Lately I found MCP to be much more than a coding tool. For example, I implemented it in my more complex macOS apps [0] like rcmd, Clop, Lunar, so they can be configured by natural language.
So even with a local Qwen and Pi you can now say things like:
Set up Clop to optimise any PNG that I drop in my website assets folder and convert to a webp with the same name near it
Get Crank to start Time Machine backups immediately when I connect my HDD and notify me when the backup is done.
I want to be able to hold rcmd and fuzzy search and focus cmux agent panes
BetterTouchTool has a great MCP which can create native SwiftUI views and bind them to hotkeys, trackpad gestures etc. It can leverage its immense macOS automation tools and private APIs to let agents do Computer Use.
You would need a much more capable coding model to code those tools from scratch and get the same fail-safe logic that the apps have honed over the years.
Like, since MCP, Crank [1] has fully replaced my use of crontab, launchd, scattered scripts I run once a week. Not that it could not do that before, but it's so much simpler now to just describe the automation and have it happen reliably and visible in the UI. The friction is gone.
I use rcmd daily (and have just taken the time to dial in the configuration, it works even better now!) and I have to say that it's wonderful. It makes using the computer so much faster and easier: with window scripts too, it's like magic.
There were some teething problems on Golden Gate: keystrokes didn't seem to make it to the rcmd popup, but your recent remediations seem to have solved it. It's a beta OS version too, of course :-)
Thank you! Yes, macOS 27 continues to be a pain with the all new rewritten window manager.
Still working on finding all the edge cases, so sorry if you still encounter problems there. I've been using it since June and still find problems in input handling.
Like there's this thing, where if an app has Accessibility Permissions and listens to key events (like rcmd does) and then you revoke that permission while the app is running, then your whole system will stop responding to keys and clicks. Until you kill the app in question, but how are you going to do that without a keyboard?
All apps have this problem, even established ones like BTT, because it's a recently introduced macOS behavior in how the internals of CGEventTap work.
Yeah, I thought so -- I imagine quite a lot has changed behind the scenes. It does seem much better than Tahoe, though.
Yikes, that accessibility bug is bad LOL. It seems a bit like Linux in that way: certain bugs hang around for years. I always found that with Linux, you could either use an LTS and stick with the same bugs for years, or try your luck with a rolling release and trade them for new ones. Anyway...
I've just started leaning more heavily on the window switcher (moved it to Lcmd) and it's made me so much faster. Had rcmd for ages but never changed it to that; it solves the problem of "where the hell did I put that window?!" when I try to organize stuff into different spaces. It's a better candidate for Lcmd too IMO: I very rarely wonder where I put a random window of an app (and after all, if it's already open I usually want to choose a window), but I'm always switching between certain windows of one app, like Safari. Swiping back and forth between desktops was a nightmare!
alin23 · · focus · HN ↗
So even with a local Qwen and Pi you can now say things like:
BetterTouchTool has a great MCP which can create native SwiftUI views and bind them to hotkeys, trackpad gestures etc. It can leverage its immense macOS automation tools and private APIs to let agents do Computer Use.You would need a much more capable coding model to code those tools from scratch and get the same fail-safe logic that the apps have honed over the years.
Like, since MCP, Crank [1] has fully replaced my use of crontab, launchd, scattered scripts I run once a week. Not that it could not do that before, but it's so much simpler now to just describe the automation and have it happen reliably and visible in the UI. The friction is gone.
[0] <a href="https://reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1wkv0dy/mcp_in_macos_apps_are_they_useful_for_you/" rel="nofollow">https://reddit.com/r/macapps/comments/1wkv0dy/mcp_in_macos_a...
[1] <a href="https://lowtechguys.com/crank" rel="nofollow">https://lowtechguys.com/crank
tentacleuno · · focus · HN ↗
There were some teething problems on Golden Gate: keystrokes didn't seem to make it to the rcmd popup, but your recent remediations seem to have solved it. It's a beta OS version too, of course :-)
alin23 · · focus · HN ↗
Still working on finding all the edge cases, so sorry if you still encounter problems there. I've been using it since June and still find problems in input handling.
Like there's this thing, where if an app has Accessibility Permissions and listens to key events (like rcmd does) and then you revoke that permission while the app is running, then your whole system will stop responding to keys and clicks. Until you kill the app in question, but how are you going to do that without a keyboard?
All apps have this problem, even established ones like BTT, because it's a recently introduced macOS behavior in how the internals of CGEventTap work.
selicos · · focus · HN ↗
tentacleuno · · focus · HN ↗
Yikes, that accessibility bug is bad LOL. It seems a bit like Linux in that way: certain bugs hang around for years. I always found that with Linux, you could either use an LTS and stick with the same bugs for years, or try your luck with a rolling release and trade them for new ones. Anyway...
I've just started leaning more heavily on the window switcher (moved it to Lcmd) and it's made me so much faster. Had rcmd for ages but never changed it to that; it solves the problem of "where the hell did I put that window?!" when I try to organize stuff into different spaces. It's a better candidate for Lcmd too IMO: I very rarely wonder where I put a random window of an app (and after all, if it's already open I usually want to choose a window), but I'm always switching between certain windows of one app, like Safari. Swiping back and forth between desktops was a nightmare!