps.
• 🌐 Browser Automation (CDP): Chrome DevTools Protocol for Chrome and Electron apps (Signal, Discord, VS Code, Slack) — DOM-level click, fill, navigate, and JS evaluation without a separate Node.js server.
• 📱 Android (ADB): Screenshots, uiautomator-based text lookup, input, and app management over USB or Wi-Fi.
• 🧩 Template Matching: load_image + find_image for icons, toggles, and custom controls OCR can't identify.
• 🪟 Window Management: List, focus, launch, and quit apps; record windows as timestamped JPEG frames.
• 🔍 Hover Tracking: Observe user navigation patterns with dwell-filtered hover events — designed for LLMs watching a user work.
• 🔒 Local & Private: 100% local execution. Screenshots and input never leave your machine.

🧭 Three Approaches to Interaction

Pick the approach that matches your target app.

For macOS native apps, AX Dispatch is the preferred path — it's element-precise, doesn't move the mouse, and doesn't steal focus. See the Native App AX Dispatch recipe.

There's also a fourth, niche path: AppDebugKit (app_connect / app_query / app_click) for apps instrumented with the AppDebugKit library. Mostly useful for developers testing their own apps.

🆚 How it compares

The most honest peers are other MCP servers for computer use. This table compares native-devtools-mcp against the leading MCP servers and two widely used non-MCP libraries.

Where `native-devtools-mcp` stands out: one local MCP server covering macOS + Windows + Chrome/Electron (CDP) + Android in the same session, plus element-precise macOS AX dispatch that doesn't move the cursor or steal focus.

Honest limits:

• No Linux (contributions welcome — see Linux Desktop MCP for an AT-SPI2-based alternative in the meantime)
• Browser automation is Chrome / Electron only via CDP — no Firefox, no WebKit (for those, use Playwright MCP)
• Headed only — depends on real-machine permissions; not a headless CI test grid
• No iOS

If you need *just* web automation, Playwright MCP is more mature. If you need *just* mobile (iOS + Android + deep device features), Appium is more mature. This server is for the cross-cutting native-desktop + Chrome/Electron + Android case.

📦 Installation

The install steps are identical on macOS and Windows.

Option 1: Run with npx (no install needed)

npx -y native-devtools-mcp

Option 2: Global install

npm install -g native-devtools-mcp

Option 3: Build from source (Rust)

Click to expand build instructions

Using the build script (clones, builds, and runs setup):

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vectora-foundry/native-devtools-mcp/master/scripts/build-from-source.sh | bash

Or manually:

git clone https://github.com/vectora-foundry/native-devtools-mcp

cd native-devtools-mcp cargo build --release

Binary: ./target/release/native-devtools-mcp

Manual configuration (without the setup wizard)

Click to expand MCP client config snippets

macOS — Claude Desktop

Config file: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{

"mcpServers": { "native-devtools": { "command": "/Applications/NativeDevtools.app/Contents/MacOS/native-devtools-mcp" } } }

Windows — Claude Desktop

Config file: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

Claude Code, Cursor, and other MCP clients

{

"mcpServers": { "native-devtools": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "native-devtools-mcp"] } } }

Requires Node.js 18+.

macOS permissions: the server needs Accessibility and Screen Recording permissions. The setup wizard opens the right System Settings panes for you. Without both, clicks silently fail and screenshots return a black rectangle.

Linux is not supported yet. The server uses platform-specific APIs (Core Graphics + Accessibility on macOS, Win32 + UI Automation on Windows) that don't exist on Linux. Contributions welcome — X11/Wayland screenshot, input, and AT-SPI paths would be a good first issue.

🏁 Getting Started

After installing, run the setup wizard:

npx native-devtools-mcp setup

This will:

1. Check permissions (macOS) — verifies Accessibility and Screen Recording, opens System Settings if needed.
2. Detect your MCP clients — finds Claude Desktop, Claude Code, and Cursor.
3. Write the configuration — generates the correct JSON config and offers to write it for you.

Then restart your MCP client and you're ready to go.

Claude Desktop on macOS requires the signed app bundle (Gatekeeper blocks npx). Download NativeDevtools-X.X.X.dmg from GitHub Releases, drag to /Applications, then run setup — it will detect the app and configure Claude Desktop to use it.

VS Code, Windsurf, and other clients: setup doesn't auto-detect these yet. Run setup for the permission checks, then see the manual configuration above for the JSON config snippet.

Claude Code tip: To avoid approving every tool call (clicks, screenshots), add this to .claude/settings.local.json:

`json

{ "permissions": { "allow": ["mcpnative-devtools*"] } }

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⚠️ Operational safety

• Hands off: when the agent is "driving" (clicking / typing), don't move your mouse or type. Real hardware inputs conflict with simulated ones and clicks land in the wrong place.
• Focus matters: ensure the window you want the agent to use is visible. If a popup steals focus mid-flow, the agent may type into the wrong window unless it re-checks first.
• Prefer AX Dispatch on macOS when you want to keep using the machine — AX calls don't move the cursor and don't steal focus from whatever window is active.

📚 Recipes and Examples

• Recipes Index
• Claude Desktop Setup · Claude Code Setup · Cursor Setup
• End-to-End Desktop Flow
• Native App AX Dispatch Flow (macOS) — preferred for native macOS apps
• Native App Click Flow
• OCR Fallback and Element Inspection
• Template Matching Flow
• Android Quickstart

🌐 Browser Automation (CDP)

Connect to Chrome or Electron apps via the Chrome DevTools Protocol for DOM-level automation — more reliable than coordinate-based clicking for web content.

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