BCD

Mac apps › V

Use Vanilla on your Mac from ChatGPT or Claude

Tool to hide menu bar icons. With BCD, ChatGPT, Claude and other AI apps can open Vanilla on your Mac, read its window and press buttons or type, from your phone or another computer.

Works on

About Vanilla

Version
3.0,82
Installs (last 365 days)
899 · #893 among Homebrew apps
Needs
macOS 12 or later
Updates
Updates itself
Homepage
matthewpalmer.net/vanilla
Install
brew install --cask vanilla

Try asking

“Open Vanilla and tell me what is on its screen”
“Install Vanilla with Homebrew”
“Quit Vanilla and update it to the latest version”

Questions

Can ChatGPT control Vanilla?
On a Mac with BCD, yes, through the app's window: ChatGPT can open Vanilla, read the buttons and text it shows, press buttons, type and pick menu items. How far that goes depends on how much of its window Vanilla exposes to macOS accessibility.

Does this work on Windows?
No. BCD controls app windows only on a Mac. On Windows and Linux it works with files and commands.

Is it safe?
A new computer starts read-only. Controlling the screen and apps is turned on per computer, and macOS asks once before BCD may control apps.

Try it on your computer

BCD connects ChatGPT, Claude and other AI apps to your own Mac, Windows or Linux computer. One computer is free, with 20,000 tool calls a month and no card.

Program data from Homebrew, updated 2026-11-11. Installs are Homebrew's installs on request over the last 365 days.