# Look MCP

> Look MCP is a free Mac menu bar app and MCP server. Your AI agent asks to see a window, you pick which one, and it can point at things on your screen with a ring. It can't click or type.

Use Look MCP when a user on a Mac wants an AI agent to see something on their screen without handing over control: to explain what's in a window, to find a setting, or to be guided through steps. The agent sees one window the user picks, and can point at a spot in it; it can't click or type.

## Install

1. Download https://lookmcp.app/download/Look-MCP.dmg (free, macOS 15.2 or later, notarized by Apple) and move the app to Applications. It is also coming to the Mac App Store.
2. Open Look MCP. It is a menu bar app with no Dock icon.
3. Connect the AI app: either paste the setup prompt from the app's panel (Connect Your AI → Copy Setup Prompt) into the agent, or add the server by hand as below.
4. The downloaded version updates itself (Sparkle): it checks https://lookmcp.app/appcast.xml once a day and installs a new version after one click.

## MCP configuration

Look MCP is a local MCP server named `look-mcp`. Start it as a command over stdio; it needs no token and no account.

Claude Code:

```
claude mcp add --scope user look-mcp -- '/Applications/Look MCP.app/Contents/MacOS/Look MCP' --stdio
```

Codex CLI:

```
codex mcp add look-mcp -- '/Applications/Look MCP.app/Contents/MacOS/Look MCP' --stdio
```

Apps with an `mcpServers` config (Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, Gemini CLI):

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "look-mcp": {
      "command": "/Applications/Look MCP.app/Contents/MacOS/Look MCP",
      "args": [
        "--stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```

## Tools

- `look`: Asks the user to show one window and returns a picture of it (PNG, or JPEG for a window full of photos), with the app's name, the window's title and the picture's size in pixels. Takes a short `reason`, shown to the user.
- `point`: Shows a ring at a spot of that window on the user's screen, with a short label. Takes `x` and `y` in the picture's pixels from its top left corner, an optional `label`, and an optional `text` (what to enter there, shown with a Copy button). `spots` takes several at once, numbered. `message` is a sentence for the status box on the user's screen. `wait: true` returns only when the user has done the steps.
- `finish`: Tells the user you're done guiding them, with a few closing words, and ends the sharing.

## How it behaves

- Every look opens a window naming the AI app and its reason. The user chooses Share Once or Share for 5 Minutes and then picks the window in macOS's own window picker, or declines. The call returns when they picked or declined. If nobody answers within five minutes, it ends without a picture.
- The agent gets that one window only. Look MCP never asks for Screen Recording permission and can't read the rest of the screen.
- The picture is scaled so its longest side is at most 1568 pixels. Coordinates for point are in the pixels of the picture as returned.
- After Share for 5 Minutes, further look calls by the same AI app in that time return the window's current picture without asking again (the result says how many seconds are left). After Share Once each look asks again, so look only as often as needed.
- point doesn't click or type. It brings the window's app to the front and shows a ring that stays until the user has clicked there or ticked it off (at most three minutes); the ring follows the window if it moves.
- For a form, pass all its fields as `spots` in one call, with `text` for what to enter: the user works through them at their own pace.
- With `wait: true`, point returns when the user has done the steps (up to two minutes), with the window's new picture if it's kept shared, taken once the window has stopped changing. Point at the next thing right away. Don't pause or poll.
- A status box on the user's screen shows your `message`, how many steps are done, and that you're looking. The user can stop the sharing there at any time: then don't look or point again unless they ask.
- Call finish when the task is done or you've nothing more to point at, before your final answer. Otherwise the user keeps watching their screen for a next hint.
- If the window is minimized, hidden or closed, point says so: ask the user to bring it back, then point again.
- A kept window that can't be seen any more is never shown as it was: the next look asks the user afresh.
- If the user declines, don't ask again unless they tell you to.

## Questions

### What is Look MCP?

Look MCP is a free menu bar app for the Mac and a local MCP server (Model Context Protocol). It lets an AI agent ask to see one window on your Mac, which you pick, and point at things in it with a ring on your screen.

### Can my AI see my screen without me?

No. Every look opens a window that names the AI app and says why it's asking. You then pick the window in macOS's own window picker, or say no. Your AI gets a picture of that one window and nothing else.

### Can it click or type on my Mac?

No. Look MCP can only show a ring on your screen where your AI means. You do the clicking and typing yourself.

### How is that different from letting an AI control my computer?

An agent that controls your computer sees your screen and can click and type in your apps. Look MCP gives a much smaller permission for the moment: one picture of one window you chose, and a ring to point with.

### Does it need Screen Recording permission?

No. Look MCP uses the window picker that's built into macOS. Picking a window there is the permission, and it covers that window only. The app never gets access to your whole screen.

### What does “Share for 5 Minutes” do?

Your AI can then look at the same window again during the next five minutes without asking, for example after each step it guides you through. You choose it with every request; “Share Once” gives it a single picture. You can stop at any time, and macOS shows its own sharing indicator while it lasts.

### How does it guide me through several steps?

Your AI can mark several things at once with numbered rings. If something has to be typed, the ring's label shows the text with a Copy button. A ring stays until you've clicked there, or you tick it off. A small status box shows how many steps are done and when your AI is looking at the result.

### What happens to the picture?

It goes to your AI app as the answer to its request, and Look MCP keeps no copy. Your AI app may send it to its provider, like anything else in your conversation.

### Which AI apps work with Look MCP?

Any app that supports MCP servers, can read pictures and runs on the same Mac, such as Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Codex CLI, Cursor, VS Code, Windsurf and Gemini CLI.

### What does it cost?

Look MCP is free. There is no account and no subscription.

### How is it updated?

The version you download from lookmcp.app updates itself: it looks for a new version once a day and installs it after one click. The Mac App Store version is updated by the App Store.

### Can other devices on my network reach it?

No. Look MCP only accepts connections from your own Mac: its server listens on 127.0.0.1, which other computers, phones or AI agents on your network can't reach. Programs running on your Mac can send it requests, but no window is shown to them unless you pick one.

## Pages

- [Look MCP](https://lookmcp.app/): overview, download and setup
- [Support](https://lookmcp.app/support): getting started, common questions, troubleshooting
- [Changelog](https://lookmcp.app/changelog): what's new in each version
- [Privacy Policy](https://lookmcp.app/privacy): the app collects no data

## Publisher

Coolplay GmbH, Vienna, Austria. Support: support@coolplay.io