High Risk →

ax_press

Find a UI element by title and press/click it via accessibility

How to control ax_press ↓

What ax_press does on ScreenHand

AI agents invoke ax_press to trigger actions in ScreenHand. What it does depends on the arguments the agent supplies, and its effects often reach beyond the immediate call — builds kicked off, notifications sent, workflows started.

High Risk

Why ax_press needs a policy

This tool performs native UI actions (press/click) on desktop application elements found by title. An AI agent could misuse it to click arbitrary buttons, confirm dialogs, trigger destructive actions, or interact with sensitive UI controls across any running application. It is Execute because the effect depends entirely on which element is targeted.

From the tool's definition 'press/click it via accessibility' — triggers UI interaction by activating UI elements via Accessibility APIs

Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access ax_press gives an agent:

How to control ax_press

PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and ScreenHand, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for ax_press:

policy.json
{
  "version": "1",
  "default": "deny",
  "tools": {
    "ax_press": {
      "limits": [
        {
          "counter": "ax_press_rate",
          "window": "minute",
          "max": 10,
          "scope": "grant"
        }
      ]
    }
  }
}

ax_press stays usable, but rate-capped — a runaway agent can't fire it dozens of times a minute. Everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.

  1. Create a free account and register ScreenHand — nothing to install.
  2. Add this policy — paste it, or build it visually.
  3. Point your MCP client (Claude, Cursor, anything) at your gateway URL.
RATE-LIMIT THIS TOOL →

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Related tools and policies

Go deeper

Questions about ax_press

What does the ax_press tool do? +

Find a UI element by title and press/click it via accessibility. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the ScreenHand MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.

How do I enforce a policy on ax_press? +

Register the ScreenHand MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for ax_press: allow, deny, rate-limit, or require approval. Point your MCP client at the PolicyLayer proxy URL and the rule is enforced on every call, before it reaches ScreenHand. Nothing to install.

What risk level is ax_press? +

ax_press is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.

Can I rate-limit ax_press? +

Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the ax_press rule in your PolicyLayer policy. For example, setting max: 10 and window: 60 limits the tool to 10 calls per minute. Rate limits are tracked per agent session and reset automatically.

How do I block ax_press completely? +

Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for ax_press. The AI agent will receive a policy violation error and cannot call the tool. You can also include a reason field to explain why the tool is blocked.

What MCP server provides ax_press? +

ax_press is provided by the ScreenHand MCP server (manushi4/screenhand). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.

Enforce policy on every ScreenHand tool call.

Start from ScreenHand, add the rest of your stack, and see everything your agents can call. Then put policy on all of it.

Free to start. No card required.

89 ScreenHand tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.

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