peekaboo

Capture and automate macOS UI with the Peekaboo CLI.

Peekaboo is a full macOS UI automation CLI: capture/inspect screens, target UI elements, drive input, and manage apps/windows/menus. Commands share a snapshot cache and support --json/-j for scripting. Run peekaboo or peekaboo <cmd> --help for flags; peekaboo --version prints build metadata. Tip: run via polter peekaboo to ensure fresh builds.

OpenClaw Bridge

The OpenClaw macOS app hosts Peekaboo Bridge at ~/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw/bridge.sock. Before running Peekaboo from OpenClaw, select that socket so the CLI uses the app's Screen Recording and Accessibility grants instead of starting its standalone daemon:

bash

export PEEKABOO_BRIDGE_SOCKET="${PEEKABOO_BRIDGE_SOCKET:-$HOME/Library/Application Support/OpenClaw/bridge.sock}"

Confirm routing with peekaboo bridge status --json; hostKind must be gui and the socket path must end in OpenClaw/bridge.sock.

Features (all CLI capabilities, excluding agent/MCP)

Core

• bridge: inspect Peekaboo Bridge host connectivity
• capture: live capture or video ingest + frame extraction
• clean: prune snapshot cache and temp files
• config: init/show/edit/validate, providers, models, credentials
• image: capture screenshots (screen/window/menu bar regions)
• learn: print the full agent guide + tool catalog
• list: apps, windows, screens, menubar, permissions
• permissions: check Screen Recording/Accessibility status
• run: execute .peekaboo.json scripts
• sleep: pause execution for a duration
• tools: list available tools with filtering/display options

Interaction

• click: target by ID/query/coords with smart waits
• drag: drag & drop across elements/coords/Dock
• hotkey: modifier combos like cmd,shift,t
• move: cursor positioning with optional smoothing
• paste: set clipboard -> paste -> restore
• press: special-key sequences with repeats
• scroll: directional scrolling (targeted + smooth)
• swipe: gesture-style drags between targets
• type: text + control keys (--clear, delays)

System

• app: launch/quit/relaunch/hide/unhide/switch/list apps
• clipboard: read/write clipboard (text/images/files)
• dialog: click/input/file/dismiss/list system dialogs
• dock: launch/right-click/hide/show/list Dock items
• menu: click/list application menus + menu extras
• menubar: list/click status bar items
• open: enhanced open with app targeting + JSON payloads
• space: list/switch/move-window (Spaces)
• visualizer: exercise Peekaboo visual feedback animations
• window: close/minimize/maximize/move/resize/focus/list

Vision

• see: annotated UI maps, snapshot IDs, optional analysis

Global runtime flags

• --json/-j, --verbose/-v, --log-level <level>
• --no-remote, --bridge-socket <path>

Quickstart (happy path)

bash

peekaboo permissions
peekaboo list apps --json
peekaboo see --annotate --path /tmp/peekaboo-see.png
peekaboo click --on B1
peekaboo type "Hello" --return

Common targeting parameters (most interaction commands)

• App/window: --app, --pid, --window-title, --window-id, --window-index
• Snapshot targeting: --snapshot (ID from see; defaults to latest)
• Element/coords: --on/--id (element ID), --coords x,y
• Focus control: --no-auto-focus, --space-switch, --bring-to-current-space, --focus-timeout-seconds, --focus-retry-count

Common capture parameters

• Output: --path, --format png|jpg, --retina
• Targeting: --mode screen|window|frontmost, --screen-index, --window-title, --window-id
• Analysis: --analyze "prompt", --annotate
• Capture engine: --capture-engine auto|classic|cg|modern|sckit

Common motion/typing parameters

• Timing: --duration (drag/swipe), --steps, --delay (type/scroll/press)
• Human-ish movement: --profile human|linear, --wpm (typing)
• Scroll: --direction up|down|left|right, --amount <ticks>, --smooth

Examples

See -> click -> type (most reliable flow)

bash

peekaboo see --app Safari --window-title "Login" --annotate --path /tmp/see.png
peekaboo click --on B3 --app Safari
peekaboo type "[e-mail]" --app Safari
peekaboo press tab --count 1 --app Safari
peekaboo type "supersecret" --app Safari --return

Target by window id

bash

peekaboo list windows --app "Visual Studio Code" --json
peekaboo click --window-id 12345 --coords 120,160
peekaboo type "Hello from Peekaboo" --window-id 12345

Capture screenshots + analyze

bash

peekaboo image --mode screen --screen-index 0 --retina --path /tmp/screen.png
peekaboo image --app Safari --window-title "Dashboard" --analyze "Summarize KPIs"
peekaboo see --mode screen --screen-index 0 --analyze "Summarize the dashboard"

Live capture (motion-aware)

bash

peekaboo capture live --mode region --region 100,100,800,600 --duration 30 \
  --active-fps 8 --idle-fps 2 --highlight-changes --path /tmp/capture

App + window management

bash

peekaboo app launch "Safari" --open https://example.com
peekaboo window focus --app Safari --window-title "Example"
peekaboo window set-bounds --app Safari --x 50 --y 50 --width 1200 --height 800
peekaboo app quit --app Safari

Menus, menubar, dock

bash

peekaboo menu click --app Safari --item "New Window"
peekaboo menu click --app TextEdit --path "Format > Font > Show Fonts"
peekaboo menu click-extra --title "WiFi"
peekaboo dock launch Safari
peekaboo menubar list --json

Mouse + gesture input

bash

peekaboo move 500,300 --smooth
peekaboo drag --from B1 --to T2
peekaboo swipe --from-coords 100,500 --to-coords 100,200 --duration 800
peekaboo scroll --direction down --amount 6 --smooth

Keyboard input

bash

peekaboo hotkey --keys "cmd,shift,t"
peekaboo press escape
peekaboo type "Line 1\nLine 2" --delay 10

Notes

• Requires Screen Recording + Accessibility permissions.
• In OpenClaw subprocesses, set PEEKABOO_BRIDGE_SOCKET as shown above. Do not pass --no-remote unless the calling process has its own Screen Recording grant.
• Diagnose subprocess capture failures with peekaboo bridge status --json, then peekaboo permissions status --json, then a normal Bridge-routed capture such as peekaboo image --mode screen --json.
• On macOS 15+, the "bypass private window picker" prompt is separate from the base Screen Recording grant; it can appear even when Bridge permissions are otherwise correct.
• Use peekaboo see --annotate to identify targets before clicking.