by sh3ll3x3c
MCP server for computer use & browser automation - screenshot, OCR, click, type, find_text, Chrome/Electron CDP, template matching. macOS, Windows & Android. Works with Claude, Cursor, and any MCP client.
# Add to your Claude Code skills
git clone https://github.com/sh3ll3x3c/native-devtools-mcpGuides for using ai agents skills like native-devtools-mcp.
Last scanned: 5/30/2026
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"status": "PASSED",
"scannedAt": "2026-05-30T16:58:30.157Z",
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}native-devtools-mcp is an open-source ai agents skill for AI coding assistants such as Claude Code, Codex CLI, and ChatGPT, built by sh3ll3x3c. MCP server for computer use & browser automation - screenshot, OCR, click, type, find_text, Chrome/Electron CDP, template matching. macOS, Windows & Android. Works with Claude, Cursor, and any MCP client. It has 118 GitHub stars.
Yes. native-devtools-mcp passed SkillsLLM's automated security scan — a dependency vulnerability audit plus prompt-injection heuristics — with no high-severity issues. You can read the full report in the Security Report section on this page.
Clone the repository with "git clone https://github.com/sh3ll3x3c/native-devtools-mcp" and add it to your Claude Code skills directory (see the Installation section above).
native-devtools-mcp is primarily written in Rust. It is open-source under sh3ll3x3c on GitHub, so you can review or fork the full source.
Yes. SkillsLLM lists many other AI Agents skills you can browse and compare side by side. Open the AI Agents category from the badge at the top of this page, or use the Related Skills and comparison links further down to weigh native-devtools-mcp against similar tools.
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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.
npx -y native-devtools-mcp
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.load_image + find_image for icons, toggles, and custom controls OCR can't identify.Pick the approach that matches your target app.
| Approach | Best for | Key tools |
|---|---|---|
| Visual (universal) | Any app — games, Qt, custom renderers, anything without an AX tree | take_screenshot, find_text, click, type_text, find_image |
| AX Dispatch (macOS — preferred for native macOS apps) | AppKit / SwiftUI apps — System Settings, Finder, Mail, Xcode, Notes | take_ax_snapshot, ax_click, ax_set_value, ax_select |
| CDP (Chrome / Electron) | Web content, Electron apps with --remote-debugging-port |
cdp_connect, cdp_find_elements, cdp_take_dom_snapshot, cdp_click, cdp_fill |
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.
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.
| Capability | native-devtools-mcp | Playwright MCP | Windows-MCP | Appium | pywinauto |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Native macOS apps | ✅ AX + screenshots | ❌ browser only | ❌ Windows only | ❌ mobile focus | ❌ Windows only |
| Native Windows apps | ✅ UIA + input | ❌ browser only | ✅ | ◐ limited | ✅ |
| Web / DOM automation | ✅ via CDP | ✅ | ◐ via Windows UIA | ◐ mobile-web | ❌ |
| Electron apps | ✅ CDP + AX | ✅ first-class _electron |
◐ if UIA exposed | ❌ | ◐ if UIA exposed |
| Android devices (ADB) | ✅ built-in | ◐ experimental | ❌ | ✅ first-class | ❌ |
| MCP-native | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
| Local, no API key | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ self-hosted | ✅ |
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:
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.
The install steps are identical on macOS and Windows.
npx (no install needed)npx -y native-devtools-mcp
npm install -g native-devtools-mcp
Using the build script (clones, builds, and runs setup):
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/sh3ll3x3c/native-devtools-mcp/master/scripts/build-from-source.sh | bash
Or manually:
git clone https://github.com/sh3ll3x3c/native-devtools-mcp
cd native-devtools-mcp
cargo build --release
# Binary: ./target/release/native-devtools-mcp
Config file: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"native-devtools": {
"command": "/Applications/NativeDevtools.app/Contents/MacOS/native-devtools-mcp"
}
}
}
Config file: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
{
"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.
After installing, run the setup wizard:
npx native-devtools-mcp setup
This will:
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.dmgfrom [GitHub Releases](https://github.co