Source profileQuality 87/100Review permissions

sonichi/sutando/skills/macos-use/SKILL.md

macos-use

GUI control for macOS apps via mediar-ai's mcp-server-macos-use. Click, type, scroll, key-press, open apps — driven by accessibility tree, works in non-interactive Claude Code mode. Use this for any Sutando task that needs to drive another macOS application (Safari, Zoom, Mail, Finder, etc.).

Source repository stars: 359
Declared platforms: 1
Static risk flags: 2
Last source update: 2026-07-28
Source checked: 2026-07-28

Decision Compatibility Install Workflow Permissions Evidence Source

Decision brief

What it does—and where it fits

Drive macOS applications from Claude Code via mediar-ai's mcp-server-macos-use. A Swift MCP server that wraps the macOS Accessibility API. Unlike Claude's built-in computer-use, this works in non-interactive mode (which is how Sutando's proactive loop and task bridge run), does…

Best for

"Open Safari and navigate to github.com" — anything requiring real GUI interaction with an app
"Click the Join button on the Zoom invite dialog"
"Type this into the Discord message box"

Not for

Tasks that require unconfirmed production actions or broad system permissions.
Environments where the pinned source and install steps cannot be inspected.

Compatibility matrix

Platform support, with evidence labels

Platform	Status	Evidence	What to check
Codex	Not declared	No explicit evidence	Portability before use
Claude Code	Declared	Source record	Install path and trigger
Cursor	Not declared	No explicit evidence	Portability before use
Gemini CLI	Not declared	No explicit evidence	Portability before use

Open the compatibility checker

Installation

Inspect first. Install second.

The source command is displayed only when detected. A safe inspection prompt is always available so your agent can explain every action before execution.

Source-detected install commandSource

npx skills add https://github.com/sonichi/sutando --skill "skills/macos-use"

Safe inspection promptEditorial

Inspect the Agent Skill "macos-use" from https://github.com/sonichi/sutando/blob/6a8f0fccd32e5aa620a3572c8885544f144bb6fe/skills/macos-use/SKILL.md at commit 6a8f0fccd32e5aa620a3572c8885544f144bb6fe. List every install step, command, network request, credential, file read/write, external action, and rollback step. Explain whether it fits my task. Do not install or execute anything until I approve.

Workflow

What the source asks the agent to do

01
When to use
Prefer this skill over: - bash src/screen-capture.sh — that captures screenshots; macos-use actually interacts - AppleScript tell application blocks — more reliable, better error handling - cliclick — lower-level, no accessibility context - Claude's built-in computer-use — that…
"Open Safari and navigate to github.com" — anything requiring real GUI interaction with an app"Click the Join button on the Zoom invite dialog""Type this into the Discord message box"
02
Tools exposed
After install, these appear as mcpmacos-use in Claude Code:
After install, these appear as mcpmacos-use in Claude Code:Every tool returns an accessibility-tree snapshot of the target app — structured UI elements with roles, titles, positions, and identifiers. No pixels. Model reasons over the tree, not over screenshots.
03
Install
Review the “Install” section in the pinned source before continuing.
Review and apply the “Install” source section.
04
1. Build the Swift binary (35s)
bash skills/macos-use/scripts/build.sh
bash skills/macos-use/scripts/build.sh
05
2. Register with Claude Code's MCP config (writes /.claude.json)
bash skills/macos-use/scripts/install-mcp.sh
bash skills/macos-use/scripts/install-mcp.sh

Permission review

Static risk signals and limitations

Runs scripts

medium · line 40

The documentation asks the agent to run terminal commands or scripts.

bash skills/macos-use/scripts/build.sh

Runs scripts

medium · line 43

The documentation asks the agent to run terminal commands or scripts.

bash skills/macos-use/scripts/install-mcp.sh

Network access

medium · line 65

The documentation includes network, browsing, or remote request actions.

Sutando, open Safari and navigate to https://github.com/sonichi/sutando

Evidence record

Why each signal appears

EvidenceSourceComputedTestedEditorial

Signal	Value	Evidence type	Meaning
Quality score	87/100	Computed	Documentation, specificity, maintenance, and trust rules
Repository stars	359	Source	Repository attention, not individual Skill quality
Compatibility	1 platforms	Source	Declared in the catalog source record
Usage guide	automated source guide	Editorial	Generated or reviewed according to the visible evidence level

Pinned source

Provenance and original SKILL.md

Repository: sonichi/sutando
Skill path: skills/macos-use/SKILL.md
Commit: 6a8f0fccd32e5aa620a3572c8885544f144bb6fe
License: MIT
Collected: 2026-07-28
Default branch: main

View the original SKILL.md

macos-use

Drive macOS applications from Claude Code via mediar-ai's mcp-server-macos-use. A Swift MCP server that wraps the macOS Accessibility API. Unlike Claude's built-in computer-use, this works in non-interactive mode (which is how Sutando's proactive loop and task bridge run), does not hold a machine-wide lock, and does not require a Pro/Max subscription.

When to use

"Open Safari and navigate to github.com" — anything requiring real GUI interaction with an app
"Click the Join button on the Zoom invite dialog"
"Type this into the Discord message box"
"Scroll the frontmost window to the bottom"
Any task that currently falls back to AppleScript + Quartz mouse events in src/inline-tools.ts

Prefer this skill over:

bash src/screen-capture.sh — that captures screenshots; macos-use actually interacts
AppleScript tell application blocks — more reliable, better error handling
cliclick — lower-level, no accessibility context
Claude's built-in computer-use — that mode requires interactive sessions and holds a lock that contends with Sutando's own loop

Tools exposed

After install, these appear as mcp__macos-use__* in Claude Code:

Tool	Parameters	Purpose
`open_application_and_traverse`	`identifier` (name/bundle ID/path)	Launch or activate an app, return its a11y tree
`click_and_traverse`	`pid`, `x`, `y`	Click at coordinates in a target app, return updated tree
`type_and_traverse`	`pid`, `text`	Type into the frontmost element
`press_key_and_traverse`	`pid`, `key`	Press a named key (Return, Tab, Escape, arrows, ...)
`scroll_and_traverse`	`pid`, `direction`, `amount`	Scroll in a direction
`refresh_traversal`	`pid`	Re-read the a11y tree without acting

Every tool returns an accessibility-tree snapshot of the target app — structured UI elements with roles, titles, positions, and identifiers. No pixels. Model reasons over the tree, not over screenshots.

Install

Two steps, one-time:

# 1. Build the Swift binary (~35s)
bash skills/macos-use/scripts/build.sh

# 2. Register with Claude Code's MCP config (writes ~/.claude.json)
bash skills/macos-use/scripts/install-mcp.sh

# 3. Grant Accessibility permission
#    System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility
#    Click +, navigate to ~/.macos-use-mcp/.build/release/mcp-server-macos-use, enable.

Restart Claude Code after install for the MCP tools to appear.

Gotchas

Swift 6 build fragility: the swift-sdk transitive dep has data-race errors that Swift 6.3+ strict-concurrency trips on. build.sh uses -Xswiftc -swift-version -Xswiftc 5 as a workaround. When upstream fixes this, remove the flag.
Accessibility permission: the binary must be added to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Accessibility, or every tool call will return "not authorized". First-run error is obvious; owner must click through once.
Apps without good a11y trees: Canvas / Electron / games degrade badly. For those, fall back to screen-capture.sh + Claude vision.
Build dep pulled from GitHub: air-gapped Macs won't work. No prebuilt releases yet.
Multi-node: each node builds its own binary. Not synced via sutando-memory.git (binaries are machine-specific). Run build.sh + install-mcp.sh on Mac Mini and MacBook separately.

Quick self-test

After install + restart:

Sutando, open Safari and navigate to https://github.com/sonichi/sutando

You should see Claude invoke mcp__macos-use__open_application_and_traverse with identifier: "Safari", then type_and_traverse into the URL bar, then press_key_and_traverse with Return.

Research + decision memo: notes/issue-65-computer-use-research.md
Issue: #65 Add Claude Computer Use support
Upstream: https://github.com/mediar-ai/mcp-server-macos-use

Alternatives

Compare before choosing

Computed 10042,015

coreyhaines31/marketingskills

ab-testing

When the user wants to plan, design, or implement an A/B test or experiment, or build a growth experimentation program. Also use when the user mentions "A/B test," "split test," "experiment," "test this change," "variant copy," "multivariate test," "hypothesis," "should I test this," "which version is better," "test two versions," "statistical significance," "how long should I run this test," "growth experiments," "experiment velocity," "experiment backlog," "ICE score," "experimentation program

Computed 997

event4u-app/agent-config

design-review

Use when the user says "review the design", "check the UI", or wants a comprehensive UI/UX review. Uses a 7-phase methodology covering interaction, responsiveness, accessibility, and more.

Computed 97234,327

affaan-m/ECC

hexagonal-architecture

Design, implement, and refactor Ports & Adapters systems with clear domain boundaries, dependency inversion, and testable use-case orchestration across TypeScript, Java, Kotlin, and Go services.

Computed 967

event4u-app/agent-config

playwright-architect

Use when shaping a Playwright suite — locator strategy, Page Object boundaries, fixture composition, flake-prevention architecture, CI-vs-local split — even on 'design our E2E tests'.

What it does—and where it fits

Best for

Not for

Platform support, with evidence labels

Inspect first. Install second.

What the source asks the agent to do

When to use

Tools exposed

Install

1. Build the Swift binary (35s)

2. Register with Claude Code's MCP config (writes /.claude.json)

Static risk signals and limitations

Runs scripts

Runs scripts

Network access

Why each signal appears

Provenance and original SKILL.md

macos-use

When to use

Tools exposed

Install

Gotchas

Quick self-test

Related

Compare before choosing

ab-testing

design-review

hexagonal-architecture

playwright-architect