Semantouch setup

Semantouch Setup

Install and diagnose the Semantouch OMP integration without weakening its permission or app-policy boundaries.

Install the released plugin

Install a tagged release directly:

omp plugin install github:watzon/semantouch#v0.2.1

Alternatively, install through the repository marketplace:

omp plugin marketplace add watzon/semantouch
omp plugin install semantouch@semantouch

Restart OMP after installation. The first MCP launch downloads the matching macOS arm64 release binary, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, and caches it below ~/Library/Application Support/Semantouch/<version>/.

For development from a checkout, just omp-install builds the optimized Swift executable at ~/.omp/bin/semantouch, links the repository with omp plugin link ., and runs the non-prompting doctor check.

Resolve the helper when MCP is unavailable

Use the same launcher precedence as .mcp.json; do not choose the newest-looking cache directory:

1. Select the first plugin root whose scripts/semantouch launcher is executable: OMP_PLUGIN_ROOT, then CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT, then the real (non-symlink) directory ~/.omp/plugins/node_modules/semantouch.
2. If a launcher was selected, run <plugin-root>/scripts/semantouch doctor --json. The launcher itself selects SEMANTOUCH_BIN when set, then <plugin-root>/bin/semantouch, then the version from <plugin-root>/package.json under ${SEMANTOUCH_INSTALL_ROOT:-$HOME/Library/Application Support/Semantouch}/<version>/semantouch. It downloads that pinned release when the cache is absent. Trust the returned helper.path as the exact executable.
3. If no plugin launcher exists, run ${SEMANTOUCH_BIN} when it names an executable; otherwise try ~/.omp/bin/semantouch. Verify the chosen executable with --version, then run its doctor --json.
4. If none of these candidates is runnable, report that update status cannot yet be checked. Perform only the minimum plugin/helper connection repair needed to obtain a runnable doctor, then return to this gate immediately before permissions or other setup work.

Mandatory update-consent gate

Inspect update.status before debugging, changing permissions, restarting clients, or continuing setup. If it is available, stop the setup workflow immediately and ask one blocking question with exactly two choices: Update now or Continue without updating. A setup request or doctor invocation is not authorization to update.

Wait for the user's explicit answer. On Update now, follow /semantouch-update, restart affected clients, re-run doctor, and only then resume setup. On Continue without updating, resume with the current helper. Never infer consent, choose for the user, update automatically, or continue setup while the question is unanswered. If no interactive question tool is available, ask in chat and end the turn. An unknown status is not a permission or readiness failure; report the failed GitHub check and continue using the local result.

Diagnose in order

1. Run /semantouch-doctor immediately. If the MCP server is unavailable, use the helper-resolution procedure above and run doctor --json.
2. Complete the mandatory update-consent gate before doing anything else.
3. Only after the gate allows continuation, confirm the plugin is installed and enabled with omp plugin list.
4. Restart OMP if needed so it rediscovers the plugin's MCP definition.
5. Use /mcp list to confirm the semantouch server source and /mcp test semantouch to exercise its stdio handshake.
6. Use doctor.helper.path as the authoritative executable path for direct --version, later doctor checks, and TCC grants.

Do not debug tool behavior until the gate allows continuation, the server connects, and doctor reports the required grants independently.

macOS permissions

The helper requires:

• Accessibility to read the target application's accessibility hierarchy and perform semantic actions.
• Screen Recording to capture target-window images through ScreenCaptureKit.

Run doctor without onboarding first. Read helper.path, accessibility, screenRecording, ready, and remediation. Grant permissions to the exact path reported by helper.path under System Settings → Privacy & Security.

Do not attempt to automate System Settings privacy panes. Security and authentication surfaces are intentionally outside the Semantouch automation boundary.

After changing a grant, fully restart OMP so the MCP child process is relaunched. Re-run doctor until both grants are granted and ready is true.

TCC associates grants with the executable path and code identity. Each released version uses a versioned cache path; rebuilding, upgrading, moving the binary, or changing its signature can require the grant to be toggled or re-added. Trust the current doctor.helper.path, not a remembered path.

Distinguish permission, connection, and policy failures

Symptom	Meaning	Action
MCP server absent	Plugin discovery/link problem	Check omp plugin list, .mcp.json, then restart OMP.
MCP server fails to start	Missing or non-executable helper, or stdio launch failure	Run the selected binary directly and use /mcp test semantouch.
permission_denied	Accessibility or Screen Recording grant missing for this helper identity	Follow doctor.remediation for the exact helper path.
policy_denied	Target app matches the operator denylist (SEMANTOUCH_DENIED_APPS), or another policy reason	Do not treat this as a TCC issue; inspect the denial reason.
focus_required	Fallback input requires the target to be frontmost	Prefer a semantic action or ask the user to foreground the target.
stale_revision / stale_element	Cached session state is obsolete	Refresh with get_app_state and retarget.

Operator denylist

The server is permissive by default: unset or empty SEMANTOUCH_DENIED_APPS denies no apps. Operators may start OMP with SEMANTOUCH_DENIED_APPS set to a comma-separated list of exact, case-insensitive tokens (bundle identifier, display name, full path, or path basename). A match blocks both reads and mutations with policy_denied / app_denied before any AX/CG call. There is no mutation allowlist and no built-in hard-denied app set.

Do not add an app to the denylist merely to clear an error, and do not remove a deny token merely to silence policy_denied. Explain the requested capability and have the user explicitly approve the policy change.

Verification target

Consider setup complete only when all of these hold:

• OMP lists the installed and enabled semantouch plugin.
• OMP discovers and connects the semantouch MCP server.
• The server exposes its fourteen expected tools.
• doctor reports the installed helper path and both required grants accurately.
• A read-only list_apps call succeeds.

Treat app mutation as a separate, explicit operator-policy decision rather than an installation check.