A CLI for driving Mac applications via the Accessibility API. Designed for automated testing and AI agent control.
All commands output JSON to stdout, except screenshot which outputs PNG to stdout unless -o/--output is provided.
Errors go to stderr and return a non-zero exit code.
{"ok": true, "data": ...}
{"ok": false, "error": "message"}
steve apps
steve focus "AppName"
steve focus --pid 1234
steve focus --bundle "com.example.app"
steve launch "com.example.app" --wait
steve quit "AppName" --force
steve elements
steve elements --depth 5
steve elements --window "Settings"
steve find "Button"
steve find --title "Submit"
steve find --text "Dictation Mode"
steve find --text "Dictation Mode" --window "Settings" --ancestor-role AXRow --click
steve find --role AXButton --title "OK"
steve find --identifier "loginButton"
steve element-at 100 200
steve click "ax://1234/0.2.5"
steve click --title "Submit"
steve click --text "Dictation Mode"
steve click --window "Settings" --text "Dictation Mode"
steve click-at 100 200 --double
steve type "hello world" --delay 50
steve key cmd+shift+p
steve key f12
steve key fn+f12
steve key --raw 122
steve key --list
steve set-value "ax://1234/0.1" "new text"
steve scroll down --amount 5
steve scroll --element "ax://1234/0.4" up
--textmatches visible text viaAXValue,AXDescription, andAXStaticTexttitle (case-insensitive substring).--window "Title"scopesfind,elements, andclickto a specific window title.--ancestor-role AXRow|AXCell|AXButton --clickclicks the nearest ancestor role after a text match.
steve exists --title "Welcome"
steve exists --text "Ready" --window "Settings"
steve wait --title "Results" --timeout 5
steve wait --title "Loading..." --gone --timeout 10
steve wait --text "Loading..." --window "Settings" --timeout 10
steve assert --title "Submit" --enabled
steve assert --title "Checkbox" --checked
steve assert --title "Input" --value "expected text"
steve windows
steve window focus "ax://win/123"
steve window resize "ax://win/123" 800 600
steve window move "ax://win/123" 100 100
steve menus
steve menu "File" "New"
steve menu --contains --case-insensitive "settings..."
steve menu --list "File"
steve statusbar --list
steve statusbar "Wi-Fi"
steve statusbar --menu --contains "Battery"
steve screenshot
steve screenshot --app "AppName" -o screenshot.png
steve screenshot --element "ax://1234/0.2" -o element.png
--app "Name"
--pid 1234
--bundle "id"
--timeout 5
--verbose
--quiet
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 0 | Success |
| 1 | Element not found |
| 2 | App not found / not running |
| 3 | Timeout |
| 4 | Permission denied (accessibility) |
| 5 | Invalid arguments |
- Coordinates are in screen space (0,0 = top-left of main display). Multiple monitors extend rightward/downward.
- Element IDs are stable within a session but not across app restarts.
swift build -c release
MIT