What is the key difference between Mac Control MCP and Desktop Touch MCP?

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

How do I install Mac Control MCP or Desktop Touch 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 Mac Control MCP and Desktop Touch MCP free or paid?

Mac Control MCP operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required). Desktop Touch MCP operates under a Free / Open Source model (No auth required).

Which MCP server has more tools and community activity?

Mac Control MCP lists 10 tools with 1 views and 16 GitHub stars. Desktop Touch MCP lists 23 tools with 2 views and 22 GitHub stars.

Can I use both Mac Control MCP and Desktop Touch 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

Mac Control MCP vs Desktop Touch MCP

In-depth architectural comparison of the Mac Control MCP and Desktop Touch 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

Mac Control MCP

OS Automation · Local stdio

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

Desktop Touch MCP

OS Automation · Local stdio

Quality: 60/100 (Good) | Auth: No auth required

Verdict Summary: Choose Mac Control MCP if you need specialized OS Automation tools running via a local process. Choose Desktop Touch 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 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: capture_screen, capture_screen_v2, capture_window.

Explore Mac Control MCP Details

Choose Desktop Touch 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: desktop_discover, desktop_act, desktop_state.

Explore Desktop Touch MCP Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	Mac Control MCP OS Automation	Desktop Touch MCP Harusame64 OS Automation
Summary	Native Swift macOS automation MCP — 63 tools: AX, browser, capture, OCR, Spotlight, windows.	Windows desktop automation for LLM agents with entity-based actions instead of coordinate-only clicking. Uses UIA, CDP, screenshots, keyboard/mouse/clipboard, and terminal control, plus entity leases, verified delivery, causal context, and interaction memory to reduce silent UI automation failures.
Category & Scope	OS Automation

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

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…

capture_window

screenshots one specific window by PID (optionally filtered by `title_contains`), not the whole display.

capture_display

screenshots one specific physical display by its index from `list_displays`, for multi-monitor setups.

list_elements

lists actionable elements for a PID (a flat, practical "what can I click" view).

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).

Mac Control MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

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

Desktop Touch MCP Configuration

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "harusame64-desktop-touch-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@harusame64/desktop-touch-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Frequently Asked Questions

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

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