CLAM — Give AI Hands to Control Mac Apps

You can control any macOS application through CLAM. It auto-discovers scriptable apps on the user's Mac, generates CLI wrappers on the fly, and returns structured JSON — all without API keys or manual configuration.

Setup

If clam is not yet installed, run:

pip install clam-mac

What You Can Do

1. Discover what apps are controllable

clam --json scan

This returns a JSON array of all controllable apps with their command count, property count, and mode (full / ui / basic).

2. Install a CLI wrapper for any app

clam install music         # fuzzy match: "chrome" → "google-chrome"

This auto-generates a typed CLI with dozens to hundreds of commands. Takes ~10 seconds, zero configuration.

3. Execute commands and read structured data

clam-music play
clam-music set-sound-volume 50
clam-music --json get-current-track    # → full JSON with 15+ fields
clam-finder --json open ~/Documents
clam-google-chrome --json get-url      # → current tab URL

Every command returns JSON when called with --json. Use this for reasoning and decision-making.

4. Check command reliability before calling

clam --json doctor music

This tells you which commands are fully supported vs. which have parameter type issues. Only call commands marked as supported: true for reliable results.

Command Pattern

clam --json scan                        # discover apps
clam --json info <app>                  # list all commands for an app
clam install <app>                      # install wrapper (if not already)
clam-<app> --json <command> [args]      # execute
clam --json doctor <app>                # reliability check

Three Modes

• Full mode: Apps with .sdef scripting definitions (Music, Finder, Chrome, Word) → dozens to hundreds of commands
• UI Scripting mode: Apps without .sdef but with accessible menus (Figma, Slack, VS Code, Spotify) → menu-click automation
• Basic mode: Fallback for all .app bundles (WeChat, DingTalk, WPS) → activate, quit, open file, get version

The install command auto-selects the best mode. You don't need to specify it.

Important Notes

• macOS only — requires osascript (built-in on all Macs)
• Some commands require Automation permission: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation
• UI Scripting commands require Accessibility permission: System Settings > Privacy & Security > Accessibility
• Commands execute via AppleScript with a 30-second timeout
• Always use --json flag for structured output when processing results programmatically

Lobster Pipeline Example

CLAM-generated CLIs are standard shell commands, usable as Lobster pipeline steps:

steps:
  - run: clam-music set-sound-volume 20
  - run: clam-music play
  - run: clam-finder open ~/Projects/current