5 min read
Today, all 4 apps from the Proxyman team come with an MCP server and a command-line tool 🤖
- Proxyman : debug HTTP and HTTPS traffic.
- TinyShield : see and control which apps connect to the internet.
- TCP Viewer : capture and read network packets.
- Device MCP : mirror, control and test apps on real devices.
AI agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Cursor are now part of how many developers work. So we made each of our apps easy for an agent to use, and easy for you to script from the terminal.
This blog covers:
- Why MCP and a command line.
- What your agent can do with each app.
- The commands to add each app to Claude Code and Codex.
- The Proxyman skill for your agent.
MCP means Model Context Protocol. It's a standard way for an AI agent to use the tools on your computer. Every MCP server here runs on your Mac, inside the app. It's not a cloud API.
1. Why MCP and a command line? #
They are two doors to the same features:
- MCP is for AI agents. Your agent calls the app's tools directly: it reads the traffic, creates a rule or taps a button on an iPhone, then tells you what it found.
- The command line is for you and your scripts. Run the same actions from the terminal, a shell script or CI. Agents that prefer shell commands can use it too.
You stay in control: you turn MCP on in each app's settings, and nothing runs until you do.
2. Proxyman: debug HTTP(S) traffic #
Ask your agent: "Find the failing login request in Proxyman and explain why it returns 401."
With Proxyman MCP, your agent can read and filter flows, explain a request, export it as cURL, and create debugging rules such as Breakpoint, Map Local, Map Remote and Scripting. Turn on Redact Sensitive Data Before Sending to AI to hide headers, cookies, passwords and tokens before your agent sees a flow.
The command line is proxyman-cli. Install it from Help → Install 'proxyman-cli' Command in PATH:
proxyman-cli rules map-local create https://api.example.com/* --path ./response.json
proxyman-cli export-log -m all -o ~/Desktop/output --format har
Read more: Proxyman MCP and Command Line.
3. TinyShield: control which apps connect to the internet #
Ask your agent: "Which apps did TinyShield block in the last hour?"
With TinyShield MCP, your agent can see which apps connect where, allow or block the connections that wait in Require Approval, update the Block List and Allow List, and check bandwidth per app.
The command line is tinyshield-cli. TinyShield → Settings → MCP shows an alias to add to your shell profile, such as ~/.zshrc:
alias tinyshield='"/Applications/Tiny Shield.app/Contents/MacOS/tinyshield-cli"'
Then:
tinyshield apps --range 1h --status blocked
tinyshield bandwidth --timeframe week --app Safari
tinyshield block-list add ads.example.com
Turn both on in TinyShield → Settings → MCP → Enable MCP & Command Line.
4. TCP Viewer: read network packets #
Ask your agent: "Capture DNS traffic on en0 for 30 seconds and tell me which domains my Mac looked up."
With TCP Viewer MCP, your agent can start and stop a capture, query packets, follow a TCP stream, summarize a capture, and import or export pcap files.
The command line is tcpviewer-cli. brew install --cask tcp-viewer adds it to your PATH:
tcpviewer-cli capture start --interface en0 --bpf 'tcp port 443'
tcpviewer-cli packets list --protocol DNS --limit 25 --pretty
Read more: MCP and Command Line.
5. Device MCP: test your app on real devices #
Ask your agent: "Open my app on the iPhone, sign in with the test account, and check that the profile screen loads."
Device MCP mirrors iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches, Android phones, simulators and emulators on your Mac. Its MCP server lets your agent see the screen, tap, type, swipe, launch apps, set the GPS location and record a video, on several devices at once.
The command line is device-mcp-cli:
device-mcp-cli simulators start --model "iPhone 17 Pro" --launch
device-mcp-cli tap --text "Sign In"
device-mcp-cli location set 48.8584 2.2945
Read more: MCP and Command Line.
6. Add the apps to Claude Code and Codex #
First, turn on MCP in each app: open its Settings → MCP and turn on the MCP server. Then run one command per app in your terminal. These are the same commands the apps show in Settings → MCP.
Claude Code
claude mcp add proxyman --transport stdio -- "/Applications/Proxyman.app/Contents/MacOS/mcp-server"
claude mcp add --scope user tinyshield -- "/Applications/Tiny Shield.app/Contents/MacOS/tinyshield-mcp"
claude mcp add --transport stdio --scope user tcpviewer -- '/Applications/TCP Viewer.app/Contents/MacOS/tcpviewer-mcp'
claude mcp add --scope user device-mcp -- "/Applications/Device MCP.app/Contents/MacOS/device-mcp"
Run claude mcp list to check that they're connected.
Codex
codex mcp add proxyman -- "/Applications/Proxyman.app/Contents/MacOS/mcp-server"
codex mcp add tinyshield -- "/Applications/Tiny Shield.app/Contents/MacOS/tinyshield-mcp"
codex mcp add tcpviewer -- '/Applications/TCP Viewer.app/Contents/MacOS/tcpviewer-mcp'
codex mcp add device-mcp -- "/Applications/Device MCP.app/Contents/MacOS/device-mcp"
Run codex mcp list to check them.
Cursor and other MCP clients
Choose Manual in the app's Settings → MCP, click Copy, and paste the JSON into your client's MCP settings.
These paths are for apps in the Applications folder. If an app is somewhere else, for example Proxyman from Setapp, copy the command from the app's Settings → MCP: it always has the right path for your Mac.
| App | Your agent can | MCP | Command line |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proxyman | Debug HTTP(S) traffic, create rules | Docs | proxyman-cli ·Docs |
| TinyShield | See and control app connections | Settings → MCP | tinyshield-cli |
| TCP Viewer | Capture and read packets | Docs | tcpviewer-cli ·Docs |
| Device MCP | Test apps on real devices | Docs | device-mcp-cli ·Docs |
MCP is part of the paid plans of Proxyman, TinyShield and TCP Viewer. In Device MCP, it's free, except a few Pro tools such as Build & Run.
7. Add the Proxyman skill #
MCP gives your agent the tools. The Proxyman skill teaches it how to use them well: how to install Proxyman and its certificate, capture HTTPS from a device or a simulator, use Breakpoint, Map Local and Scripting, and run proxyman-cli.
- Codex: install theProxyman plugin from the OpenAI marketplace.
- Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and GitHub Copilot: install all the Proxyman skills with one command:
npx skills add ProxymanApp/proxyman-SKILL.md/skills
Restart your agent afterward. Read more: SKILL.md and the GitHub repo.
8. What's next? #
We use these tools every day to build our own apps, and we'll keep adding more. If there's something you'd like your agent to do with one of our apps, tell us on GitHub or Twitter 🙏
New to MCP? Start with How to use Proxyman MCP with Codex and Claude Code.