MCPMate

A native Swift & SwiftUI macOS application for managing MCP (Model Context Protocol) servers with system tray integration.

✨ Features

• 🖥️ Native macOS App: Built with Swift 5.0 and SwiftUI
• 📋 System Tray Menu: Complete menu bar integration with status indicators
• 🔄 Server Management: Real-time monitoring and control of MCP servers
• ⚡ Quick Actions: Start, stop, and refresh servers from the menu bar
• 🎯 Modern UI: Clean, minimal interface with SwiftUI components
• 📊 Status Monitoring: Live connection status and server count display
• 🔒 App Sandbox: Secure sandboxed environment
• 🎨 Material Design: Uses system materials and SF Symbols

🎯 Design Philosophy

"The best tool should be invisible"

MCPMate follows the core design philosophy: an excellent tool should blend seamlessly into the system, making it feel like a native feature rather than an external application.

Core principles

• 🌊 Seamless integration：Blend seamlessly into the macOS system, following Human Interface Guidelines
• 🧠 Minimal cognitive load：Users don't need to "switch mental modes," and the operation is intuitive and natural
• ⚡ Native experience：Use system fonts, colors, and icons, and support platform-specific interactions
• 👻 Low presence：The tool is powerful but has a low presence, like breathing naturally

Technical implementation philosophy

• 🏗️ Multi-platform native strategy：Choose native development over cross-platform solutions to achieve true platform integration
• 🔗 Decoupled architecture：Backend Rust + frontend native UI, laying the groundwork for future multi-platform expansion
• 🎨 Platform consistency：Maintain consistent functionality but adapt to the design and interaction habits of each platform

🏗️ System Tray Menu Features

Status Display

• Real-time connection status indicator
• Active server count display
• Connection health monitoring

Server Management

• Start/Stop individual servers
• Start/Stop all servers at once
• Real-time server status updates
• Port information display

Quick Actions

• Refresh servers (⌘R)
• Open configuration (⌘,)
• Toggle main window visibility
• Launch at login option

System Integration

• Background operation support
• Native macOS menu bar integration
• Keyboard shortcuts support
• About and Help sections

📋 Requirements

• macOS 13.0 or later
• Xcode 14.0 or later
• Swift 5.0

🚀 Getting Started

1. Open MCPMate.xcodeproj in Xcode
2. Select Mac as target device
3. Press ⌘R to build and run the application
4. Menu Bar: Look for the network icon in your menu bar
5. Main Window: Click "Show Window" from menu or launch normally

📁 Project Structure

MCPMate/
├── MCPMate.xcodeproj/          # Xcode project file
└── MCPMate/                    # Source code
    ├── MCPMate.swift           # App entry point with background support
    ├── MenuBarManager.swift    # System tray menu management
    ├── ContentView.swift       # Main window interface
    ├── MCPMate.entitlements    # App permissions
    ├── Assets.xcassets/        # App assets
    └── Preview Content/        # Preview assets

🔧 Technical Implementation

MCPMate.swift

• Main application entry point
• Background operation support (NSApp.setActivationPolicy(.accessory))
• Integration with MenuBarManager
• Window management and lifecycle

MenuBarManager.swift

• System status bar item management
• Dynamic menu generation with server status
• Action handlers for all menu operations
• Real-time status updates and menu refresh

ContentView.swift

• Main application window interface
• Server list display with status indicators
• Interactive server controls
• Integration with menu bar manager for status updates

⚙️ Configuration

• Bundle Identifier: io.mcpmate.app
• Deployment Target: macOS 13.0
• Architectures: Apple Silicon (arm64) and Intel (x86_64) — shipped as separate builds (no universal binary)
• Swift Version: 5.0

🎯 Usage Scenarios

Menu Bar Only Mode

• Launch the app to run in background
• Access all functionality via menu bar icon
• Minimal system resource usage
• Perfect for continuous server monitoring

Full Window Mode

• Open main window for detailed server management
• Interactive server controls and status display
• Visual server configuration and monitoring
• Ideal for setup and configuration tasks

🛠️ Development Notes

• The app supports both dock and menu-bar-only operation modes
• System tray integration follows macOS Human Interface Guidelines
• All menu actions are implemented with proper target-action patterns
• Real-time updates use SwiftUI's reactive data binding

📝 Future Enhancements

• Real MCP server integration
• Configuration file management
• Server logs viewing
• Custom server configurations
• Auto-start server management
• System notifications for server events

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Built with ❤️ using Swift & SwiftUI for efficient MCP server management on macOS.