Setup & Installation
openclaw skills install @kekejun/mac-use
Or with the ClawHub CLI, for registry-managed skill folders outside a full OpenClaw workspace:
npx clawhub install mac-use
What This Skill Does
Controls macOS GUI applications through a screenshot-then-interact loop. Takes annotated screenshots using Apple Vision OCR to detect and number text elements, then clicks, types, scrolls, or presses keys based on what's visible on screen. Works with any app that has a graphical interface.
Unlike AppleScript or accessibility APIs, this works on any app regardless of whether it exposes automation hooks, since it operates purely on what's visible on screen.
When to use it
- Automating repetitive clicks in desktop apps without scripting APIs
- Filling out forms in apps that lack command-line access
- Navigating WeChat mini-programs or other sandboxed GUI environments
- Scraping data visible on screen from apps with no export option
- Testing desktop app UI flows end-to-end
Example Workflow
Here's how your AI assistant might use this skill in practice.
INPUT
User asks: open Safari, go to example.com, and click the first link
AGENT
- 1Run `open -a Safari` and wait 2 seconds
- 2Run screenshot command on Safari, read annotated image at /tmp/mac_use.png and element list JSON
- 3Identify address bar element number from OCR output, click it with clicknum
- 4Type the URL and press return key, wait for page to load
- 5Screenshot again, identify first link by element number, click it with clicknum
OUTPUT
Safari navigates to example.com and opens the first link on the page