thunder-eye

Thunder Eye

AI gets eyes into desktop apps.

An MCP server that gives AI coding agents (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf) visual perception of running desktop applications.
Auto-detects the framework, captures screenshots, inspects UI trees, and finds elements — so the AI can actually see what you see.

Install

npm install -g thunder-eye

Or clone and build locally:

git clone https://github.com/Orellius/thunder-eye.git
cd thunder-eye
npm install
npm run build

Supported Frameworks

Framework	Screenshot	UI Inspection	Element Finding
Electron (VS Code, Discord, Figma)	CDP	Accessibility Tree	Yes
Tauri (Thunder, CrabNebula)	CDP / Native	Accessibility Tree	Yes
Flutter	Native	DevTools (planned)	Planned
Qt (OBS, VLC)	Native	AT-SPI (planned)	Planned
GTK (GIMP, Inkscape)	Native	AT-SPI (planned)	Planned
SwiftUI / AppKit	Native	macOS Accessibility	Yes
Any other app	Native	—	—

Quick Start

With Claude Code

claude mcp add thunder-eye node ~/path/to/thunder-eye/dist/index.js

With Cursor / VS Code

Add to your MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "thunder-eye": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/thunder-eye/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools

screenshot

Capture a screenshot of any running desktop app. The AI can analyze it visually.

"Take a look at the app" → AI captures screenshot → "I can see the button is misaligned..."

detect_app

Auto-detect what desktop apps are running and their frameworks.

inspect_ui

Get the accessibility tree / component hierarchy without a screenshot.

find_element

Search for UI elements by text or role.

get_window_info

Get window dimensions, position, and framework info.

list_windows

List all visible app windows.

How It Works

Thunder Eye uses a layered detection strategy:

• Chromium DevTools Protocol (CDP) — For Electron, Tauri, CEF, and other Chromium-based apps. Highest fidelity screenshots and full DOM/accessibility tree access.
• OS Accessibility APIs — For native apps (SwiftUI, AppKit, Qt). Uses macOS Accessibility framework or Linux AT-SPI.
• Native screencapture — Universal fallback. Works with any app on any framework.

Requirements

• macOS: Accessibility permissions must be granted in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
• Linux: wmctrl or xdotool for window management, import (ImageMagick) for screenshots
• Windows: PowerShell 5.1+ (built-in), .NET Framework for UI Automation
• Node.js: 18+

Built with care by Orellius.ai
Part of the Thunder ecosystem — the AI-powered multi-agent coding orchestrator.

Website · Thunder · Thunder Thinking · Thunder Eye

License

MIT — use it however you want.