MCP server JCAppleScript

JCAppleScript

A Swift package for executing AppleScript from macOS applications, featuring a built-in MCP server that lets AI assistants control macOS apps through pre-built command shortcuts.

Overview

JCAppleScript provides three components:

1. JCAppleScript (library) - Core AppleScript execution engine
2. AppShortcuts (library) - Registry of pre-built AppleScript commands for popular macOS apps
3. jcas-mcp (executable) - MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for AI-driven app automation

Installation

Swift Package Manager

Add JCAppleScript to your Package.swift:

dependencies: [
    .package(url: "https://github.com/johnnyclem/JCAppleScript.git", from: "2.0.0")
]

Then add the targets you need:

.target(
    name: "YourTarget",
    dependencies: [
        "JCAppleScript",     // Core engine only
        "AppShortcuts",      // App command registry
    ]
)

Quick Start

Using the Core Engine

import JCAppleScript

let engine = AppleScriptEngine.shared

// Execute raw AppleScript
let result = try engine.execute("""
    tell application "Finder"
        display dialog "Hello from Swift!"
    end tell
""")

// Send a command to an application
let output = try engine.tell(application: "Music", command: "play")

// Execute a script file with variable substitution
let fileResult = try engine.executeFile(at: "/path/to/script.scpt", variables: ["Alice", "Hello!"])

// Execute JavaScript for Automation (JXA)
let jxa = try engine.execute("Application('Music').play()", language: .javaScript)

// Check syntax without executing
try engine.checkSyntax("tell application \"Finder\" to activate")

// All execution APIs also have async variants
let asyncResult = try await engine.execute("return 40 + 2")

When embedding untrusted values in script source, escape them first:

let userInput = "…"
let script = "display dialog \(AppleScriptString.quoted(userInput))"

Using App Shortcuts

import AppShortcuts

let registry = AppRegistry.shared

// Execute a pre-built command
let result = try registry.executeCommand("messages.send_message", arguments: [
    "recipient": "+15551234567",
    "message": "Hello from JCAppleScript!"
])

// Discover available commands
let commands = registry.commands(forApp: "Reminders")
for cmd in commands {
    print("\(cmd.id): \(cmd.name) - \(cmd.description)")
}

// Search across all apps
let results = registry.searchCommands("send")

Using the MCP Server

The jcas-mcp executable is a Model Context Protocol server that AI assistants (Claude, GPT, etc.) can use to control macOS applications.

It is published to the official MCP registry as io.github.johnnyclem/jcas-mcp, and each GitHub release ships a prebuilt jcas-mcp.mcpb bundle (universal macOS binary) that can be installed directly in Claude Desktop via Settings → Extensions.

Setup with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "applescript": {
      "command": "/path/to/jcas-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Build the server:

swift build -c release
# Binary at: .build/release/jcas-mcp

Available MCP Tools

Tool	Description
execute_applescript	Execute arbitrary AppleScript code †
execute_jxa	Execute JavaScript for Automation (JXA) code †
tell_application	Send a command to a specific app via tell block †
check_script_syntax	Compile a script (AppleScript or JXA) without executing it
list_running_applications	Get currently running applications
list_registered_apps	Browse all registered app command sheets
search_commands	Search for commands by keyword
run_app_command	Execute a pre-built command by ID
preview_app_command	Dry-run: show the exact script a command would execute
get_app_commands	Get detailed command info for a specific app

† Hidden and disabled when the server runs in safe mode (see below).

Server Configuration

Environment variable	Effect
JCAS_SAFE_MODE=1	Disables the arbitrary-code tools (execute_applescript, execute_jxa, tell_application) and registry commands flagged dangerous (e.g. terminal.run_command, safari.run_javascript). Only pre-built, sanitized registry commands remain available.
JCAS_APP_MANIFESTS=a.json:b.json	Colon-separated JSON manifest files with additional community app definitions to load at startup.

CLI flags: jcas-mcp --manifest prints the full registry as JSON, --version prints the server version, --help shows usage.

Example AI Interaction

User: "Send a message to John saying I'll be late"
AI uses tool: run_app_command
  command_id: "messages.send_message"
  arguments: { "recipient": "John", "message": "I'll be late" }

Supported Applications

JCAppleScript ships with command sheets for 12 built-in macOS apps:

App	Category	Commands	Examples
Messages	Communication	6	Send message, list chats, get participants
Mail	Communication	7	Compose email, search, check mail, list accounts
Reminders	Productivity	7	Create/complete/delete reminders, search, list
Calendar	Productivity	6	Create events, list today's events, upcoming
Notes	Productivity	8	Create/search/append notes, manage folders
Finder	System	12	File operations, folder contents, labels, trash
Safari	Internet	10	Open URLs, manage tabs, run JavaScript, get page content
Music	Media	13	Playback control, playlists, library search, ratings
Terminal	Development	8	Run commands, manage windows/tabs, profiles
System Settings	System	13	Dark mode, volume, notifications, dialogs, system info
Xcode	Development	20+	Open/build/run/test projects, schemes, build logs, debugging
Speech Recognition	System	3	Listen for spoken phrases via the system speech engine

Adding Custom App Support

Implement the ScriptableApp protocol to add support for any scriptable macOS app:

import AppShortcuts

struct MyApp: ScriptableApp {
    static let bundleIdentifier = "com.example.myapp"
    static let appName = "MyApp"
    static let description = "My custom application"
    static let category = AppCategory.productivity

    static let commands: [AppCommand] = [
        AppCommand(
            id: "myapp.do_thing",
            name: "Do Thing",
            description: "Performs the thing",
            parameters: [
                CommandParameter(name: "input", description: "The input value"),
            ]
        ) { args in
            let input = args["input", default: ""]
            return """
            tell application "MyApp"
                do thing with "\(input)"
            end tell
            """
        },
    ]
}

// Register at runtime
AppRegistry.shared.register(MyApp.self)

Community App Registry

JCAppleScript is designed to grow through community contributions. The app shortcut system uses a standard protocol (ScriptableApp) that makes it easy to:

• Add new applications - Implement ScriptableApp for any scriptable macOS app
• Extend existing apps - Submit new commands for already-registered apps
• Share command sheets - Export/import app definitions via JSON manifests

We're building a browsable registry (similar to npmjs.org) where you can:

• Browse applications and their supported AppleScript commands
• Submit new commands for existing apps
• Add entirely new applications to the registry
• Generate JSON manifests for integration with other tools

Exporting and Importing the Registry

// Export all registered apps as manifest JSON
let json = try AppRegistry.shared.exportManifestJSON()

// Import community app definitions from a JSON manifest.
// Manifest commands are declarative script templates with ${param}
// placeholders; argument values are sanitized before substitution.
try AppRegistry.shared.loadManifest(contentsOf: URL(fileURLWithPath: "community.json"))

Example manifest:

[
  {
    "name": "CoolApp",
    "bundleIdentifier": "com.example.coolapp",
    "description": "A community-contributed app",
    "category": "Productivity",
    "commands": [
      {
        "id": "coolapp.greet",
        "name": "Greet",
        "description": "Show a greeting",
        "script": "tell application \"CoolApp\"\n    greet \"${who}\"\nend tell",
        "parameters": [
          {"name": "who", "description": "Who to greet", "required": true, "type": "string"}
        ]
      }
    ]
  }
]

The MCP server loads extra manifests from the JCAS_APP_MANIFESTS environment variable at startup.

Security Model

Registry command arguments are sanitized before script generation:

• String, file-path, and date arguments are escaped (\, ", and control characters) so they cannot break out of AppleScript string literals.
• Integer and boolean arguments are strictly validated/normalized — malformed values are rejected at validation and fall back to declared defaults during generation.
• Values outside a parameter's allowedValues list are dropped.
• Arguments that don't correspond to a declared parameter are discarded.

Commands that execute caller-supplied code (Terminal shell commands, Safari JavaScript) are flagged dangerous and can be disabled wholesale with JCAS_SAFE_MODE=1. Use the preview_app_command tool to inspect the exact script a command will run before executing it.

Note that execute_applescript, execute_jxa, and tell_application execute arbitrary code by design — only expose them to clients you trust, or run the server in safe mode.

Architecture

JCAppleScript/
├── Sources/
│   ├── JCAppleScript/           # Core engine
│   │   ├── AppleScriptEngine.swift
│   │   ├── AppleScriptSanitizer.swift
│   │   ├── ScriptResult.swift
│   │   └── ScriptError.swift
│   ├── AppShortcuts/            # App command registry
│   │   ├── AppProtocol.swift    # ScriptableApp protocol
│   │   ├── AppCommand.swift     # Command & parameter types + sanitization
│   │   ├── AppDefinition.swift  # Instance-based app description
│   │   ├── AppManifest.swift    # JSON import/export
│   │   ├── AppRegistry.swift    # Central registry
│   │   └── Apps/                # Built-in app sheets
│   │       ├── MessagesApp.swift
│   │       ├── RemindersApp.swift
│   │       ├── FinderApp.swift
│   │       ├── SafariApp.swift
│   │       ├── MailApp.swift
│   │       ├── CalendarApp.swift
│   │       ├── NotesApp.swift
│   │       ├── MusicApp.swift
│   │       ├── TerminalApp.swift
│   │       └── SystemSettingsApp.swift
│   └── JCAppleScriptMCP/       # MCP server
│       ├── main.swift
│       ├── MCPServer.swift
│       ├── MCPTransport.swift
│       └── MCPTypes.swift
├── Tests/
├── Legacy/                      # Original Obj-C implementation
├── Package.swift
└── LICENSE

Requirements

• macOS 13.0+
• Swift 5.9+

Legacy

The original Objective-C implementation (2013) is preserved in the Legacy/ directory for reference. It provided basic NSAppleScript wrapping with variable substitution. The new Swift implementation builds on those concepts while adding the MCP server, app registry, and modern Swift patterns.

License

MIT License - Copyright (c) 2013 John Clem. See LICENSE for details.