What is iPhone MCP?
iPhone MCP, by the developer Yev Spektor, drives a physical iPhone from a Mac by working the iPhone Mirroring window that Apple added in macOS Sequoia. It takes screenshots of that window, injects clicks, drags and scroll-wheel events to tap and swipe, types into the focused field through AppleScript, presses home, app switcher and Spotlight, and reads or sets the shared clipboard. There is no accessibility tree: the model looks at each screenshot and picks coordinates, helped by a labelled grid drawn over the image.
It is a TypeScript stdio server with 11 tools, MIT-licensed, at version 0.1.0 and about 5 GitHub stars. It needs macOS 15 or later, iOS 18 or later, Node.js 24, the same Apple Account on both devices and a USB-trusted iPhone, and the app that hosts it needs Accessibility and Screen Recording permission. The last code commit was on 7 March 2026 and there are no tagged releases.
How to install iPhone MCP
git clone https://github.com/yev-yev-yev/iphone-mcp.git && cd iphone-mcp && corepack enable && yarn install && yarn buildIs iPhone MCP worth it?
The idea is sound and the execution is lean. Earlier ways to automate a real iPhone run through Xcode, WebDriverAgent and a provisioning profile; this one only needs the iPhone Mirroring app that ships with macOS 15, so a first screenshot is a clone, yarn install, yarn build and a permissions check away. The grid overlay is its one original contribution: every screenshot carries labelled reference lines, and a get_coordinates tool turns 'between C and D, on F' into exact pixels, which the README credits with cutting mis-taps on small targets.
The security picture is the whole phone. Mirroring shows everything on the device, so an agent with these tools can open any app you could, read your messages and mail, send texts, approve purchases and change settings. There is no confirmation step, no allow-list of apps and no read-only mode; the README's own disclaimer lists unintended messages, deleted data and purchases, and says the tool is not built for unsupervised use. Screenshots go to whichever model provider your client uses, and the clipboard tools read and write the clipboard your Apple devices share.
Apple's limits shape where it works. iPhone Mirroring is not available in the European Union, needs a Mac with Apple silicon or a T2 chip, and only connects while the iPhone is locked and nearby; picking the phone up and opening it ends the session. The phone's camera and microphone are off while mirrored, so Face ID and calls do not work, and the iPhone records which Mac used it and for how long.
Maturity is the larger worry. The project has about 5 stars, no releases and no commits since March 2026, and the author notes that scrolls and swipes injected through macOS events can land wrongly. For repeatable app testing, simulators with XCUITest remain the dependable route; this server suits exploration and demos on a spare phone.
Where it earns its place
An iOS developer at a two-person app studio
Check a TestFlight build's sign-up flow on real hardware after each change
Ask the agent to walk through the onboarding screens and screenshot each step, then compare against the last build. Free to run; use a test phone signed in to a test Apple Account, not your own.
A QA contractor reviewing a client's app
Reproduce a bug report that only shows on a physical iPhone
Describe the steps; the agent taps through them and returns screenshots at each point. Gestures that need precise swipes may need retries, so keep a person watching the mirrored window.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Clone the repository, run corepack enable, yarn install and yarn build, then yarn doctor to check macOS version, permissions and USB connection; add dist/index.js to Claude Code or Claude Desktop. Grant Accessibility and Screen Recording to the host app.
- Integrations
- 11 tools: get_screen_info, screenshot, tap, long_press, swipe, scroll, type_text, press_button, get_clipboard, set_clipboard and get_coordinates. Settings via IPHONE_MCP_ environment variables.
- Data and privacy
- Runs locally over stdio and opens no network port. Screenshots of your phone go to your model provider; the clipboard tools touch the clipboard shared across your Apple devices. The agent can act in any app on the phone.
- Limits
- macOS 15+, iOS 18+, Node.js 24+, Apple silicon or T2 Mac; not available in the EU; phone must stay locked and nearby. Tested mainly with Claude Sonnet 4.5 and Claude Opus 4.6; no tagged releases.
What’s good
- No Xcode, WebDriverAgent or jailbreak
- Labelled grid makes vision taps far more precise
- 11 focused tools with a yarn doctor preflight
- Plain, candid disclaimer about the risks
What’s not
- Full control of the phone with no confirmation step
- Not available in the EU; macOS 15 and iOS 18 only
- Swipes and scrolls can misfire
- About 5 stars, no releases, quiet since March 2026
Best for
Mobile developers outside the EU who want an agent to poke around a real iPhone app on a spare test device they watch.
iPhone MCP alternatives
iPhone MCP: common questions
- Is iPhone MCP worth it?
- A clever, honest little proof that an agent can drive your iPhone through Apple's own mirroring, and a reason to think hard about which phone you hand it. We rate it 3.2 out of 5.
- How much does iPhone MCP cost?
- Free and open source (MIT).
- What are the downsides of iPhone MCP?
- Full control of the phone with no confirmation step; not available in the EU; macOS 15 and iOS 18 only; swipes and scrolls can misfire; about 5 stars, no releases, quiet since March 2026.
- Who is iPhone MCP best for?
- Mobile developers outside the EU who want an agent to poke around a real iPhone app on a spare test device they watch.
- Is iPhone MCP safe for company data?
- Runs locally over stdio and opens no network port. Screenshots of your phone go to your model provider; the clipboard tools touch the clipboard shared across your Apple devices. The agent can act in any app on the phone.
- What are the best iPhone MCP alternatives?
- The closest alternatives we have reviewed are agent-desktop and Munim Computer Use.
Answers checked Nov 13, 2026.