Find specific text on screen and get its clickable coordinates. Like Ctrl+F for the entire screen. Returns matches with centerX/centerY for use with click_at.
AI agents call find_text_on_screen to retrieve information from Macos Control without modifying anything — typically the context-gathering step in research, monitoring, and reporting workflows, before the agent takes action elsewhere.
This tool queries the screen state to locate text and return coordinate data. It has no side effects, does not modify system state, execute code, delete data, or move money. It is purely informational, analogous to a search or lookup operation. The coordinates it returns are only useful to an agent if combined with separate click/action tools, but the find_text_on_screen tool itself performs no actions.
From the tool's definition Tool description states it 'Find specific text on screen and get its clickable coordinates' and 'Returns matches with centerX/centerY'.
Risk signalsBulk/mass operation — affects multiple targets
Documented attack patterns abuse exactly the kind of access find_text_on_screen 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 find_text_on_screen:
{
"version": "1",
"default": "deny",
"tools": {
"find_text_on_screen": {}
}
}find_text_on_screen is read-only, so it stays allowed — but everything else on the server is denied unless you say otherwise.
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Find specific text on screen and get its clickable coordinates. Like Ctrl+F for the entire screen. Returns matches with centerX/centerY for use with click_at. It is categorised as a Read tool in the Macos Control MCP Server, which means it retrieves data without modifying state.
Register the Macos Control MCP server in PolicyLayer and add a rule for find_text_on_screen: 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.
find_text_on_screen is a Read tool with low risk. Read-only tools are generally safe to allow by default.
Yes. Add a rate_limit block to the find_text_on_screen 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 find_text_on_screen. 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.
find_text_on_screen 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.