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by nix18

ControlMCP

😆You’re already a mature LLM, so you should learn to operate the computer by yourself. 🛠️MCP server for LLM-controlled computer operations — screen capture, window management, mouse & keyboard automation.

Python License: GPL-3.0

中文文档


Overview

ControlMCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that gives LLMs the ability to see and control a computer — take screenshots, manage windows, move/click the mouse, type on the keyboard, and chain all of these into complex automation workflows.

The repository also ships with a reusable agent skill at skills/computer-control/. It packages desktop-operation SOPs, shortcut guidance, JetBrains IDE workflows, and screenshot-to-click coordinate rules for agents that support skills.

Related MCP server: helix-pilot

Quick Start

Installation

install from source:

git clone https://github.com/nix18/ControlMCP.git
cd ControlMCP
pip install -e .

Launch

control-mcp

The server communicates over stdio (standard MCP transport). Configure your MCP client to connect to the control-mcp command.

MCP Client Configuration

Add to your MCP client config (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.):

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

Tools (34 total)

Control Plane

Tool

Description

plan_desktop_task

Convert a vague desktop instruction into a structured plan

execute_desktop_plan

Run a structured plan through the guarded executor

get_execution_status

Query the current status of a high-level execution run

confirm_sensitive_action

Explicitly approve or reject a sensitive action

recover_execution_context

Rebuild context after shortcut misuse or UI drift

record_workflow_experience

Persist reusable workflow experience

Screen Capture

Tool

Description

capture_screen

Full screen or monitor screenshot

capture_region

Region screenshot (x, y, width, height)

capture_scroll_region

Stitch a long screenshot while scrolling inside a fixed region

get_screen_info

List all monitors with resolution

read_screenshot_base64

Read a screenshot file as Base64 text

resolve_grid_target

Convert a grid cell + anchor into precise screen coordinates

click_grid_target

Resolve screenshot grid metadata and click directly

Window Management

Tool

Description

list_windows

List all visible windows

find_windows

Find windows by title substring

focus_window

Bring a window to the foreground

capture_window

Focus + screenshot a specific window

Mouse Control

Tool

Description

mouse_click

Click at coordinates (single/double/multi/hold)

mouse_drag

Drag from point A to point B

mouse_move

Move cursor without clicking

mouse_position

Get current cursor position

mouse_scroll

Scroll wheel up/down

Keyboard Control

Tool

Description

key_press

Press keys or hotkey combinations

key_hold

Hold keys for a duration

key_type

Type text character by character

key_sequence

Execute a timed sequence of key actions

Combined Operations

Tool

Description

mouse_and_keyboard

Execute a mixed sequence of mouse + keyboard + wait + screenshot actions

Additional Actions

Tool

Description

clipboard_get

Get clipboard text

clipboard_set

Set clipboard text

launch_app

Launch an application

launch_url

Open a URL in the browser

wait

Pause for N seconds

get_pixel_color

Get RGB color at screen coordinates

hotkey

Press a keyboard shortcut

Examples

See docs/TUTORIAL.md for comprehensive usage examples.

// Plan a vague desktop task first
{"tool": "plan_desktop_task", "args": {"instruction": "Switch to PyCharm and run the current config"}}

// Execute a generated plan
{"tool": "execute_desktop_plan", "args": {"plan_id": "plan_abc123"}}

// Take a screenshot
{"tool": "capture_screen", "args": {}}

// Take a sharper screenshot when text clarity matters
{"tool": "capture_window", "args": {"title": "PyCharm", "quality": 75, "sharpen": true}}

// Read that screenshot as Base64 text for non-multimodal models
{"tool": "read_screenshot_base64", "args": {"file_path": "/tmp/screen.jpg"}}

// Click at (500, 300)
{"tool": "mouse_click", "args": {"x": 500, "y": 300}}

// Combined: click → select all → type
{"tool": "mouse_and_keyboard", "args": {"actions": [
    {"action": "click", "x": 500, "y": 300},
    {"action": "key_press", "keys": ["ctrl", "a"]},
    {"action": "key_type", "text": "New text"}
]}}

Rebuilt Workflow

ControlMCP now supports a control-plane-first workflow for higher precision desktop automation:

  1. Normalize the user instruction with plan_desktop_task

  2. Review or directly execute the structured plan

  3. Let the guarded executor choose a faster observation strategy (capture_window / capture_region / capture_scroll_region)

  4. Verify each critical step and recover when context is lost

  5. Require explicit confirmation for payment/password/asset-related actions

  6. Save successful workflow experience for future runs

For small or visually ambiguous targets, you can also ask capture_screen, capture_region, or capture_window to generate a second grid_file_path overlay image with grid_rows and grid_cols, then convert a chosen cell + anchor through resolve_grid_target before clicking.

Documentation

Document

Description

README.md

This file

README.zh-CN.md

Chinese version of this file

docs/REQUIREMENTS.md

Requirements analysis

docs/ARCHITECTURE.md

Architecture design

docs/MODULE_DESIGN.md

Module design

docs/FUNCTIONAL_DESIGN.md

Functional design

docs/TUTORIAL.md

Tutorial & examples

skills/computer-control/

Agent Skill: computer operation SOPs

skills/computer-control/README.md

Skill-specific install and usage guide

skills/computer-control/docs/window-management.md

Window rescue and window shortcut reference

skills/computer-control/docs/idea-run-workflow.md

JetBrains IDE run/log observation workflow

Agent Skill

The skills/computer-control/ folder contains a ready-to-use Agent Skill that teaches LLMs how to operate computers proficiently.

What is included

  • SKILL.md: the main skill instructions, SOPs, shortcut tables, and common failure patterns

  • docs/coordinate-system.md: coordinate conversion reference for screenshot-to-click workflows

  • docs/window-management.md: window maximize/restore/snap shortcuts and window recovery workflow

  • docs/idea-run-workflow.md: JetBrains IDE startup, run-panel switching, and log stabilization workflow

  • README.md: skill-local installation and usage notes

What the skill covers

  • Keyboard-first automation: prefer shortcuts over UI clicking whenever possible

  • Plan-before-act control plane: normalize ambiguous instructions before touching the desktop

  • Window recovery: fix minimized, half-screen, or partially restored windows before further actions

  • Coordinate-safe clicking: convert screenshot-local coordinates into screen coordinates explicitly

  • IDE workflows: IntelliJ IDEA / PyCharm run-configuration selection, run-panel switching, and log monitoring

  • Sensitive-action gating: require confirmation before payment/password/asset-related steps

  • Operational fallback: when JetBrains shortcuts do not behave as expected, check the local ReferenceCard.pdf or JetBrains official documentation

Install the skill into your agent

You can either copy skills/computer-control/ into your agent's skill directory, or add it via a symbolic link.

Option 1: copy the directory

# Codex CLI
cp -r skills/computer-control ~/.codex/skills/

# Claude Code
cp -r skills/computer-control ~/.claude/skills/

# OpenCode
cp -r skills/computer-control ~/.config/opencode/skills/

Option 2: create a symbolic link

On macOS / Linux:

# Codex CLI
ln -s "$(pwd)/skills/computer-control" ~/.codex/skills/computer-control

# Claude Code
ln -s "$(pwd)/skills/computer-control" ~/.claude/skills/computer-control

# OpenCode
ln -s "$(pwd)/skills/computer-control" ~/.config/opencode/skills/computer-control

On Windows (Command Prompt as Administrator when required):

mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\.codex\skills\computer-control" "%CD%\skills\computer-control"
mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\.claude\skills\computer-control" "%CD%\skills\computer-control"
mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\.config\opencode\skills\computer-control" "%CD%\skills\computer-control"

Using a symbolic link is convenient while iterating on the skill, because changes in this repository are reflected immediately in the agent's skills directory.

If your agent supports custom skill paths, you can also reference this folder directly.

Use the skill

After installation, invoke it naturally in prompts such as:

  • Use $computer-control to restart the IDEA app and wait until logs stop updating

  • Use $computer-control to maximize the target window and capture it

  • Use $computer-control to operate PyCharm with keyboard shortcuts first

For skill-specific details, see skills/computer-control/README.md.

Project Structure

ControlMCP/
├── README.md                          # This file
├── README.zh-CN.md                    # Chinese README
├── LICENSE                            # GNU GPLv3 license
├── pyproject.toml                     # Package config
├── src/
│   └── control_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── server.py                  # MCP server + tool registration
│       ├── schemas/
│       │   ├── __init__.py
│       │   └── responses.py           # Structured response types
│       ├── tools/
│       │   ├── __init__.py
│       │   ├── screen.py              # Screen capture tools
│       │   ├── window.py              # Window management tools
│       │   ├── mouse.py               # Mouse control tools
│       │   ├── keyboard.py            # Keyboard control tools
│       │   ├── combined.py            # Combined operations
│       │   └── actions.py             # Additional actions
│       └── utils/
│           ├── __init__.py
│           ├── capture.py             # Capture utilities (JPEG, resize)
│           ├── _win_window.py         # Windows backend
│           ├── _mac_window.py         # macOS backend
│           └── _linux_window.py       # Linux backend
├── skills/
│   └── computer-control/              # Agent Skill: computer operation SOPs
│       ├── SKILL.md                   # Main skill instructions
│       ├── docs/
│       │   ├── coordinate-system.md   # Coordinate system reference
│       │   ├── window-management.md   # Window management reference
│       │   └── idea-run-workflow.md   # JetBrains IDE run/log workflow
│       └── README.md                  # Skill install & usage guide
├── docs/
│   ├── REQUIREMENTS.md
│   ├── ARCHITECTURE.md
│   ├── MODULE_DESIGN.md
│   ├── FUNCTIONAL_DESIGN.md
│   ├── TUTORIAL.md
│   └── zh-CN/                        # Chinese documentation
│       ├── REQUIREMENTS.md
│       ├── ARCHITECTURE.md
│       ├── MODULE_DESIGN.md
│       ├── FUNCTIONAL_DESIGN.md
│       └── TUTORIAL.md
└── tests/
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── test_schemas.py                # 22 tests
    ├── test_screen.py                 # 6 tests
    ├── test_window.py                 # 11 tests
    ├── test_mouse.py                  # 13 tests
    ├── test_keyboard.py               # 16 tests
    ├── test_combined.py               # 12 tests
    └── test_actions.py                # 13 tests

Platform Support

Platform

Screen Capture

Window Management

Mouse/Keyboard

Windows

✅ mss

✅ pygetwindow

✅ pyautogui

macOS

✅ mss

✅ Quartz

✅ pyautogui

Linux

✅ mss

✅ xlib

✅ pyautogui

License

GNU General Public License v3.0 (GPLv3)

A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested
D
maintenance

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Maintainers
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