MCP Test Utils

MCP server for automated desktop UI testing. A single binary — no runtime, no dependencies, no installation.

Windows x64 only. macOS and Linux support is planned.

Gives AI agents eyes and hands: screenshots, window management, mouse, keyboard, UI Automation, OCR, file search.

Why

AI agents can trigger actions in applications but can't see the screen. This server bridges that gap:

Agent triggers action → takes screenshot → sees the result →
switches window → clicks a button → verifies → writes report

Fully autonomous, no user involvement required.

Demo

3.25.1 — a VS Code form filled, submitted and verified in a couple of minutes. Watch on YouTube →

3.10.1 — setup, configuration and the basic tools: 10 tasks in one take. Watch on YouTube →

MCP Test Utils vs Anthropic Computer Use

Claude Cowork now includes built-in Computer Use — Claude takes screenshots and clicks through interfaces visually. It works with zero setup. MCP Test Utils takes a different approach: instead of guessing where to click from a screenshot, it reads the actual UI structure through Windows APIs.

MCP Test Utils is faster, more precise, and cheaper per action. Computer Use is easier to start and works across platforms. They complement each other.

Platforms

Tools (21)

Vision

Window Management

Input

Structured UI Access

Waiting and Batching

File Search

Agent Guide

Session Logging

Installation

1. Download the binary from Releases.
2. Add it to your MCP client config. Example below is for Claude Desktop — for other clients, refer to their documentation.

Claude Desktop: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "test-utils": {
      "command": "D:\\path\\to\\mcp-test-utils.exe"
    }
  }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop.
4. In chat, try: "Take a screenshot" — the agent will return an image of your desktop.

With Logging and File Search (optional)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "test-utils": {
      "command": "D:\\path\\to\\mcp-test-utils.exe",
      "env": {
        "MCP_LOG_DIR": "D:\\path\\to\\logs",
        "MCP_LOG_MAX_MB": "500",
        "MCP_LOG_RETAIN_DAYS": "30",
        "MCP_SEARCH_DIRS": "D:\\Projects\\app1;D:\\Projects\\app2"
      }
    }
  }
}

Quality Presets

Screenshots support configurable quality to balance detail and token cost:

Environment Variables

Tray Log

The server shows a tray icon with a live log of tool calls — one tab per session, errors in red. MCP_NOTIFY=off hides it; the window position is kept in %LOCALAPPDATA%\mcp-test-utils\notify.json.

How It Works

MCP Test Utils is a JSON-RPC 2.0 server communicating over stdin/stdout. Any MCP-compatible client launches the binary, sends tool calls, and receives structured responses (text, base64 images). Tested with Claude Desktop.

The server uses native Windows APIs directly — Win32 GDI for screenshots, SendInput for mouse and keyboard, UI Automation COM API for element inspection, WinRT Windows.Media.Ocr for text recognition. File search uses the ripgrep engine (grep-regex, grep-searcher, ignore) — cross-platform, no external dependencies. No PowerShell, no external tools, no network access.

Use Cases

• Automated QA — agent navigates the app, clicks through flows, takes screenshots at each step, writes a test report
• Desktop automation — fill forms, copy data between windows, run workflows
• Accessibility audit — scan UI Automation tree for missing labels or roles
• Visual regression — screenshot comparison across releases
• Data extraction — OCR text from applications that don't expose APIs
• Code search — find patterns across multiple projects without leaving the agent session

Security

• Responds only to requests from the MCP client
• Opens no network ports
• Writes nothing to disk except opt-in logging and the tray window settings (%LOCALAPPDATA%\mcp-test-utils\notify.json)
• Sends no data externally
• Screenshots capture the entire screen — make sure no sensitive information is visible
• File search is sandboxed — only directories in MCP_SEARCH_DIRS are accessible

Support us

Free and unrestricted. If you find it useful — jeenyjai.github.io

License

Copyright 2026 JeenyJAI. All rights reserved.

🚀 Created with Claude