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Plonk

Drives local macOS windows, workspaces, screenshots, OCR, pointer tools, and keep-awake controls through MCP.

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Install Plonk

Pick your client, then add it in one click or paste the config.

STDIONode.js
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
claude_desktop_config.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "plonk": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "plonk-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Settings → Developer → Edit Config, merge this into mcpServers, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.

Automated check passed— started and listed 22 tools correctly (13d ago).

Overview

The plonk MCP server gives AI agents access to Plonk’s local macOS automation surface, including window layouts, workspaces, screenshots, OCR, measuring, and keep-awake controls. It runs alongside the Plonk app, which remains the source of truth, and exposes the same capabilities through the app’s local automation interfaces. Reach for it when an agent needs to arrange windows or inspect and control a Mac desktop without sending screen data to a remote service.

Use cases

  • Arrange application windows into configured zones
  • Restore a saved multi-monitor workspace
  • Capture and read text from a screen region
  • Keep a Mac awake during a process
  • Inspect shortcuts exposed by the frontmost app

Key features

  • 22 MCP tools for local macOS automation
  • Window zones and multi-monitor workspaces
  • Screenshots, annotations, live crops, and OCR
  • Screen measurement in points and pixels
  • Keep-awake controls based on timers and process state
  • Pointer controls and frontmost-app shortcut inspection

Tools22

What Plonk lets your agent do. Expand a tool for its parameters.

Verified live~7.8k tokens of context

Security & health

What it can reach and how reliably it runs — from our own checks, not the maintainer’s claims.

ActiveLast checked 3d ago

Recent health check succeeded.

8/8 checks healthy over the last 51d

What it can do

From the 22 tools this server returned when we ran it.

Runs commands · 1Can delete or modify data · 5Handles credentials · 2Makes network requests · 2Read-only tools · 16
Network at startup3 connections
Files written at startupNone
Install scriptsNone
npm provenanceSigned build
Package age68 days
Maintainers1

Observed 2026-10-15 in an isolated sandbox. A description of reach, not a security audit.

Supply-chain signal

No high-severity advisories surfaced by our automated scan.

Critical 0High 0Medium 0Low 0

Scanned 12d ago via OSV.dev · plonk-mcp (npm)

Adoption & maintenance

Factual signals from GitHub, npm, and our automated checks — not a rating.

GitHub stars17Stargazers on the source repository.
npm downloads380Package downloads in the last 30 days.
Last commit8d agoMost recent push to the default branch.
Availability100%Our rolling endpoint + install checks that succeeded.
Install checkPassedOur sandbox started it and listed its tools.
Tools exposed22Callable tools this server registers over MCP.
Directory activity2 viewsConfig copies, upvotes, and views on AllMCPs.

How Plonk works

What plonk MCP server does

The plonk MCP server connects an AI agent to Plonk, a native macOS menu bar application for local desktop automation. Its MCP surface covers layouts, workspaces, screenshots, OCR, screen measurement, keep-awake sessions, pointer controls, shortcuts, and related Plonk modules. The repository describes 22 MCP tools, but notes that tool names may change while the project is still in the 0.4.x series.

Plonk is designed as one local interface for several Mac utilities. Agents can use the same capabilities available from the app, command palette, and plonk CLI. Window arrangement can use snap zones and saved workspaces; screen-related actions can capture regions, windows, or the full display, and on-device OCR can extract text without uploading pixels.

How it works

The plonk MCP server operates against the running Plonk application rather than replacing it with a separate remote service. Plonk keeps application state and settings, while enabled modules determine which menus, shortcuts, managers, and agent routes are available. If a module is disabled, its tools are refused to agents until that module is enabled again.

The supported surface is local to the Mac. Screenshots can be annotated, live crops can remain pinned without being written to disk, and OCR is performed on the device. Keep-awake controls use macOS power assertions and can end after a timer, schedule, application state, charging condition, or process lifetime.

Setup and configuration

Plonk requires macOS 13 or newer and the published releases target Apple silicon. The documented Homebrew installation is:

sh
brew install --cask ostapondo/plonk/plonk

After installation, grant Accessibility permission when requested. Screen Recording permission is requested separately when a capture is made.

Modules can be enabled or disabled from Plonk’s menu bar controls or Tools page. This includes zones, workspaces, voice, and other modules; disabled modules disappear from their associated interface and agent routes. Settings are retained for later re-enabling.

Tools and capabilities

The plonk MCP server is suited to agents that need to:

  • Place windows into configured snap zones.
  • Save or restore workspaces across displays.
  • Capture a screen, window, or region.
  • Read visible text with on-device OCR.
  • Measure distances in macOS points or physical pixels.
  • Control keep-awake sessions.
  • Find or reposition the pointer and show pointer indicators.
  • Inspect shortcuts exposed by the frontmost application.

Plonk also supports screenshots with annotations, live screen crops, voice commands, and CLI access. Common voice recognition remains on-device. The exact MCP tool names and the HTTP API are not considered stable and may change between minor releases.

Limitations and notes

This is a macOS-only tool, and the release downloads are built for Apple silicon. The project cautions that Intel builds are untested unless built from source. Plonk should not be used alongside a tiling manager such as yabai or Amethyst when both tools control every window, because they can move windows back out of Plonk zones.

The app is signed but not notarized. Releases include GitHub attestation and SHA-256 files that can be checked before installation. Accessibility permission is needed to observe and arrange windows, while Screen Recording is needed for capture features. The project is early-stage, so integrations should account for MCP tool and HTTP API changes.

Read the full README View source on GitHub

Reviews

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Frequently Asked Questions about Plonk

plonk is an MCP server that connects AI agents to the local Plonk macOS app and its desktop automation tools. Its main capabilities include window layouts, workspaces, screenshots, OCR, screen measurement, keep-awake controls, pointer tools, and shortcut inspection. The app remains the local source of truth.

Install Plonk with Homebrew using `brew install --cask ostapondo/plonk/plonk`, then grant Accessibility permission. Screen Recording permission is requested when you first capture the screen.

The published releases target Apple silicon, so Intel compatibility is not established.

Yes, Plonk provides on-device OCR for text in screenshots, paused video, dialogs, and locked PDFs. The OCR operates locally, so the described workflow does not upload the captured pixels.

Not reliably when both systems control every window. The README specifically warns that yabai and Amethyst can pull windows back out of Plonk zones, and recommends using one or the other.

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