Screeny

Screeny MCP Server: Privacy first macOS Screenshots for AI Agents

Aprivacy-first, macOS-only MCP serverthat enables AI agents to capture screenshots of pre-approved application windows, providing secure visual context for development and debugging tasks.

[!IMPORTANT] RequiresScreen Capture permission+Window Approval Setup- see instructions below.

Unlike other screenshot tools, Screeny requiresexplicit user approvalfor each window before it can be captured:

- Window approval system- Only pre-approved windows can be captured (approved during setup)
- User-controlled access- You decide exactly which windows are accessible
- Non-intrusive capture- Screenshots taken in background without changing window focus or interrupting your workflow
- No external connections- Screeny runs entirely on your device, screenshots are deleted immediately after use

-

listWindows- Lists all approved application windows available for screenshot capture.

takeScreenshot- Captures a screenshot of a specific window by its ID.

- Captures windows in background- no need to bring window to front, but cannot capture minimized windows
- Provides actual pixel data- full-fidelity image, not OCR or text extraction
- JPEG compression with configurable cap- screenshots are always JPEG-compressed with a base64 payload cap (default preset:Medium / 250KB), configurable and clamped to100–900KB

- screeny://info- Server information and configuration details
- Open Claude settings → Developer → Edit Config
- Add configuration
- Restart Claude Desktopafter saving config

First install with:pipx install mcp-server-screeny

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

Note:If you get anENOENTerror, replace"mcp-server-screeny"with the full path to the executable (find it withwhich mcp-server-screenyin your terminal).

{ "mcpServers": { "screeny": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-screeny"] } } }

Note:If you get a "spawn uvx ENOENT" error, replace"uvx"with the full path to uvx:

Then use that full path in the config (e.g.,"/opt/homebrew/bin/uvx").
- Open Cursor settings → Tools & Integrations → MCP Tools
- Add configuration
- Restart Cursorafter saving config

First install with:pipx install mcp-server-screeny

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

Note:If you get anENOENTerror, replace"mcp-server-screeny"with the full path to the executable (find it withwhich mcp-server-screenyin your terminal).

{ "mcpServers": { "screeny": { "command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-screeny"] } } }

Note:If you get a "spawn uvx ENOENT" error, replace"uvx"with the full path to uvx:

Then use that full path in the config (e.g.,"/opt/homebrew/bin/uvx").

- Cursor auto context summarization can trigger looping tool calls (repeated screenshots).
- If this happens, lower the KB cap (use a smaller preset) or choose a model with a larger context window.

1. Grant Screen Capture Permission (Required)

Important:Grant permission before running window approval.

Note: You need to grant Screen Capture permission to BOTH:
- Your Terminal application(Terminal.app, iTerm2, etc.) - Required for running setup (can be disabled after)
- Your MCP host(Claude Desktop, Cursor) - Required for taking screenshots
- OpenSystem Settings>Privacy & Security>Screen & System Audio Recording
- Click the"+"button
- Add your Terminal application AND your MCP host application
- Restart both applicationsafter granting permissions

After configuring your MCP client above, approve which windows can be captured.

# Interactive approval mcp-server-screeny --setup # Auto-approve all current windows mcp-server-screeny --setup --allow-all

# Interactive approval uvx mcp-server-screeny --setup # Auto-approve all current windows uvx mcp-server-screeny --setup --allow-all

Approvals are saved to~/.screeny/approved_windows.json. Re-run setup when you want to update the list of approved windows.

During setup, you can configure the screenshot size preset (affects stability and clarity):

- Tiny (50KB)— most stable; fine text will blur
- Small (100KB)— recommended default; balanced clarity and stability
- Medium (250KB)— more detail; may be slower and heavier
- Large (500KB)— high detail; may trigger client summarization
- XL (750KB)— maximum detail; most error-prone

Your choice is saved in~/.screeny/config.jsonasmax_b64_kb. You can also override via theSCREENY_MAX_B64_KBenvironment variable. The active cap is clamped to100–900KB.

- Only user-approved windows can be captured
- All processing stays local on your machine
- Screenshots are temporary and deleted immediately after use

# Test window detection and permissions mcp-server-screeny --debug # Re-run setup if windows changed mcp-server-screeny --setup

- Solution: Use the full path to uvx in your MCP config instead of just"uvx"
- Find path with:which uvx
- Example:"/opt/homebrew/bin/uvx"or"/usr/local/bin/uvx"

- Solution: Runmcp-server-screeny --setupfirst (oruvx mcp-server-screeny --setupif using uvx)

"Screen Recording permission required" or "No windows found"

- Solution: Grant Screen Recording permission in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Screen & System Audio Recording

- Click "+" button and manually add your MCP host (Claude Desktop, Cursor, etc.)
- Restart your MCP host application after granting permissions

Pull requests are welcome! Feel free to contribute new ideas, bug fixes, or enhancements.

This is my first MCP project - if you encounter any bugs, please open an issue and I'll do my best to fix them!

- Python 3.10+
- macOS
- Screen Capture permission

This is a web browser that enables your coding agent, such as Claude Code, to visit websites on your behalf and assist you in identifying bugs or creating UI test cases.

AI-powered live runtime debugging with Lightrun production context.

Run, debug, and triage tests via natural language across HyperExecute, Automation, SmartUI, and Accessibility on the TestMu AI cloud.

Understand, develop, and debug authorization policies in Oso Cloud.

A comprehensive proxy that combines multiple MCP servers into a single MCP. It provides discovery and management of tools, prompts, resources, and templates across servers, plus a playground for debugging when building MCP servers.

Proxyman MCP allows AI to inspect HTTP traffic, create debugging rules, and control Proxyman - all through natural language conversations.

Debug your remote Node.js and Next.js applications directly from your AI IDE like Cursor.

Live browser debugging for AI assistants — DOM, console, network via MCP.

Query live Mac system metrics, listening ports, and Claude Code and Codex session history.

Drives an Android emulator or a real device over adb: screenshots, UI hierarchy with true device-pixel coordinates, tap and type, app lifecycle, logcat, and Gradle builds and tests.

Interact with Android devices using the Android Debug Bridge (ADB).