Click a named UI element in an app window. Returns a screenshot by default (disable with return_screenshot=false). Use get_ui_elements to discover element names. Prefer batch_actions when combining with other actions.
AI agents invoke click_element to trigger actions in Macos Control. 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.
Clicking UI elements can trigger any arbitrary operation in any macOS application — opening files, submitting forms, deleting data, initiating purchases, etc. The actual effect depends entirely on which element is targeted, making this an Execute-category tool with high severity due to the broad blast radius of AI-driven UI automation across all running applications.
From the tool's definition 'Click a named UI element in an app window' — triggers UI interaction that executes arbitrary UI actions depending on which element is clicked
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access click_element gives an agent:
PolicyLayer is an MCP gateway — it sits between your AI agents and Macos Control, and nothing reaches the server without passing your rules. This is the rule we recommend for click_element:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"click_element": {
"limits": [
{
"counter": "click_element_rate",
"window": "minute",
"max": 10,
"scope": "grant"
}
]
}
}
}click_element 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.
Free to start. No card required.
Click a named UI element in an app window. Returns a screenshot by default (disable with return_screenshot=false). Use get_ui_elements to discover element names. Prefer batch_actions when combining with other actions. It is categorised as a Execute tool in the Macos Control MCP Server, which means it can trigger actions or run processes. Use rate limits and argument validation.
Register the Macos Control MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for click_element: 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 Macos Control. Nothing to install.
click_element is a Execute tool with high risk. Execute tools should be rate-limited and have argument validation enabled.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the click_element 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.
Set action: deny in the PolicyLayer policy for click_element. 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.
click_element is provided by the Macos Control MCP server (peterhdd/macos-control-mcp). PolicyLayer sits as a proxy in front of this server to enforce policies before tool calls reach the server.
Start from Macos Control, 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.
22 Macos Control tools catalogued and risk-classified — across an index of 43,000+ MCP servers.