macOS Notifier MCP server

Apple Notifier MCP Server enables native macOS notifications and system dialog interactions through any MCP-compatible client such as Claude Desktop or Cline. It allows your AI assistant to display notifications, show interactive prompts, use text-to-speech, take screenshots, and open file pickers directly from within your macOS environment.

Prerequisites

• macOS
• Node.js >= 18
• An MCP-compatible client (Claude Desktop, Cline)

Installation

Installing via Smithery

To install Apple Notifier for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install apple-notifier-mcp --client claude

Manual Installation

1. Install the package globally:

npm install -g apple-notifier-mcp

2. Add to your MCP configuration file:

For Cline (cline_mcp_settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-notifier": {
      "command": "apple-notifier-mcp"
    }
  }
}

For Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apple-notifier": {
      "command": "apple-notifier-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Features and Usage

Send Notifications

Display native macOS notifications with customizable content.

await client.use_mcp_tool("apple-notifier", "send_notification", {
  title: "Hello",
  message: "World",
  subtitle: "Optional subtitle",
  sound: true
});

Parameters:

• title (required): string - The title of the notification
• message (required): string - The main message content
• subtitle (optional): string - A subtitle to display
• sound (optional): boolean - Whether to play the default notification sound (default: true)

Display Prompts

Show interactive dialog prompts to get user input.

const result = await client.use_mcp_tool("apple-notifier", "prompt_user", {
  message: "What's your name?",
  defaultAnswer: "John Doe",
  buttons: ["OK", "Cancel"]
});

Parameters:

• message (required): string - Text to display in the prompt dialog
• defaultAnswer (optional): string - Default text to pre-fill
• buttons (optional): string[] - Custom button labels (max 3)
• icon (optional): 'note' | 'stop' | 'caution' - Icon to display

Text-to-Speech

Use macOS text-to-speech capabilities.

await client.use_mcp_tool("apple-notifier", "speak", {
  text: "Hello, world!",
  voice: "Samantha",
  rate: -20
});

Parameters:

• text (required): string - Text to speak
• voice (optional): string - Voice to use (defaults to system voice)
• rate (optional): number - Speech rate (-50 to 50, defaults to 0)

Take Screenshots

Capture screenshots using macOS screencapture.

await client.use_mcp_tool("apple-notifier", "take_screenshot", {
  path: "screenshot.png",
  type: "window",
  format: "png"
});

Parameters:

• path (required): string - Path where to save the screenshot
• type (required): 'fullscreen' | 'window' | 'selection' - Type of screenshot
• format (optional): 'png' | 'jpg' | 'pdf' | 'tiff' - Image format
• hideCursor (optional): boolean - Whether to hide the cursor
• shadow (optional): boolean - Whether to include window shadow (only for window type)
• timestamp (optional): boolean - Add timestamp to filename

File Selection

Open native macOS file picker dialog.

const files = await client.use_mcp_tool("apple-notifier", "select_file", {
  prompt: "Select images",
  fileTypes: {
    "public.image": ["png", "jpg", "jpeg"]
  },
  multiple: true
});

Parameters:

• prompt (optional): string - Prompt message
• defaultLocation (optional): string - Default directory path
• fileTypes (optional): object - File type filter (e.g., {"public.image": ["png", "jpg"]})
• multiple (optional): boolean - Allow multiple file selection

How to add this MCP server to Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > MCP and click "Add new global MCP server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "cursor-rules-mcp": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "cursor-rules-mcp"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explictly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.