How do I connect Claude to my Mac apps?

To give Claude your Mac apps, you add a Mac app that hands them to it, and the question that decides which is how much of the setup you want to do yourself. If you want an app to do all of it, with no Terminal and no file to edit, look at Macuse or Pomeroy. If choosing an option from a menu is fine, iMCP writes the file for you; if a Terminal script is fine, LMCP is free; and apple-mcp, the one you set up by hand, is archived.

I built Pomeroy, so this is an interested party's map, and every fact about another tool was checked on 3 September 2026, with a comparison page here listing its sources.

How this list was put together

The list holds the five tools this site compares: Macuse, Pomeroy, iMCP, LMCP and apple-mcp. They are the Mac apps that give Claude your Apple apps, and each one has a comparison page with its facts and sources. The facts were checked on 3 September 2026.

The order is by the main route each tool's own instructions give, least effort first: an app that sets Claude up and asks you to approve, then a menu option that writes Claude's configuration file, then a script you run in Terminal, then a line you add to that file by hand. Macuse and Pomeroy share the first place and are listed alphabetically.

Every way to connect Claude to your Mac apps

• Macuse is a paid Mac app, $49 once, with a free plan of 100 tool calls a day on one connected client. You download the app, a bundle opens in Claude Desktop and asks you to approve the connection, and each app and each client is approved separately, through an Authorize or Deny sheet. It reads and writes nine Apple apps and sends mail and messages. Pick this if you want the setup done for you and want Claude able to act on your Mac, not only read it. Not for you if you want a tool that cannot send as you.
• Pomeroy, the one I built, is $19 once, free for 50 actions a week with no account or card. You open the app, switch on the apps you want, and press Set up beside your AI assistant: there is no Terminal and no config file. It sets itself up in Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code, Codex, LM Studio, Kiro, Cherry Studio, Cline, AnythingLLM, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot CLI and OpenCode in one click, 24 assistants in all. Pick this if you want the setup done for you and want Claude to read your apps and never send. Not for you if you want Claude to send mail or messages, or you are on a Mac older than macOS 15.
• iMCP is free and open source under the MIT licence. You download the app or install the Homebrew cask, then choose Configure Claude Desktop from the menu bar; it writes the server into Claude Desktop's config file, and you restart Claude and approve the connection. It covers Calendar, Contacts, Location, Maps, Messages, Reminders, Shortcuts and Weather. Pick this if you want free and open source and a menu option is as far as you want to go. Not for you if you need Mail or Notes: iMCP has neither.
• LMCP is free, with a permanent licence key. Its install is an installer script run in Terminal, or the Mac app, and it configures Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code and other clients for you. It has 188+ tools across the Apple apps, Outlook, Microsoft 365, Teams, Slack, WhatsApp and more. Pick this if you want it free and a Terminal script does not bother you. Not for you if you would rather open an app than run an installer script.
• apple-mcp was free and MIT-licensed. You add a command to Claude Desktop's config file by hand, or run an installer, and the permissions are granted to whatever launched it, often the Terminal. It was archived on 1 January 2026 and is read-only: no fixes, no releases, no support for new macOS versions. Pick this only if you already have a working install and are planning the move. Not for you if you are setting up something new.

What to look for

Three questions decide between these, beyond who does the setup, and they apply to any tool this list does not name: who holds the macOS permissions, which assistants it connects, and which macOS it needs.

Who holds the permissions? In Pomeroy, a real app holds them, so macOS attributes each grant to Pomeroy, not to your Terminal, and no Full Disk Access is needed. Macuse approves each app and each client separately. With apple-mcp, the permissions are granted to whatever launched it, often the Terminal.

Which assistants? All five work with Claude Desktop. Macuse lists sixteen clients, Pomeroy sets itself up in 24, and iMCP and apple-mcp work with any client that runs a local command.

Which macOS? Macuse and LMCP run on macOS 13 or later, Apple silicon or Intel. Pomeroy needs macOS 15 or later and iMCP needs macOS 15.3 or later.

Do I need the Terminal to connect Claude to my Mac?

No, not with Macuse, Pomeroy or iMCP. Macuse and Pomeroy set Claude up from the app, and iMCP does it from its menu bar, with the Homebrew cask as an option rather than a requirement.

LMCP's primary install is a script in Terminal, though it also has a Mac app. apple-mcp means editing Claude Desktop's config file, and it is archived, so avoid it for a new setup.

Does it work with Claude Code as well as Claude Desktop?

With Pomeroy and Macuse, yes, both by name. Pomeroy's Set up runs Claude Code's own command to register itself for every project, and you start a new session for the tools to appear; Macuse lists Claude Code among its sixteen clients.

iMCP and apple-mcp work with any client that runs a local command, though iMCP's menu option is named Configure Claude Desktop. LMCP's list of clients, as checked, does not name Claude Code. The assistants page lists every assistant Pomeroy sets itself up in.

Can I connect claude.ai in a browser to my Mac apps?

Yes, with Macuse or LMCP, and not with Pomeroy or iMCP. Macuse reaches ChatGPT and claude.ai on the web through Remote Access, an embedded Tailscale node, and LMCP through an optional cloud relay that routes requests through LMCP's servers.

Pomeroy serves only the assistants on your Mac. There is no relay to switch on, which is a limit if you wanted one and the point if you did not. The privacy policy lists everything Pomeroy sends.

What can't Pomeroy do?

Pomeroy cannot send. There is no action in it that sends mail, a message or a reply, and none that deletes anything in any app. It never creates, edits or deletes a contact.

It cannot reach claude.ai or ChatGPT on the web, and it never asks for Accessibility, so it cannot click around an app for you. It runs on macOS 15 or later and nowhere else. It is an independent app, not made by Anthropic. If any of those is what you needed, Macuse or LMCP is your answer.

How to set it up

Setup is four steps: download Pomeroy from the download page and open it, switch on the apps you want and approve each macOS prompt, press Set up beside Claude, then ask Claude something. Everything starts switched off, and nothing is requested for an app you leave off.

In Claude Desktop, Set up opens Pomeroy's Claude extension and Claude asks to install it. Claude Desktop reads a new extension only after a full quit and reopen, so quit it and open it again. Then try:

• "What’s on my calendar today?"
• "Find the flight confirmation from March and tell me the times."
• "Find my note about the boiler pressure."

Which should you pick?

If you want Claude to act on your Mac, send mail and reply to messages, and you want the setup done for you, pick Macuse. It costs $49 once, and its free plan gives 100 tool calls a day on one connected client.

If you want it free and a Terminal script is fine, pick LMCP, especially if your work is also in Outlook, Teams or Slack. If you want free and open source and do not need Mail or Notes, pick iMCP, whose menu option writes the file for you.

If you still run apple-mcp, move before a macOS update forces you to. Any of the other four replaces it.

If you want an assistant that reads the Apple apps on your Mac and can never send as you, set up with one button, that is what I built Pomeroy for. It is free for 50 actions a week, and $19 once removes the limit, with a 14-day refund. Download it, or read the comparisons first.