Lets a coding agent read the screenshots you beam to its server with Hostbeam.

How do I install Hostbeam?

Clone Hostbeam from https://github.com/PunkAbeat/hostbeam-mcp and configure it as an MCP server in your client (Claude Desktop, Cursor, or VS Code).

Is Hostbeam open source?

Yes, Hostbeam is open source under the MIT license. Source code is available at https://github.com/PunkAbeat/hostbeam-mcp.

What category does Hostbeam belong to?

Hostbeam is listed under Other MCP servers on MCPFind.

Hostbeam — MCP Server for Other

Hostbeam MCP server

Hostbeam sends a screenshot from your Mac to a server over SSH and puts the remote path on your clipboard, so you can paste it to a coding agent running there.

This MCP server runs on that server, next to the agent. The agent can ask for the screenshot you just beamed and read it, without you pasting the path.

Install

On the server your agent runs on, not on your Mac. Node 18 or later.

For Claude Code:

claude mcp add -s user hostbeam -- npx -y @hostbeam/mcp

-s user makes it available in every project on that server.

For other MCP clients, in their JSON config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "hostbeam": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@hostbeam/mcp"]
    }
  }
}

If the server can't reach npm, copy hostbeam-mcp.mjs to it and run that instead. It has no dependencies.

claude mcp add -s user hostbeam -- node /path/to/hostbeam-mcp.mjs

Hostbeam beams to /tmp/hostbeam unless you changed the folder for that host. If you did, give the server the same folder: -e HOSTBEAM_DIR=/your/folder for Claude Code, or "env": { "HOSTBEAM_DIR": "/your/folder" } in JSON.

Tools

latest_screenshot returns the most recent beam as images, with how long ago it arrived. If you beamed several files at once, it returns all of them, up to six, and names the rest.
list_screenshots lists recent beams with file names, sizes and times. No image data.
read_screenshot returns one file by name.

What it reads

Only files Hostbeam delivered: names starting with hostbeam- with an image extension, in that one folder. It doesn't look in subfolders, and it refuses a name with a path in it. It never writes, moves or deletes anything.

JPEG, PNG, GIF and WebP come back as images. Other formats, and anything over 8 MB, come back as a path instead, because models only accept those four as images.

Check it by hand

It speaks newline-delimited JSON-RPC on stdin and stdout:

printf '%s\n' \
  '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"initialize","params":{}}' \
  '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":2,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"list_screenshots"}}' \
  | npx -y @hostbeam/mcp

License

MIT

Set up in your AI client

AI clientOperating system

Merge this template into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Keep existing servers. Add any arguments, credentials, and permissions required by the maintainer; this template has not been install-tested.

json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "app-hostbeam-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@hostbeam/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect. Confirm the server appears connected in the client’s tool list, then try a read-only example from its documentation.

Claude Desktop setup reference

Compatible MCP Clients

Hostbeam works with any MCP-compatible client. Copy the config snippet from the Configuration section above and add it to the file shown for your client, then restart the application.

Claude Desktop~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.jsonRestart Claude Desktop completely for changes to take effect.

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.jsonRestart Cursor for changes to take effect.

VS Code.vscode/mcp.jsonReload VS Code window for changes to take effect.

Windsurf~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.jsonRestart Windsurf for changes to take effect.

Claude Code.mcp.jsonSave at the project root, then start Claude Code in that project and review the MCP server approval prompt. Keep real credentials out of shared files.

Hostbeam