WinApp MCP — Playwright for Windows Desktop Apps

Capabilities

Why WinApp MCP

Built to cover every edge case in Windows desktop automation — from minimized windows to locked sessions.

55 Tools

Complete coverage — click, type, drag, form fill, screenshots, visual diff, grid access, event monitoring.

Fuzzy Search

Levenshtein-distance matching finds elements even with typos and partial names. No brittle selectors.

2-Tier Cache

Descendant cache (2s TTL) + window cache (30s TTL) with automatic invalidation for fast repeat lookups.

Works Minimized

WM_PRINT-based rendering captures screenshots even when the app is minimized or behind other windows.

Visual Testing

Annotated screenshots with bounding boxes, pixel-diff comparison, and token-aware resizing for LLMs.

All Frameworks

WinUI3, WPF, WinForms, Win32, Electron, UWP — if it runs on Windows, WinApp MCP can automate it.

Locked Sessions

UIA pattern fallback keeps working even when the desktop is locked. Reports available operations.

Event Monitoring

Subscribe to focus, structure, and property change events. Watch UI state changes in real-time.

Multi-Client

One server, many clients. Works with VS Code Copilot, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and Cline.

Reference

All 55 Tools

Organized into 10+ categories, covering the full spectrum of Windows UI automation.

App Lifecycle 5

launch_app Launch by path
attach_to_app Attach by name
attach_to_pid Attach by PID
close_app Close tracked app
list_apps List tracked apps

Discovery 7

list_windows App windows
list_desktop_windows All windows
get_snapshot UI tree
get_focused_element Focused element
find_elements Filter search
find_all_elements All matches
find_elements_fuzzy Fuzzy match

Read & Inspect 5

read_element Properties
read_element_by_index By index
get_element_bounds Bounds rect
element_exists Bool check
get_all_values All values

Click & Interact 8

click_element Click by id/name
double_click_element Double-click
right_click_element Right-click
click_at_coordinates Screen coords
invoke_element UIA invoke
select_option Dropdown select
expand_collapse_element Tree toggle
drag_element Drag & drop

Input 4

type_text Type into field
press_key Single key
press_key_combo Key combo
fill_form Batch fill

Wait & Sync 4

wait_for_element Appear wait
wait_for_condition Property wait
wait_for_input_idle Input idle
release_all Release keys

Screenshots & Visual 5

take_screenshot Capture PNG
take_screenshot_optimized LLM-sized
annotate_screenshot Bounding boxes
screenshot_diff Pixel diff
get_tree_hash Change detect

HWND Multi-Window 3

click_element_hwnd Click by handle
set_value_hwnd Set by handle
get_snapshot_hwnd Snapshot handle

Advanced Patterns 6

get_grid_item DataGrid cell
find_item_by_property Container find
scroll_into_view Scroll visible
realize_virtualized_item Load virtual
scroll_element Scroll within
invalidate_cache Clear cache

Event Monitoring 3

start_event_monitor Start watch
stop_event_monitor Stop watch
get_event_log Read events

Session Management 5

restore_window Restore minimized
check_session_status Session check
get_clipboard Read clipboard
hover_element Mouse hover
set_element_value Set value

Get Started

Install Anywhere

One MCP server, multiple install methods. Pick your AI client.

VS Code + Copilot Recommended

Install from the VS Code Marketplace. Copilot auto-discovers the MCP server.

ext install BrijesharunG.winapp-mcp

npm / npx Universal

Run the server directly via npx — works with any MCP client.

npx winapp-mcp

Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude config file:

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

Cursor

Add to .cursor/mcp.json:

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

Windsurf

Add to ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json:

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

VSIX (Offline)

Download the .vsix file from GitHub Releases:

code --install-extension winapp-mcp-2.0.0.vsix

Benchmarks

How It Compares

Side-by-side with other Windows desktop MCP servers.

Feature	WinApp MCP	Windows-MCP	uiautomation-mcp
Tools	55	~15	39
UIA Library	FlaUI	FlaUI	Raw COM
Caching	✓ 2-tier	✗	✗
Fuzzy Search	✓	✗	✗
HWND Targeting	✓ Full	✗	Partial
Event Monitoring	✓ 3 types	✗	Focus only
Grid Pattern	✓	✗	✓
Virtualization	✓	✗	✗
Screenshot Diff	✓	✗	✗
Batch Form Fill	✓	✗	✗
Token-aware Screenshots	✓	✗	✗
Drag & Drop	✓	✗	✗
Minimized App Support	✓	✗	✗
Locked Session	✓	✗	✗
VS Code Extension	✓	✗	✗
npm Package	✓	✗	✗
Multi-Client	✓ 5+	VS Code only	✗

Playwright for Windows Desktop Apps