Tools · SPBoucher
Menu

cliclick

Maintenance

by Carsten Blüm (BlueM) · CLI tool

Small open-source macOS command-line tool that emulates mouse clicks, drags, movements, key presses and typing for scripted GUI control

BSD-3-Clause licenseOpen sourceFreeLocalSelf-hostable
Visit official site Compare

Link verified Nov 2, 2026

Overview

cliclick ("command-line interface click") is a single-binary macOS utility written in Objective-C by Carsten Blüm that lets shell scripts drive the graphical interface. A command such as cliclick c:400,300 clicks at screen coordinates; other commands double-, triple- or right-click, move the pointer absolutely or relatively, start and end drags, press named keys, hold modifiers, type text into the frontmost application, wait, and print the pointer position or the pixel color at a point.

It is typically installed with Homebrew and requires macOS 10.15 or later plus Accessibility permission for the terminal that runs it. Its niche is thin but real: remote-controlling a Mac over SSH, scripting installers or kiosk setups, and exercising applications that expose neither an API nor a scripting dictionary. Compared with Hammerspoon or Keyboard Maestro it has no event triggers or logic of its own; it is a primitive meant to be called from other scripts.

The project is released under a BSD-style license. Development is slow (occasional commits and releases), the tool cannot act on the login window before a session is open, and coordinate-based clicking breaks whenever window positions change.

Editorial note on uncertainty. The author's project page on bluem.net now redirects to the site root, so the GitHub repository is treated as the canonical home. The license text is a three-clause BSD variant; GitHub does not auto-detect it.

Capabilities

  • Mouse clicks, double/triple/right clicks and drags at coordinates
  • Pointer movement, absolute or relative
  • Key presses and modifier holds
  • Typing text into the frontmost app
  • Querying pointer position and pixel color

Typical workflows

  1. Automate a GUI installer over SSH
  2. Click through an app that has no scripting interface
  3. Combine with AppleScript or shell loops for repetitive clicking

Strengths

  • Tiny dependency-free binary
  • Trivially callable from any script
  • Open source

Limitations

  • Coordinate-based; fragile when layouts change
  • No triggers or logic; needs an outer script
  • Cannot operate before a user session is open
  • Slow release cadence

Prerequisites

  • macOS 10.15 or later
  • Accessibility permission for the calling terminal

Who it is for

  • Administrators scripting Macs remotely
  • Developers automating GUI-only tools

Alternatives & comparison

  • AppleScript

    Apple's English-like scripting language that drives scriptable macOS applications through Apple events, run from Script Editor, osascript or other automation tools

    ProprietaryFree
  • Hammerspoon

    Open-source macOS automation app that exposes system APIs to a Lua configuration file for hotkeys, window management and event-driven scripts

    Open sourceOpen source
  • Keyboard Maestro

    Commercial macOS macro application that runs sequences of actions from hotkeys, typed strings, application, time, device and system triggers

    ProprietaryPaid
Compare cliclick with its alternatives →

Sources & verification

Primary sources consulted for this record. Claims are tied to the fields each source supports; the automated link checker re-verifies every URL on a schedule.

Confidence
Medium
Reviewed
Nov 1, 2026
Links
Verified · Nov 2, 2026

Spotted an error?

Broken link, outdated license, wrong category, or a tool that no longer exists? Tell us; reports are reviewed by the editor.

launchd

Apple Inc. · macOS automation

In-depth entry

macOS's built-in service manager that starts, supervises and schedules daemons and per-user agents from property-list job definitions

ProprietaryFreeLocalBroken

Shortcuts

Apple Inc. · macOS automation

Apple's built-in visual automation app for macOS, iOS and iPadOS that chains app actions, scripts and system functions into runnable shortcuts

ProprietaryFreeLocalNov 2, 2026

Alfred

Running with Crayons Ltd · macOS system utilities

macOS launcher and productivity app whose paid Powerpack adds workflows, clipboard history, snippets and custom searches

ProprietaryFreemiumPaidLocalNov 2, 2026

Karabiner-Elements

pqrs.org (Takayama Fumihiko) · macOS system utilities

Free, public-domain keyboard customizer for macOS that remaps keys and defines complex modifications through JSON rules at the driver level

UnlicenseOpen sourceFreeLocalNov 2, 2026

Raycast

Raycast Technologies Ltd · macOS system utilities

Extensible launcher for macOS (with Windows and iOS versions) combining app search, clipboard history, snippets, window management and a store of community extensions

MixedFreemiumPaidLocalBroken

Automator

Apple Inc. · macOS automation

Apple's long-standing drag-and-drop workflow builder for macOS that produces apps, Quick Actions, folder actions and calendar-triggered automations

ProprietaryFreeLocalMaintenanceNov 2, 2026