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CursorTouch/Windows-MCP

MCP Server for Computer Use in Windows

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README.md

<div align="center">
  <h1>🪟 Windows-MCP</h1>

</div>

**Windows-MCP** is a lightweight, open-source project that enables seamless integration between AI agents and the Windows operating system. Acting as an MCP server bridges the gap between LLMs and the Windows operating system, allowing agents to perform tasks such as **file navigation, application control, UI interaction, QA testing,** and more.

mcp-name: io.github.CursorTouch/Windows-MCP

## Updates
- Windows-MCP reached `2M+ Users` in [Claude Desktop Extensiosn](https://claude.ai/directory). 
- Try out [🪟Windows-Use](https://pypi.org/project/windows-use/), an agent built using Windows-MCP.
- Windows-MCP is now available on [PyPI](https://pypi.org/project/windows-mcp/) (thus supports `uvx windows-mcp`)
- Windows-MCP is added to [MCP Registry](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/registry)

### Supported Operating Systems

- Windows 7
- Windows 8, 8.1
- Windows 10
- Windows 11

## 🎥 Demos

<https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d0e7ed1d-6189-4de6-838a-5ef8e1cad54e>

<https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/d2b372dc-8d00-4d71-9677-4c64f5987485>

## ✨ Key Features

- **Seamless Windows Integration**  
  Interacts natively with Windows UI elements, opens apps, controls windows, simulates user input, and more.

- **Use Any LLM (Vision Optional)**
   Unlike many automation tools, Windows-MCP doesn't rely on any traditional computer vision techniques or specific fine-tuned models; it works with any LLMs, reducing complexity and setup time.

- **Rich Toolset for UI Automation**  
  Includes tools for basic keyboard, mouse operation and capturing window/UI state.

- **Lightweight & Open-Source**  
  Minimal dependencies and easy setup with full source code available under MIT license.

- **Customizable & Extendable**  
  Easily adapt or extend tools to suit your unique automation or AI integration needs.

- **Real-Time Interaction**  
  Typical latency between actions (e.g., from one mouse click to the next) ranges from **0.2 to 0.5 secs**, and may slightly vary based on the number of active applications and system load, also the inferencing speed of the llm.

- **DOM Mode for Browser Automation**  
  Special `use_dom=True` mode for State-Tool that focuses exclusively on web page content, filtering out browser UI elements for cleaner, more efficient web automation. Supports Chrome, Edge, and Firefox (Firefox uses an IAccessible2 fallback since it doesn't expose `RootWebArea` via UIA).

## 🛠️Installation

**Note:** When you install this MCP server for the first time it may take a minute or two because of installing the dependencies in `pyproject.toml`. In the first run the server may timeout ignore it and restart it.

### Prerequisites

- Python 3.13+
- UV (Package Manager) from Astra, install with `pip install uv` or `curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh`
- `English` as the default language in Windows preferred else disable the `App-Tool` in the MCP Server for Windows with other languages.

### Run at Login

Run the server directly when needed:

```shell
uvx windows-mcp serve
uvx windows-mcp serve --transport sse --host localhost --port 8000
uvx windows-mcp serve --transport streamable-http --host localhost --port 8000
```

Install it as a background task that starts now and at every login:

```shell
windows-mcp install

# Or choose the HTTP transport and bind address explicitly
windows-mcp install --transport sse --host 127.0.0.1 --port 8000
```

This creates a per-user Scheduled Task named `windows-mcp-server` and a wrapper script at
`~/.windows-mcp/start-server.cmd`. Use `windows-mcp uninstall` to remove it. Logs are written
to `~/.windows-mcp/server.log` and `~/.windows-mcp/server.error.log`.

<details>
  <summary>Install in Claude Desktop</summary>

1. Install [Claude Desktop](https://claude.ai/download).

```shell
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/mcpb
```

2. Configure the MCP server.

**Option A: Install from PyPI (Recommended)**
  
  Use `uvx` to run the latest version directly from PyPI.

Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:
  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "windows-mcp": {
        "command": "uvx",
        "args": [
          "windows-mcp",
          "serve"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
  ```

**Option B: Install from Source**

1. Clone the repository:
  ```shell
  git clone https://github.com/CursorTouch/Windows-MCP.git
  cd Windows-MCP
  ```

2. Add this to your `claude_desktop_config.json`:
  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "windows-mcp": {
        "command": "uv",
        "args": [
          "--directory",
          "<path to the windows-mcp directory>",
          "run",
          "windows-mcp",
          "serve"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
  ```
  3. Fully restart Claude Desktop and verify the server appears in the MCP tools list.

**Claude Desktop MSIX (Windows Store)**

The MSIX-packaged Claude Desktop (Microsoft Store version) virtualizes `%APPDATA%`. This causes two main issues:
  1. The config file is located at: `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Packages\Claude_pzs8sxrjxfjjc\LocalCache\Roaming\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (not `%APPDATA%\Claude\`).
  2. Automatic installation from the "Claude Directory" will fail because the `${__dirname}` variable resolves to the incorrect (non-virtualized) path.

**To configure Windows-MCP on the Windows Store version of Claude:**
  
  You must manually edit the configuration file. Note that Electron apps in the MSIX sandbox do not inherit the system `PATH`, so you must use the **full absolute path** to `uvx.exe` (or `uv.exe`).

**Option A: Using pre-installed executable**

1. In a terminal, run `uv tool install windows-mcp`.
  2. Use the generated executable in your config:
  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "windows-mcp": {
        "command": "C:\\Users\\<user>\\.local\\bin\\windows-mcp.exe",
        "args": ["serve"]
      }
    }
  }
  ```

**Option B: Using uvx**
  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "windows-mcp": {
        "command": "C:\\Users\\<user>\\.local\\bin\\uvx.exe",
        "args": ["windows-mcp", "serve"]
      }
    }
  }
  ```

**Option C: Install from Source**
  ```json
  {
    "mcpServers": {
      "windows-mcp": {
        "command": "C:\\Users\\<user>\\.local\\bin\\uv.exe",
        "args": [
          "--directory",
          "C:\\path\\to\\Windows-MCP",
          "run",
          "windows-mcp",
          "serve"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
  ```

Replace `<user>` with your Windows username. To find the correct paths, run `where uvx`, `where windows-mcp`, or `where uv`. Fully quit Claude Desktop (Tray → Quit) and reopen after saving the config.

For additional Claude Desktop integration troubleshooting, see the [MCP documentation](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/quickstart/server#claude-for-desktop-integration-issues).
</details>

<details>
  <summary>Install in Perplexity Desktop</summary>

1. Install [Perplexity Desktop](https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/xp8jnqfbqh6pvf).
  2. Open Perplexity Desktop and go to `Settings -> Connectors -> Add Connector -> Advanced`.
  3. Enter the name as `Windows-MCP`, then paste one of the following configs.

**Option A: Install from PyPI (Recommended)**

```json
  {
    "command": "uvx",
    "args": [
      "windows-mcp",
      "serve"
    ]
  }
  ```

**Option B: Install from Source**

```json
  {
    "command": "uv",
    "args": [
      "--directory",
      "<path to the windows-mcp directory>",
      "run",
      "windows-mcp",
      "serve"
    ]
  }
  ```

4. Click `Save`, then restart Perplexity Desktop if needed.

For additional Claude Desktop integration troubleshooting, see the [Perplexity MCP Support](https://www.perplexity.ai/help-center/en/articles/11502712-local-and-remote-mcps-for-perplexity). The documentation includes helpful tips for checking logs and resolving common issues.
</details>

<details>
  <summary> Install in Gemini CLI</summary>

1. Install Gemini CLI.

```shell
npm install -g @google/gemini-cli
```

2. Open `%USERPROFILE%/.gemini/settings.json`.
  3. Add the `windows-mcp` config and save it.

```json
{
  "theme": "Default",
  ...
  "mcpServers": {
    "windows-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "windows-mcp",
        "serve"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```
*Note: To run from source, replace the command with `uv` and args with `["--directory", "<path>", "run", "windows-mcp", "serve"]`.*

4. Restart Gemini CLI.
</details>

<details>
  <summary>Install in Qwen Code</summary>
  1. Install Qwen Code.

```shell
npm install -g @qwen-code/qwen-code@latest
```
  2. Open `%USERPROFILE%/.qwen/settings.json`.
  3. Add the `windows-mcp` config and save it.

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "windows-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "windows-mcp",
        "serve"
      ]
    }
  }
}
```
*Note: To run from source, replace the command with `uv` and args with `["--directory", "<path>", "run", "windows-mcp", "serve"]`.*

4. Restart Qwen Code.
</details>

<details>
  <summary>Install in Codex CLI</summary>
  1. Install Codex CLI.

```shell
npm install -g @openai/codex
```
  2. Open `%USERPROFILE%/.codex/config.toml`.
  3. Add the `windows-mcp` config and save it.

```toml
[mcp_servers.windows-mcp]
command="uvx"
args=[
  "windows-mcp",
  "serve"
]
```
*Note: To run from source, replace the command with `uv` and args with `["--directory", "<path>", "run", "windows-mcp", "serve"]`.*

4. Restart Codex CLI.
</details>

<details>
  <summary>Install in Autohand Code</summary>

Add the published stdio server from a Windows terminal:

```shell
  autohand mcp add windows-mcp uvx windows-mcp serve
  ```

Add `--scope project` after `add` to keep the server configuration in the current project. See [Autohand Code](https://github.com/autohandai/code-cli/) for current installation and CLI details.
</details>

<details>
  <summary>Install in Claude Code</summary>

1. Install [Claude Code](https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/claude-code/overview):

```shell
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
```

2. Configure the server:

**Option A: Install from PyPI (Recommended)**

Use `uvx` to run the latest version directly from PyPI.

```shell
  claude mcp add --transport stdio windows-mcp -- uvx windows-mcp serve
  ```

**Option B: Install from Source**

1. Clone the repository:
  ```shell
  git clone https://github.com/CursorTouch/Windows-MCP.git
  cd Windows-MCP
  ```

2. Run the following command in your terminal:
  ```shell
  claude mcp add --transport stdio windows-mcp -- uv --directory "<path>" run windows-mcp serve
  ```

*Note: To make the server available across all projects, add `--scope user` to the command.*

3. Rerun Claude Code in terminal. Enjoy 🥳

**Note:** On Windows, if you encounter "Connection closed" errors, use the full path to `uvx.exe`:

```shell
  claude mcp add --transport stdio windows-mcp -- C:\Users\<user>\.local\bin\uvx.exe windows-mcp serve
  ```

To verify the server is registered, run `claude mcp list`. Inside Claude Code, use `/mcp` to check server status.

**WSL (Windows Subsystem for Linux)**

If you run Claude Code from WSL, the MCP server must still execute on the Windows side (it needs Windows APIs for UI automation). Use `powershell.exe` as the command to bridge WSL and Windows:

1. Install `uv` on **Windows** (from a PowerShell terminal):
  ```powershell
  irm https://astral.sh/uv/install.ps1 | iex
  ```

2. From your **WSL terminal**, register the server:
  ```shell
  claude mcp add windows-mcp --transport stdio -s user -- powershell.exe -Command "C:\Users\<user>\.local\bin\uvx.exe windows-mcp serve"
  ```

Replace `<user>` with your Windows username. The `-s user` flag makes the server available across all projects.

3. Restart Claude Code and verify with `/mcp`.
</details>

---

## 🖥️ Running Windows-MCP

Windows-MCP runs directly on your Windows machine and exposes its tools to the connected MCP client.

```shell
# Runs with stdio transport (default)
uvx windows-mcp serve

# Or with SSE/Streamable HTTP for network access
uvx windows-mcp serve --transport sse --host localhost --port 8000
uvx windows-mcp serve --transport streamable-http --host localhost --port 8000
```

Optional environment variables can be set to customize behavior — see [Environment Variables](#-environment-variables) below.

### Security for Remote Access

For network access, enable authentication and TLS:

```shell
windows-mcp serve --transport sse --host 0.0.0.0 \
  --auth-key "your_secret_token" \
  --ip-allowlist "203.0.113.0/24" \
  --ssl-certfile cert.pem --ssl-keyfile key.pem
```

See [🔐 Security & Access Control](#-security--access-control) for all options.

### Transport Options

| Transport | Command | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| `stdio` (default) | `serve --transport stdio` | Direct connection from MCP clients like Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc. |
| `sse` | `serve --transport sse --host HOST --port PORT` | Network-accessible via Server-Sent Events |
| `streamable-http` | `serve --transport streamable-http --host HOST --port PORT` | Network-accessible via HTTP streaming (recommended for production) |

---

## 🔐 Security & Access Control

### Authentication
```shell
windows-mcp serve --transport sse --host 0.0.0.0 --auth-key "your_token"
```
Requires `Authorization: Bearer your_token` header on all requests.

### IP Allowlist
```shell
windows-mcp serve --auth-key "token" --ip-allowlist "203.0.113.0/24,198.51.100.5"
```
Restricts connections to specified CIDR ranges. Blocks private/loopback IPs by default.

### CORS Origins

By default, **no CORS headers are emitted**. Browsers block cross-origin requests via their own Same-Origin Policy, which means arbitrary websites cannot reach the MCP control plane even if the server is on `localhost`. Host-header validation (DNS rebinding protection) is also applied automatically based on the bind address.

If you need a browser-based MCP client to reach the server, opt in with an explicit origin allowlist:

```shell
windows-mcp serve --cors-origins "https://my-client.example.com,https://other.example.com"
```

Only the listed origins receive `Access-Control-Allow-Origin` headers; all other cross-origin requests are rejected by the browser. The equivalent environment variable is `WINDOWS_MCP_CORS_ORIGINS`.

### Tool Selection
All tools are enabled by default. Use `--tools` to whitelist specific tools, or `--exclude-tools` to block specific ones.

```shell
windows-mcp serve --tools "Screenshot,Click,Snapshot"   # Enable only these tools
windows-mcp serve --exclude-tools "PowerShell,Registry" # Disable specific tools
```

### TLS/HTTPS
```shell
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 -keyout key.pem -out cert.pem -days 365 -nodes

windows-mcp serve --ssl-certfile cert.pem --ssl-keyfile key.pem
```

### OAuth 2.0 + PKCE

For MCP clients that use OAuth (e.g. Claude Desktop) instead of a static API key:

```shell
windows-mcp serve --transport streamable-http --host 0.0.0.0 \
  --ssl-certfile ~/.windows-mcp/cert.pem \
  --ssl-keyfile  ~/.windows-mcp/key.pem \
  --oauth-client-id my-client \
  --oauth-client-secret my-secret
```

**Claude Desktop config:**
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "windows-mcp": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://<host>:8000/mcp/",
      "oauth": {
        "clientId": "my-client",
        "clientSecret": "my-secret"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

The OAuth server exposes:
- `GET /.well-known/oauth-authorization-server` — server metadata (RFC 8414)
- `GET /oauth/authorize` — Authorization Code + PKCE (`S256` required)
- `POST /oauth/token` — token exchange (client secret required)
- `POST /oauth/register` — disabled; clients must be pre-provisioned

Dynamic client registration is disabled. Redirect URIs must be loopback `http(s)` only.
Auth key and OAuth can coexist — both are accepted as valid Bearer tokens.

### Config File (`~/.windows-mcp/config.toml`)

Instead of passing flags every time, store your configuration in `~/.windows-mcp/config.toml`. CLI flags always override config file values.

**Search order:**
1. `--config /path/to/config.toml`
2. `~/.windows-mcp/config.toml`

**stdio** — local only, no security needed:
```toml
[server]
transport = "stdio"
```

**SSE** — network access with auth and IP restriction:
```toml
[server]
transport = "sse"
host      = "0.0.0.0"
port      = 8000
auth_key  = "your-secret-key"

[security]
ip_allowlist = ["192.168.1.0/24"]
```

**Streamable HTTP** — with auth, TLS, and tool exclusions:
```toml
[server]
transport    = "streamable-http"
host         = "0.0.0.0"
port         = 8000
auth_key     = "your-secret-key"
ssl_certfile = "cert.pem"   # resolved relative to ~/.windows-mcp/
ssl_keyfile  = "key.pem"

[security]
ip_allowlist        = ["192.168.1.0/24"]
cors_origins        = ["https://my-client.example.com"]   # optional — browser CORS opt-in
oauth_client_id     = "my-client"      # optional — enables OAuth 2.0 + PKCE
oauth_client_secret = "my-secret"

[tools]
exclude = ["PowerShell", "Registry"]   # disable specific tools
```

Place cert and key files in the same directory:

```
~/.windows-mcp/
├── config.toml
├── cert.pem
└── key.pem
```

Generate a self-signed cert directly into that directory:

```shell
mkdir -p ~/.windows-mcp
openssl req -x509 -newkey rsa:4096 \
  -keyout ~/.windows-mcp/key.pem \
  -out ~/.windows-mcp/cert.pem \
  -days 365 -nodes
```

### Desktop control

Desktop control is enabled by default. To run background tasks while using the
computer yourself, disable it in `~/.windows-mcp/config.toml`:

```toml
[control]
enabled = false
idle_timeout_seconds = 10.0
```

Or override it for one MCP server launch:

```shell
windows-mcp serve --no-control
windows-mcp serve --control --control-idle-timeout 3
```

In your MCP client's launch arguments, put these options after `serve`.
The priority is CLI > environment variable > TOML > default. `--control` can
explicitly override `enabled = false`. The timeout accepts finite positive seconds
(including fractions); zero does not disable control. The default remains 10 seconds.

Restart the Windows-MCP server process after changing these settings. There is no
hot reload or AI configuration tool. `ControlStatus` reports the effective `enabled`
and `idle_timeout_seconds` values, with state `disabled` when control is off.

Disabling control turns off ownership gating, physical input protection, takeover
monitoring, and the control indicator. Tools remain available and serialized, with
injected key/button cleanup retained. AI desktop actions can then interfere with your
own input; PowerShell scripts can also operate the UI. The separate screenshot flash
setting is unchanged. When control is enabled, the idle timer restarts with physical
input, so shortening it does not allow background calls while you keep using the computer.

### `auth` Helper

Generate an auth key and save a working config to `~/.windows-mcp/config.toml`:

```shell
windows-mcp auth
```

Generate auth plus a self-signed TLS certificate:

```shell
windows-mcp auth --transport streamable-http --host 0.0.0.0 --port 8000 --with-tls
```

This command writes the auth key into the config file, can generate `cert.pem` and `key.pem`, and prints an example MCP client configuration for the selected transport.

### SSRF Protection
`Scrape` tool blocks: private IPs, loopback, link-local, credentials-in-URLs, non-HTTP schemes.

---

## ⚙️ Environment Variables

All variables are optional unless noted. Set them via the `env` key in `claude_desktop_config.json` (or your MCP client's equivalent config).

### Screenshot & Snapshot

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WINDOWS_MCP_SCREENSHOT_SCALE` | `1.0` | Scale factor applied to screenshots before encoding. Accepts a float in the range `0.1`–`1.0`. Useful on high-resolution displays (1440p, 4K) where the default produces images that exceed Claude Desktop's 1 MB tool-result limit. Set to `0.5` to halve both dimensions (quarter the file size). |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_SCREENSHOT_BACKEND` | `auto` | Screenshot capture backend. Accepted values: `auto` (tries dxcam → mss → pillow in order), `dxcam`, `mss`, `pillow`. Use `mss` or `pillow` if `dxcam` is unavailable or causes issues on your GPU. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_PROFILE_SNAPSHOT` | _(disabled)_ | Set to `1`, `true`, `yes`, or `on` to emit per-stage timing logs for Screenshot/Snapshot calls. Useful for diagnosing slow captures. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_DISABLE_FLASH` | _(disabled)_ | Set to `1`, `true`, `yes`, or `on` to suppress the orange-red glowing border that briefly highlights the captured area after every screenshot. The flash is rendered on a transparent always-on-top window *after* capture so it never appears in the captured image. |

### Excluding processes from UI Automation traversal

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WINDOWS_MCP_EXCLUDE_PROCESSES` | _(none)_ | Comma-separated process basenames whose windows are excluded from UI Automation tree traversal, e.g. `Code.exe,Cursor.exe`. Matching is case-insensitive and exact — no wildcards or regular expressions. Unset or empty preserves current behaviour. |

Some applications expose accessibility trees that can become slow or unresponsive during UI Automation traversal. `Snapshot` and `WaitFor` may traverse the active window and other top-level handles selected for tree capture, so one pathological accessibility provider can stall the capture.

Set:

```text
WINDOWS_MCP_EXCLUDE_PROCESSES=Code.exe,Cursor.exe
```

Process names are comma-separated executable basenames. They are matched case-insensitively after surrounding whitespace is stripped; empty entries are ignored and duplicates are harmless.

A window is excluded *before* any UI Automation call is made against it, so its accessibility provider is never entered. Excluded applications may still appear in the window list, but Windows-MCP will not traverse their accessibility trees, and they are not reported as failed captures. If the owning process of a window cannot be resolved, the window is traversed as usual.

This is an exclusion mechanism — a mitigation, not a complete fix for every form of [#383](https://github.com/CursorTouch/Windows-MCP/issues/383). It only skips the processes you name; a pathological window you have not listed can still stall a capture.

### Desktop control settings

If a physical key/button release event is missed, the input monitor checks residual
holds after the configured idle wait. Five consecutive all-released samples, at
least 100 ms apart, clear the stale records. New physical input or a reported held
key/button resets confirmation. This is best-effort: a zero `GetAsyncKeyState`
result counts as released even when Windows cannot provide the state; repeated
sampling filters transient readings but cannot distinguish persistent query failure.

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WINDOWS_MCP_CONTROL` | `true` | Enable desktop control coordination. Set to `false` to disable. Equivalent to `--control/--no-control`; restart required. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_CONTROL_IDLE_TIMEOUT` | `10.0` | Finite positive idle wait in seconds. Equivalent to `--control-idle-timeout`; restart required. |

### Security

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WINDOWS_MCP_AUTH_KEY` | _(none)_ | Bearer token required on all HTTP requests. Alternative to `--auth-key` CLI flag. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_IP_ALLOWLIST` | _(none)_ | Comma-separated list of allowed client IPs or CIDR ranges (e.g., `203.0.113.0/24,198.51.100.5`). Alternative to `--ip-allowlist` CLI flag. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_CORS_ORIGINS` | _(none)_ | Comma-separated list of origins permitted to make cross-origin browser requests (e.g., `https://my-client.example.com`). No CORS headers are emitted when unset. Alternative to `--cors-origins` CLI flag. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_TOOLS` | _(all enabled)_ | Comma-separated explicit list of tools to enable (e.g., `Screenshot,Click,Snapshot`). Alternative to `--tools` CLI flag. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_EXCLUDE_TOOLS` | _(none)_ | Comma-separated list of tools to disable (e.g., `PowerShell,Registry`). Alternative to `--exclude-tools` CLI flag. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_SSL_CERTFILE` | _(none)_ | Path to TLS certificate file (.pem) for HTTPS. Must be provided with `WINDOWS_MCP_SSL_KEYFILE`. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_SSL_KEYFILE` | _(none)_ | Path to TLS private key file (.pem) for HTTPS. Must be provided with `WINDOWS_MCP_SSL_CERTFILE`. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID` | _(none)_ | OAuth client ID for HTTP transports. Must be provided with `WINDOWS_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET`. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_SECRET` | _(none)_ | OAuth client secret for HTTP transports. Must be provided with `WINDOWS_MCP_OAUTH_CLIENT_ID`. |
| `WINDOWS_MCP_STATELESS_HTTP` | `false` | Set to `1`, `true`, `yes`, or `on` to run `streamable-http` without `Mcp-Session-Id` connection state. Useful for reconnects after restarts and for horizontally scaled deployments. |

[![MseeP.ai Security Assessment Badge](https://mseep.net/pr/cursortouch-windows-mcp-badge.png)](https://mseep.ai/app/cursortouch-windows-mcp)

### Telemetry

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `ANONYMIZED_TELEMETRY` | `true` | Set to `false` to disable anonymous usage telemetry. No personal data, tool arguments, or outputs are ever collected regardless of this setting. |
| `POSTHOG_API_KEY` | Project default | Override the PostHog project write key used for anonymous telemetry. Set to an empty string to skip PostHog client initialization. |
| `POSTHOG_HOST` | `https://us.i.posthog.com` | Override the PostHog host for anonymous telemetry, such as for a self-hosted PostHog deployment. |

### Debug

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WINDOWS_MCP_DEBUG` | `false` | Set to `1`, `true`, `yes`, or `on` to enable debug mode, which sets the log level to DEBUG for verbose output. Also available as the `--debug` CLI flag. |

### WatchDog

| Variable | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| `WINDOWS_MCP_WATCHDOG` | `false` | Set to `on`, `1`, `true`, `yes`, or `enabled` (case-insensitive) to run the UIA focus watchdog. It is off by default because its only remaining effect is debug logging of focus changes, while it costs a background thread and a long-lived UIA event subscription that can crash the server on unstable UIA environments after long uptime (e.g. across a sleep/resume or session change). The accessibility tree is built on demand for every tool call either way, so tool behaviour is unaffected. |

**Example `claude_desktop_config.json`:**

Local (no security):
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "windows-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["windows-mcp", "serve"],
      "env": { "WINDOWS_MCP_SCREENSHOT_SCALE": "0.5" }
    }
  }
}
```

Remote (with auth + IP allowlist + TLS):
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "windows-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["windows-mcp", "serve", "--transport", "sse", "--host", "0.0.0.0"],
      "env": {
        "WINDOWS_MCP_AUTH_KEY": "your_token",
        "WINDOWS_MCP_IP_ALLOWLIST": "203.0.113.0/24",
        "WINDOWS_MCP_SSL_CERTFILE": "/path/to/cert.pem",
        "WINDOWS_MCP_SSL_KEYFILE": "/path/to/key.pem"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

---

## 🔨MCP Tools

MCP Client can access the following tools to interact with Windows:

- `Click`: Click on the screen at the given coordinates.
- `Type`: Type text on an element (optionally clears existing text).
- `Scroll`: Scroll vertically or horizontally on the window or specific regions.
- `Move`: Move mouse pointer or drag (set drag=True) to coordinates. For deterministic
  drag, set `from_loc=[x, y]` with `drag=True` to press at an explicit start point and
  release at `loc` in one tool call. Optional `duration` adds bounded intermediate
  movement.
- `Shortcut`: Press keyboard shortcuts (`Ctrl+c`, `Alt+Tab`, etc).
- `Wait`: Pause for a defined duration.
- `WaitFor`: Wait until text, an active window, an element, or a focused element appears by polling UI state inside one tool call.
- `ControlStatus`: Read the desktop control owner and remaining user-idle wait. It stays available when user takeover blocks new tool calls. During AI control, a visible edge and cursor glow indicate ownership; moving the physical mouse substantially or pressing `Ctrl+Alt+Shift+Backspace` returns control to the user until 10 seconds of inactivity. During screenshot capture, the indicator is temporarily hidden and physical input is released; any physical input during this interval preempts AI control, although `ControlStatus` can briefly still report `ai` until that event is processed. Stepwise desktop input stops at its next checkpoint, but an already-running external command (for example `PowerShell` or an `App` launch) may continue after takeover; this control gate does not cancel processes or undo completed side effects. On a detected hook fault, injected keys and mouse buttons are released asynchronously, so physical input can briefly overlap a still-held AI key or button. Windows may also silently remove a low-level hook without notifying this process; periodic hook replacement reduces but does not eliminate that undetected window. User takeover is therefore best-effort, not a security boundary or a guarantee of exclusive control.
  Sessionless MCP 2026-07-28 clients cannot receive unsolicited control-state logs; they should query `ControlStatus` when they need the current owner.
- `DisplayInventory`: Read display layout, work areas, effective DPI, and scale metadata.
- `Screenshot`: Fast screenshot-first desktop capture with cursor position, active/open windows, and an image. Skips UI tree extraction for speed and should be the default first call when you mainly need visual context. Supports `display=[0]` or `display=[0,1]` using zero-based active Windows display indices, and `region=[left, top, right, bottom]` (virtual-desktop pixel coordinates) to capture just that rectangle instead of the whole screen — cheaper on tokens when you already know which area matters. `region` takes precedence over `display` when both are given; an invalid or out-of-bounds region raises an error. After capture, a brief orange-red glowing border is drawn inside the captured area as a visual confirmation (set `WINDOWS_MCP_DISABLE_FLASH=1` to disable).
- `Snapshot`: Full desktop state capture for workflows that need interactive element ids, scrollable regions, or `use_dom=True` browser extraction. Supports `use_vision=True` for including screenshots, `display=[0]` or `display=[0,1]` using zero-based active Windows display indices, and `region=[left, top, right, bottom]` (virtual-desktop pixel coordinates) to inspect just that rectangle instead of the whole screen; `region` takes precedence over `display` when both are given, and an invalid or out-of-bounds region raises an error.
- `App`: Launch an application by Start Menu name or strictly by executable path with separated argv and optional cwd; resize, move, and switch between windows.
- `PowerShell`: To execute PowerShell commands.
- `FileSystem`: Read, write, copy, move, delete, list, search, and inspect files and directories.
- `Scrape`: To scrape the entire webpage for information.
- `MultiSelect`: Select multiple items (files, folders, checkboxes) with optional Ctrl key. Uses bulk label-to-coordinate resolution when labels are provided.
- `MultiEdit`: Enter text into multiple input fields at specified coordinates. Uses bulk label-to-coordinate resolution when labels are provided.
- `Clipboard`: Read or set Windows clipboard content.
- `Process`: List running processes or terminate them by PID or name.
- `Notification`: Send a Windows toast notification with a title and message.
- `Registry`: Read, write, delete, or list Windows Registry values and keys.

## 🤝 Connect with Us
Stay updated and join our community:

- 📢 Follow us on [X](https://x.com/CursorTouch) for the latest news and updates

- 💬 Join our [Discord Community](https://discord.com/invite/Aue9Yj2VzS)

## Star History

[![Star History Chart](https://star-history.dera.page/svg?repos=CursorTouch/Windows-MCP&type=Date)](https://star-history.dera.page/#CursorTouch/Windows-MCP&Date)

## 👥 Contributors

Thanks to all the amazing people who have contributed to Windows-MCP! 🎉

We appreciate every contribution, whether it's code, documentation, bug reports, or feature suggestions. Want to contribute? Check out our [Contributing Guidelines](CONTRIBUTING)!

## 🔒 Security

**Important**: Windows-MCP operates with full system access and can perform irreversible operations. Please review our comprehensive security guidelines before deployment.

For detailed security information, including:
- Tool-specific risk assessments
- Deployment recommendations
- Vulnerability reporting procedures
- Compliance and auditing guidelines

Please read our [Security Policy](SECURITY.md).

## 📊 Telemetry

Windows-MCP collects usage data to help improve the MCP server. No personal information, no tool arguments, no outputs are tracked.

To disable telemetry, set `ANONYMIZED_TELEMETRY` to `false` in your MCP client configuration:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "windows-mcp": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "windows-mcp",
        "serve"
      ],
      "env": {
        "ANONYMIZED_TELEMETRY": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}
```

See the [Environment Variables](#-environment-variables) section for the full list of configurable options.

For detailed information on what data is collected and how it is handled, please refer to the [Telemetry and Data Privacy](SECURITY.md#telemetry-and-data-privacy) section in our Security Policy.

## 📝 Limitations

- Selecting specific sections of the text in a paragraph, as the MCP is relying on a11y tree. (⌛ Working on it.)
- `Type-Tool` is meant for typing text, not programming in IDE because of it types program as a whole in a file. (⌛ Working on it.)
- This MCP server can't be used to play video games 🎮.

## 🪪 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the [LICENSE](LICENSE) file for details.

## 🙏 Acknowledgements

Windows-MCP makes use of several excellent open-source projects that power its Windows automation features:

- [UIAutomation](https://github.com/yinkaisheng/Python-UIAutomation-for-Windows)

Huge thanks to the maintainers and contributors of these libraries for their outstanding work and open-source spirit.

## 🤝Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please see [CONTRIBUTING](CONTRIBUTING) for setup instructions and development guidelines.

Made with ❤️ by [CursorTouch](https://github.com/CursorTouch)

## Citation

```bibtex
@software{
  author       = {CursorTouch},
  title        = {Windows-MCP: Lightweight open-source project for integrating LLM agents with Windows},
  year         = {2024},
  publisher    = {GitHub},
  url={https://github.com/CursorTouch/Windows-MCP}
}
```

Repository info

Default branch: main
Latest version: v0.8.8
Created: 2025-05-13
Last activity: 2026-10-14
License: MIT
Open issues: 21
Watchers: 43

Topics

ai desktop mcp tools windows windows-automation

Contributors

Jeomon

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