MCP Screenshot Server
A FastMCP server that captures screenshots and returns them as images for visual analysis by LLMs. Perfect for UI debugging, troubleshooting, and visual inspection of applications.
⚠️ SECURITY WARNING
This MCP server can capture and record your screen content. It has access to everything visible on your display, including sensitive information like passwords, private messages, financial data, and confidential documents.
Recommendations:
- Only enable this MCP server when you specifically need screenshot functionality
- Disable it when working with sensitive information
- Be aware that any connected LLM can request screenshots of your current screen
- Consider using window-specific capture instead of full-screen capture when possible
You have been warned. Use responsibly.
Features
- 🤖 Enhanced Smart Capture: Natural language queries like "what am I watching on YouTube" with auto-zoom
- 🧠 Smart Capture: Automatically finds the most relevant window (browsers, media, dev tools)
- 🎯 Context-Aware: Provide hints like "youtube", "code", "browser" for targeted capture
- 📱 Active Window Capture: Automatically capture the focused window
- 📋 Window Management: List, activate, and capture specific windows by ID
- 📐 Region Capture: Capture specific rectangular areas
- 🔍 Text Enhancement: OpenCV-powered image processing for better text readability
- ⚡ Quality Modes: Optimize for overview, readable text, or pixel-perfect detail
- 🔧 Permission Checking: Verify macOS permissions and available functionality
- 💻 Cross-Platform: macOS (native), Windows/Linux (fallback)
- 🚫 Ultra-Wide Friendly: Avoids massive full-screen captures by default
Installation
MCP Configuration
Local/stdio Configuration
Configuration Locations:
- VS Code:
.vscode/mcp.json
(project) or user settings - Claude Desktop:
claude_desktop_config.json
- Cursor:
.cursor/mcp.json
(project) or~/.cursor/mcp.json
(user)
Tools
screenshot_smart_enhanced
🤖 NEW PRIMARY TOOL
Enhanced smart screenshot with natural language understanding and auto-zoom.
query
: Natural language query like "what am I watching on YouTube" or "show me my code"auto_zoom
: Automatically capture focused regions if initial screenshot is unclearquality_mode
: "overview" (0.4x), "readable" (0.8x), "detail" (1.0x)enhance_text
: Apply sharpening/contrast for text readabilityformat
: "png" or "jpeg"
Enhanced Logic:
- Parses natural language intent (media consumption, development, communication)
- Intelligently finds matching windows based on user query
- Auto-activates target window for clean capture
- Auto-zooms into interesting content regions if needed
- Provides contextual response messages
screenshot_smart
⭐ STANDARD SMART TOOL
Intelligently finds and captures the most relevant window automatically.
context
: Optional hint ("youtube", "browser", "code", "slack", etc.)- Same quality/enhancement options as enhanced version
Smart Logic:
- Looks for windows matching context hint
- Falls back to active window if relevant
- Prioritizes browsers, media apps, development tools
- Avoids tiny/system windows
- Last resort: center region (not full screen!)
screenshot_full
⚠️ AVOID ON ULTRA-WIDE
Capture entire desktop/screen (use sparingly).
- Same parameters as smart capture
- Default:
quality_mode="overview"
to handle large screens
screenshot_active_window
Capture currently focused window.
- Same parameters as
screenshot_full
- Default:
quality_mode="readable"
screenshot_region
Capture specific rectangular area.
x
,y
: Top-left coordinateswidth
,height
: Region dimensions- Same quality/enhancement options
- Default:
quality_mode="detail"
check_permissions
🔧 NEW DIAGNOSTIC TOOL
Check what macOS permissions are available and what functionality works. Returns detailed permission status and available features.
list_windows
Get list of all open windows with IDs and bounds.
Returns structured data with window information for use with screenshot_window
.
activate_window
🔧 NEW UTILITY
Activate/focus a specific window by bringing it to front.
window_id
: Window identifier fromlist_windows
screenshot_window
Capture specific window by ID from list_windows
.
window_id
: Window identifier- Same quality/enhancement options
- Automatically activates window first for clean capture
Quality Modes
- overview (0.4x scale): Quick layout checks, fits ultra-wide screens
- readable (0.8x scale): Text stays legible, good for debugging
- detail (1.0x scale): Full resolution for pixel-perfect analysis
Text Enhancement
Automatic image processing for better LLM readability:
- OpenCV sharpening filters
- Contrast enhancement
- Unsharp masking
- Optimized for text recognition
Platform Support
- macOS: Native
screencapture
+ AppleScript for window management - Windows/Linux: PyAutoGUI fallback (basic functionality)
Permissions
macOS Permissions Required:
- Screen Recording: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Screen Recording
- Add Terminal, Cursor, or whatever app runs the MCP server
- Required for: All screenshot capture functionality
- Accessibility: System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Privacy > Accessibility
- Add Terminal, Cursor, or whatever app runs the MCP server
- Required for: Window listing (
list_windows
) and selective window capture - Note: Smart capture works without this (uses active window detection)
Without Accessibility permissions:
- ✅
screenshot_smart
works (uses active window) - ✅
screenshot_active_window
works - ✅
screenshot_full
andscreenshot_region
work - ❌
list_windows
returns empty (can't enumerate all windows) - ❌
screenshot_window
won't work (needs window list)
Examples
The server returns images directly to the LLM context for immediate visual analysis.
This server cannot be installed
local-only server
The server can only run on the client's local machine because it depends on local resources.
Enables LLMs to capture and analyze screenshots of your screen, windows, or regions with smart detection capabilities. Features natural language queries, automatic window targeting, and text enhancement for UI debugging and visual inspection.