CLI

Not every agent loop supports MCP. If your agent can call CLI commands, it can use TapKit. The CLI gives you the same gestures, screenshots, and device controls — just as shell commands instead of tool calls.

Install

npm
Native Installer
Homebrew

npm install -g tapkit

curl -fsSL https://tapkit.ai/install.sh | bash

brew install tapkit

Authenticate

OAuth
API Key

tapkit auth login

This opens your browser to sign in. The token is cached locally for future sessions.

tapkit auth login --api-key your-api-key

Generate an API key from the TapKit dashboard. The key is cached locally just like the OAuth token.

Quick check

tapkit status      # verify auth + phone connection
tapkit phones      # list connected phones
tapkit screenshot  # grab the current screen

Available commands

Gestures

Command	Description
`tapkit tap <x> <y>`	Tap at coordinates
`tapkit double-tap <x> <y>`	Double tap
`tapkit hold <x> <y>`	Long press
`tapkit swipe <direction>`	Swipe up/down/left/right
`tapkit drag <x1> <y1> <x2> <y2>`	Drag between points

Input

Command	Description
`tapkit type <text>`	Type into focused field
`tapkit escape`	Dismiss keyboard or alert

Device

Command	Description
`tapkit home`	Press home button
`tapkit open <app>`	Launch app by name
`tapkit spotlight [query]`	Open Spotlight search
`tapkit siri`	Activate Siri
`tapkit lock` / `unlock`	Lock or unlock device
`tapkit volume up` / `down`	Volume control
`tapkit shortcut <name>`	Run a Shortcut

Screenshots

Command	Description
`tapkit screenshot`	Capture phone screen
`tapkit screenshot --open`	Capture and open in Preview
`tapkit screenshot --base64`	Output as base64 (for LLMs)
`tapkit screenshot --llm`	Output optimized for LLM consumption

Phone management

Command	Description
`tapkit phones`	List connected phones
`tapkit phone set <name>`	Set active phone
`tapkit phone`	Show active phone + status

How it works

The CLI talks to the TapKit Mac app running on your machine. The Mac app executes commands on the connected iPhone. You don’t need a server — everything runs locally. For the full CLI reference including configuration and setup, see the CLI tab.

Getting Started

Anthropic

OpenAI

Everywhere Else

Install

Authenticate

Quick check

Available commands

Gestures

Input

Device

Screenshots

Phone management

How it works

​Install

​Authenticate

​Quick check

​Available commands

​Gestures

​Input

​Device

​Screenshots

​Phone management

​How it works

Install

Authenticate

Quick check

Available commands

Gestures

Input

Device

Screenshots

Phone management

How it works