Steve

Overview

Use the steve CLI to automate macOS applications through the Accessibility API. Prefer steve when you need deterministic, scriptable UI control with JSON responses.

Quick Start

1. Assume the CLI is installed and available on PATH. If not, download it from the GitHub releases page: https://github.com/mikker/steve/releases
2. Ensure Accessibility permissions are granted for the terminal running steve.

steve apps

Core Tasks

Target an app or window

Use --app, --bundle, or --pid to select the app, and --window to scope to a window title.

steve elements --app "System Settings" --window "Settings"

Find text reliably

Use --text to match visible text via AXValue, AXDescription, or AXStaticText title (case-insensitive substring).

steve find --text "Dictation Mode" --window "Settings"

Click the right ancestor

After a text match, use --ancestor-role and --click to press a nearby container row/cell/button.

steve find --text "Dictation Mode" --window "Settings" --ancestor-role AXRow --click

Common interactions

steve click --title "OK"
steve type "hello world"
steve key cmd+shift+p
steve menu "File" "New"

Reliability Tips

• Prefer --window and --text over raw coordinates.
• Use wait for UI state changes before clicking:

steve wait --title "Results" --timeout 5