What is the key difference between Desktopinsights MCP and Mac Control MCP?

Desktopinsights MCP belongs to the OS Automation category with local stdio execution, while Mac Control MCP belongs to the OS Automation category with local stdio execution.

How do I install Desktopinsights MCP or Mac Control MCP in Claude Desktop or Cursor?

Copy the mcpServers JSON configuration snippet provided on this page into your claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json file and restart your AI client.

Are Desktopinsights MCP and Mac Control MCP free or paid?

Desktopinsights MCP operates under a BYOK (Pay Provider Direct) model (API Key required). Mac Control MCP operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Desktopinsights MCP lists 4 tools with 2 views and 3 GitHub stars. Mac Control MCP lists 10 tools with 1 views and 16 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Desktopinsights MCP and Mac Control MCP together in the same MCP host?

Yes! MCP hosts like Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Cline, and VS Code support configuring multiple servers under the mcpServers object simultaneously.

Side-by-Side Model Context Protocol Comparison

Desktopinsights MCP vs Mac Control MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Desktopinsights MCP and Mac Control MCP MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

At a Glance & Executive Verdict

Desktopinsights MCP

OS Automation · Local stdio

Quality: 52/100 (Good) | Auth: API Key required

Mac Control MCP

OS Automation · Local stdio

Quality: 55/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Desktopinsights MCP if you need specialized OS Automation tools running via a local process. Choose Mac Control MCP if your workspace requires OS Automation integration with local subprocess execution. Both servers can be configured concurrently in your client's mcpServers manifest.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose Desktopinsights MCP when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the OS Automation domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: API Key required (BYOK (Pay Provider Direct)).
You have access to required keys: DESKTOPINSIGHTS_API_KEY, DESKTOPINSIGHTS_API_URL.
Primary tools included: Lookup SDKs and dependencies for individual apps, Search apps by SDK, runtime, platform, or developer, Compare technology stacks side-by-side.

Explore Desktopinsights MCP Details

Choose Mac Control MCP when:

You need dedicated capabilities in the OS Automation domain.
You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).
Primary tools included: .

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Desktopinsights MCP andrewschreiber OS Automation	Mac Control MCP OS Automation
Summary	Look up SDKs, frameworks, and dependencies used by 12,000+ macOS and Windows desktop apps. Search by technology adoption, compare stacks, and discover SDK usage patterns via the Desktop Insights API.	Native Swift macOS automation MCP — 63 tools: AX, browser, capture, OCR, Spotlight, windows.
Category & Scope	OS Automation

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Desktopinsights MCP Tools (4)

Lookup SDKs and dependencies for individual apps

Search apps by SDK, runtime, platform, or developer

Compare technology stacks side-by-side

List all tracked SDK categories with examples

Mac Control MCP Tools (10)

capture_screen

main display (or a rectangular region within it) to a PNG file, returns the file path + width/height. Simple, synchronous, no size limits applied.

capture_screen_v2

main display only, but stores the PNG as a content-addressed artifact under `~/.mac-control-mcp/artifacts/<sha256>.png` and returns `{content_ref, bytes, sha256}`. Defaults to `inline=false` and downscales to `max_dimension`/`max_bytes` (4000px / 4MB by default) specifically to avoid blowing up an…

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

Desktopinsights MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "andrewschreiber-desktopinsights-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "desktopinsights-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DESKTOPINSIGHTS_API_KEY": "YOUR_DESKTOPINSIGHTS_API_KEY_HERE",
        "DESKTOPINSIGHTS_API_URL": "YOUR_DESKTOPINSIGHTS_API_URL_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Mac Control MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mac-control-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mac-control-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Desktopinsights MCP is categorized under OS Automation and uses a local stdio subprocess. In contrast, Mac Control MCP belongs to OS Automation using local stdio subprocess. Select Desktopinsights MCP when you need capabilities focused on os automation and Mac Control MCP when you require tools for os automation.

More alternatives to Desktopinsights MCP More alternatives to Mac Control MCP OS Automation category hub