Mac Apps Launcher MCP Server

The Mac Apps Launcher MCP Server provides a lightweight, standardized interface for AI assistants to interact with macOS applications. By exposing a set of simple yet powerful endpoints, the server lets Claude and other MCP‑compatible assistants discover installed programs, start them on demand, or open files with a chosen application—all without requiring the user to manually launch the GUI. This solves a common pain point for developers who need programmatic control over their local environment: automating routine tasks, building interactive prototypes, or creating AI‑driven workflows that depend on native macOS tools.

At its core, the server offers three primary capabilities: listing all applications in , launching an app by name, and opening a file with a specified application. These actions map directly to the most common user interactions when working on a Mac, but are now accessible through a simple JSON API. Developers can embed these calls into larger MCP chains—such as a “code review” assistant that automatically opens relevant documentation, or a data‑analysis bot that launches the user’s preferred spreadsheet program with freshly exported results.

Key features include:

• Simplicity: The API is intentionally minimal, reducing the learning curve for developers and ensuring quick integration.
• Safety: Launching apps is sandboxed to the directory, preventing accidental execution of arbitrary binaries.
• Extensibility: The server can be combined with other MCP services (e.g., file‑system or shell executors) to build richer, end‑to‑end workflows.

Real‑world use cases span from automated testing pipelines that need to start a browser or IDE, to personal productivity tools that let an AI assistant open the right app when you say “start my design suite.” For teams, the server can be part of a continuous‑integration environment where bots trigger local builds or run UI tests on macOS machines.

Integrating the Mac Apps Launcher into an AI workflow is straightforward: add it to your Claude configuration, then reference its endpoints in prompts or tool calls. Because the server follows MCP conventions, any client that understands the protocol can leverage it without custom adapters—making it a drop‑in solution for developers looking to bridge the gap between AI reasoning and native macOS actions.