Apple-MCPs is a collection of Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers for AI agents, with the goal of letting AI clients use Apple apps and macOS tools locally, such as creating reminders, sending messages, viewing calendars, searching mail, managing files, and getting directions.
Main capabilities and composition It provides two types of servers: one is the unified server Apple-Tools-MCP, which integrates ten apps and tools—Mail, Calendar, Reminders, Messages, Contacts, Notes, Shortcuts, Files, System, and Maps—and includes saved defaults, contact routing, mail thread assistance, undo, briefings, and cross-app workflows; the other type is streamlined servers for a single app, such as apple-mcp-mail and apple-calendar-mcp, which can expose fewer apps to the client.
How to use Requires Python 3.11+ and macOS, uses the MCP specification and Python SDK 2.x, supports older client protocol versions, MIT license. First install uv, then register the unified server with the client; other stdio clients can run uvx apple-tools-mcp directly to start, and standalone servers work the same way. After installation or upgrade, restart the client. Claude Desktop can download the .mcpb package from Releases and install it by double-clicking.
Permissions and security settings App-level security modes and directories must be set in the client environment variables: explicitly invalid or blank settings will select safe_readonly, and if unset, the defaults for each domain are retained. Mail attachments are disabled until APPLE_MAIL_MCP_ALLOWED_ATTACHMENT_ROOT is set; the Files tool can only access APPLE_FILES_MCP_ALLOWED_ROOTS, and macOS may have additional restrictions. The unified server provides apple_health, apple_permission_guide, and apple_recheck_permissions; permissions must be approved by the user in macOS pop-ups or System Settings.
Tool discovery and usage points tools/list returns the schema and read/write annotations for each tool; search_tools can be used to search names,descriptions, and aliases, and get_tool_info can be used to view a single tool's schema and examples. Before sending a message, the recipient should be resolved through Contacts unless an accurate address is already available; for mail threads, mail_get_thread, mail_reply_latest_in_thread, and mail_archive_thread can be used, and when a sender identity needs to be specified, pass the exact sender email in from_account. Mail search requires a query term: sender, subject fragment, or *; Reminders' due_date requires a time zone offset, such as yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ss-08:00; when sending iMessage, omit service_name. The unified server also provides apple_generate_daily_briefing, apple_generate_weekly_briefing, and apple_triage_communications_task; clients that do not support prompts can use apple_list_prompts, apple_get_prompt, and the equivalent tools of the corresponding server. When calling from Python, you can use the metadata in generated/tool_catalogs/ and the wrappers in generated/tool_wrappers/python/.
Transport and storage state stdio is used by default; to use Streamable HTTP, set APPLE_<DOMAIN>_MCP_TRANSPORT=streamable-http and the corresponding _HOST and _PORT. HTTP must bind to 127.0.0.1, ::1, or localhost; the server has no remote authentication and rejects network and wildcard bindings, so do not expose it through tunnels or public proxies. Apple-Tools-MCP stores defaults in ~/.apple-tools-mcp/preferences.json, configurable via APPLE_AGENT_MCP_STATE_FILE; recent actions are stored in ~/.apple-tools-mcp/actions.json for auditing and undo. The uv workspace installs each server into .venv/bin, and each server directory also has start.sh.
Data boundaries and limitations The server runs on the user's Mac, but the MCP client may send returned data to its model provider, and Apple apps may also sync through iCloud or other accounts, so local execution does not mean the data stays local. For testing, smoke checks and an official conformance suite are provided; conformance mode registers test fixtures solely for protocol verification.
Use cases Suitable for users who want to let AI agents operate local capabilities on macOS such as Mail, Calendar, Reminders, Messages, Contacts, Notes, Shortcuts, Files, System, and Maps, as well as scenarios that require controlling the scope of exposure at the per-app granularity.
Information not yet provided Pricing and charging models, specific version numbers, performance data, and more use cases are not yet provided.
