Peekaboo

# Peekaboo 🫣 — Mac automation that sees the screen and does the clicks. [](https://github.com/openclaw/Peekaboo/actions/workflows/macos-ci.yml) [](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@steipete/peekaboo) [](https://github.com/openclaw/Peekaboo/releases/latest) [](docs/platform-support.md) [](https://swift.org/) [](https://nodejs.org/) [](LICENSE) [](https://github.com/steipete/homebrew-tap) [](https://deepwiki.com/openclaw/Peekaboo) Peekaboo is a macOS CLI and menu-bar app for screen capture, accessibility inspection, and native UI automation. Use it directly, let its agent plan multi-step work, or expose the same toolset to MCP clients.  ## Install The released CLI and app require macOS 15 or later. ### CLI with Homebrew ```sh brew install steipete/tap/peekaboo ``` ### MCP package with npm The npm package requires Node.js 22 or later and includes the CLI plus its MCP launcher. ```sh npx -y @steipete/peekaboo --version ``` See [MCP setup](docs/MCP.md) to connect it to Codex, Claude Code, Cursor, or another MCP client. ### Mac app Download the signed DMG from the [latest GitHub release](https://github.com/openclaw/Peekaboo/releases/latest). The menu-bar app provides permission onboarding, visual feedback, and agent sessions; install the CLI separately when you also need `peekaboo` on `PATH`. For source builds and alternative install details, see the [installation guide](docs/install.md). ## Quick start Check the permissions available to Peekaboo, then take a screenshot: ```sh peekaboo permissions status peekaboo see --no-elements --mode screen --path /tmp/peekaboo-screen.png ``` Screen capture requires Screen Recording permission. Accessibility permission enables UI inspection and control; the [permissions guide](docs/permissions.md) covers setup and the additional permission used for synthetic input. Inspect a running app to get a structured UI map with opaque element IDs: ```sh peekaboo see --app Finder --json ``` That is the core loop: observe the current screen, choose an element from the result, and act on it. ## What's new in 4.2.2 Peekaboo 4.2.2 adds exact-window background middle and triple clicks, restores editable TextEdit controls and minimized or off-Space targets, and makes Agent dry runs explain their requested and effective foreground authority. Keyboard, menu, window, and app actions refuse ambiguous targets, while bounded Accessibility work, Bridge handshake reuse, reliable SSH input, and explicitly signed deployment builds keep long-running automation predictable. ## Automate an app Target an element by its accessible label, then send text to the same app: ```sh peekaboo click "Address and search bar" --app Safari peekaboo type "github.com/openclaw/Peekaboo" --app Safari peekaboo press Return --app Safari --foreground ``` Targeted semantic and typed CLI input uses background delivery when Peekaboo can resolve the process, so the app does not have to become frontmost. Raw `press` chords can also stay background with a fresh exact non-dialog snapshot receipt; app/PID-only, window-selector-only under Agent/MCP policy, and targetless chords require explicit foreground consent. Prefer a semantic action such as `menu click` when one exists. See the [automation guide](docs/automation.md) for element IDs, coordinates, snapshots, waits, and input behavior. ## Agent and MCP The agent combines the same observation and action tools into a natural-language run: ```sh peekaboo agent "Open Safari, go to github.com, and search for Peekaboo" --allow-foreground ``` Agent runs need a configured model provider. See [agent setup](docs/commands/agent.md) for providers and sessions, or [MCP setup](docs/MCP.md) to expose Peekaboo's tools to another client. ## Command map | Goal | Commands | Guide | | --- | --- | --- | | Observe the desktop | `see`, `screen list`, `window list` | [Capture and inspection](docs/quickstart.md) | | Interact with UI | `click`, `type`, `press`, `scroll`, `drag`, `set-value`, `action` | [Automation](docs/automation.md) | | Control macOS | `app`, `window`, `menu`, `menubar`, `dock`, `dialog`, `space` | [Command reference](docs/commands/README.md) | | Run workflows | `agent`, `capture` | [Agent](docs/commands/agent.md) · [Capture](docs/commands/capture.md) | | Integrate with clients | `mcp`, `browser`, `tools` | [MCP](docs/MCP.md) | Run `peekaboo help <command>` for live CLI help. The [complete command index](docs/commands/README.md) links to flags, examples, and troubleshooting for every command. ## Configuration Peekaboo stores provider credentials and settings under `~/.peekaboo`. Use `peekaboo config` to inspect or change them, and consult the [configuration guide](docs/configuration.md) for profiles, environment variables, and custom providers. The [provider reference](docs/providers.md) covers hosted, compatible, and local model backends. Shell completions for zsh, bash, and fish come from `peekaboo completions`; see the [completion guide](docs/commands/completions.md) for persistent setup. ## Learn more - [Project direction](VISION.md) - [Platform support](docs/platform-support.md) - [Architecture](docs/ARCHITECTURE.md) - [Building from source](docs/building.md) - [Testing](docs/testing/tools.md) - [Agent chat loop](docs/agent-chat.md) - [Command reference](docs/cli-command-reference.md) ## Community - [PeekabooWin](https://github.com/FelixKruger/PeekabooWin) — Windows-first rewrite of the Peekaboo automation loop (JavaScript + PowerShell) by [@FelixKruger](https://github.com/FelixKruger) - [PeekabooX](https://github.com/nordbyte/PeekabooX) — Linux-first rewrite of the Peekaboo automation loop (Rust + Python) by [@nordbyte](https://github.com/nordbyte) ## Development Source builds require macOS 15 or later, Swift 6.2 or later, Node.js 22 or later, and the repository's submodules. ```sh pnpm install --frozen-lockfile pnpm run build:cli pnpm run lint:docs pnpm run test:safe ``` More build, signing, and test details live in [docs/building.md](docs/building.md). ## License MIT. See [LICENSE](LICENSE).