Provides advanced system monitoring and file search capabilities for macOS, including real-time performance tracking, process analysis, and enhanced file search with Spotlight integration
Leverages macOS Spotlight for fast metadata searches with additional capabilities like deep content search, tag management, and advanced filtering options
Uses SQLite database for storing and analyzing system performance data over time, enabling historical tracking with efficient time-series queries
macOS Internal Tools MCP Server
A MCP server for macOS that provides advanced system monitoring and file search capabilities.
Table of Contents
System Performance Monitor
Real-time Monitoring: Track CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network statistics
Process Analysis: View top resource-consuming processes with detailed metrics
Historical Tracking: Store and analyze performance data over time using SQLite
Optimization Suggestions: Get intelligent recommendations to improve system performance
Enhanced File Search
Deep Content Search: Search within file contents using regex or plain text
Spotlight Integration: Leverage macOS Spotlight for fast metadata searches
Tag Management: Create, search, and manage custom file tags using extended attributes
Advanced Features: Fuzzy matching, boolean operators, and file type filtering
Installation
Requirements
macOS 10.15 or later
Node.js 18.0.0 or later
npm or yarn package manager
Permissions
For full functionality, the server requires certain permissions:
Full Disk Access (recommended for file search):
System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Privacy → Full Disk Access
Add Terminal
Developer Tools (for process monitoring):
Install Xcode Command Line Tools if not already installed:
xcode-select --install
How to install
Claude Desktop Configuration
To use this MCP server with Claude Desktop:
Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:
macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
Linux:
~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Add the macOS Tools server to your configuration:
If you already have other MCP servers configured, add the macos-tools configuration to the existing mcpServers object:
Save the configuration file and restart Claude Desktop.
You should now see the macOS Tools server available in Claude Desktop with two tools:
system_performance
- Monitor system resourcesenhanced_search
- Advanced file search and tagging
MCP Installer
Or you can use mcp-installer for installing it directly, without opening config files.
Just type in claude
Hey Claude, install the MCP server named macos-tools-mcp
Available Tools
system_performance
Monitor and analyze system performance metrics.
Parameters:
action
(required): "current" | "history" | "processes" | "optimize"timeRange
(optional): Time range for historical data ("1h", "24h", "7d")metric
(optional): Specific metric to analyze ("cpu", "memory", "disk", "network", "all")
Examples:
enhanced_search
Advanced file search with content analysis and tagging capabilities.
Parameters:
action
(required): "search" | "tag" | "untag"query
(optional): Search query (supports regex)searchType
(optional): "content" | "filename" | "tags" | "regex"fileTypes
(optional): Array of file extensions to includepath
(optional): Root directory for searchmaxResults
(optional): Maximum number of resultstags
(optional): Array of tags to search for or apply
Examples:
Key Features
Native macOS Integration
Uses native commands (ps, mdfind, xattr) for optimal performance
Leverages Spotlight index for fast searches
Supports macOS extended attributes for tagging
Performance Optimization
Multi-level caching system
Debounced operations
Rate limiting for system calls
Streaming for large files
Data Persistence
SQLite database for performance history
Configurable data retention
Efficient time-series queries
License
MIT License - see LICENSE file for details
Testing the Server
Once you've configured the server in Claude Desktop, you can use these prompts to test all functionality:
Quick Test Prompts
Basic Performance Check:
Show me my current system performance metricsProcess Analysis:
What are the top 5 CPU-consuming processes on my system?File Search:
Search for TODO comments in JavaScript files in my current directorySystem Optimization:
Analyze my system and suggest performance optimizations
Comprehensive Test Suite
Use this comprehensive prompt to test all features:
Expected Behaviors
Performance Monitor: Should return real-time metrics, process lists, historical data, and optimization suggestions
File Search: Should find files by content, name, or tags, with support for regex patterns
Tag Operations: Should successfully add/remove tags and search by them
Error Handling: Should gracefully handle permission errors, invalid paths, and malformed queries
Future Enhancements
GPU monitoring support
Network connection analysis
Application-specific performance tracking
Integration with Time Machine for file version search
local-only server
The server can only run on the client's local machine because it depends on local resources.
Provides advanced system monitoring and file search capabilities for macOS, allowing users to track performance metrics and perform enhanced file searches with content analysis and tagging features.
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