Parallels Pro MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Parallels Desktop on macOS. It enables LLM agents—such as Claude Desktop, ChatGPT Codex, Cursor, and Antigravity—to discover, control, automate, and inspect Parallels virtual machines over standard MCP stdio.

Highlights

• Full Lifecycle Management: Start, gracefully stop (ACPI), and suspend virtual machines.
• Cross-Platform Guest Execution: Execute commands inside Windows, Linux, or macOS guests with explicit argument vectors (argv), avoiding host shell injection risks.
• Readiness Probing: Automatically detects guest OS and polls until Parallels Tools and the guest execution layer respond.
• Bi-Directional File Transfer: Stream files and directories directly between host and guest over stdin/stdout tar archives without requiring network mounts or SMB credentials (vm_copy_to_guest, vm_copy_from_guest).
• Dynamic Host Folder Sharing: Mount and unmount host directories into guest VMs at runtime with read-only or read-write permissions (vm_share_folder, vm_unshare_folder).
• Instant Sandboxing & Ephemeral Clones: Spin up fast linked clones in seconds for disposable agent test environments, and permanently delete sandboxes with confirmation (vm_clone, vm_delete).
• Headless Execution & Network Simulation: Run VMs headlessly in the background, or simulate network degradation (edge, 3g, wifi, 100% packet loss, offline) for resilience testing (vm_set_headless, vm_set_network_condition).
• Visual VM Inspection: Capture real-time screenshots of the VM display buffer for multimodal AI analysis (vm_screenshot).
• Synthetic Input & Hotkeys: Send keyboard events and hotkey combinations (Ctrl+Alt+Del, Win+R, Enter, Esc) to interact with GUI dialogs and prompts (vm_send_keys).
• Snapshot Lifecycle: List, create, safely revert, and delete snapshots with mandatory confirmation flags (confirm: true).
• Pre-flight Diagnostic Doctor: Built-in environment and license validator (parallels-pro-mcp doctor and scripts/doctor.sh).

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Tool Reference

Tool	Purpose	Confirmation Required	Annotations
vm_list	Discover registered VMs and power states	No	Read-Only
vm_status	Inspect detailed VM status, OS, tools version, and uptime	No	Read-Only
vm_start	Start a VM by name or UUID	No	Power Change
vm_stop	Request graceful ACPI shutdown (never force-kills)	No	Destructive
vm_suspend	Suspend VM and preserve guest memory	No	Destructive
vm_wait_ready	Poll until the guest OS answers execution probes	No	Readiness
vm_exec	Run an argv vector in the guest (supports custom user)	No (Privileged)	Guest Command
vm_copy_to_guest	Stream files or directories from host into guest filesystem	No	File Transfer
vm_copy_from_guest	Stream files or directories from guest onto host filesystem	No	File Transfer
vm_share_folder	Mount a host directory into the guest (rw or ro)	No	State Mutating
vm_unshare_folder	Remove a previously shared host directory	No	State Mutating
vm_clone	Clone a VM (fast linked clone or deep copy)	No	State Mutating
vm_delete	Permanently delete a VM and its disks	confirm: true	Destructive
vm_set_headless	Configure headless vs GUI window startup mode	No	State Mutating
vm_set_network_condition	Simulate degraded network profiles (3g, wifi, loss, off)	No	State Mutating
vm_screenshot	Capture current VM screen to host PNG	No	Read-Only
vm_send_keys	Send synthetic keystrokes or chords (e.g. ctrl+alt+del, win+r)	No	Guest Command
snapshot_list	List all snapshots for a VM	No	Read-Only
snapshot_create	Create a snapshot with name and optional description	confirm: true	State Mutating
snapshot_revert	Revert VM state to a specified snapshot	confirm: true	State Mutating
snapshot_delete	Permanently delete a snapshot to reclaim host disk space	confirm: true	State Mutating

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Tool Usage & Cookbook

1. Instant Ephemeral Sandboxing

Create an isolated linked clone in seconds, run tests headlessly, and destroy it when finished:

# Spin up an instant linked clone sharing the base disk
vm_clone(vm="Windows 11", name="Win11-Worker-1", linked=True)

# Run headlessly without displaying a GUI window on the desktop
vm_set_headless(vm="Win11-Worker-1", enabled=True)

# Boot and wait until guest tools are ready
vm_start(vm="Win11-Worker-1")
vm_wait_ready(vm="Win11-Worker-1", timeout_s=120)

# ... perform testing or build tasks ...

# Graceful stop and permanent teardown
vm_stop(vm="Win11-Worker-1")
vm_delete(vm="Win11-Worker-1", confirm=True)

2. Bi-Directional File Transfer

Stream files or entire directory trees between host and guest over stdin/stdout tar archives without needing network mounts or SMB credentials:

# Push local build artifact into the guest Windows Temp folder
vm_copy_to_guest(
    vm="Windows 11",
    host_path="./dist/myapp.exe",
    guest_path=r"C:\Temp\myapp.exe"
)

# Pull test logs or crash dumps back onto the host
vm_copy_from_guest(
    vm="Windows 11",
    guest_path=r"C:\Temp\test-results",
    host_path="./reports/test-results"
)

3. Dynamic Host Folder Sharing

Mount local host directories directly into the VM at runtime:

# Share a host repository with read-only protection
vm_share_folder(
    vm="Windows 11",
    name="source_code",
    host_path="~/projects/myapp",
    mode="ro"
)

# Unmount the share when done
vm_unshare_folder(vm="Windows 11", name="source_code")

4. GUI Interaction & Screen Analysis

Interact with native GUI dialogs, installers, or Windows UAC prompts:

# Capture what is currently on the VM screen
vm_screenshot(vm="Windows 11")

# Press Win+R to open the Run dialog
vm_send_keys(vm="Windows 11", combination="win+r")

# Type a command and press Enter
vm_send_keys(vm="Windows 11", text="notepad.exe", keys=["enter"])

# Dismiss a modal with Escape
vm_send_keys(vm="Windows 11", keys=["esc"])

5. Network Simulation & Resilience Testing

Simulate poor connections or complete offline states:

# Throttle bandwidth and latency to emulate a 3G mobile link
vm_set_network_condition(vm="Windows 11", profile="3g")

# Simulate a network blackout (100% packet loss)
vm_set_network_condition(vm="Windows 11", profile="100-percent-loss")

# Restore normal network conditions
vm_set_network_condition(vm="Windows 11", profile="off")

6. Snapshot Baselines

Create rollback points before mutating system state:

# List snapshots
snapshot_list(vm="Windows 11")

# Create a checkpoint
snapshot_create(
    vm="Windows 11",
    name="clean-state",
    description="Clean baseline before test execution",
    confirm=True
)

# Revert back to the checkpoint
snapshot_revert(vm="Windows 11", snapshot="clean-state", confirm=True)

# Delete snapshot to reclaim host disk space
snapshot_delete(vm="Windows 11", snapshot="clean-state", confirm=True)

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Prerequisites

1. macOS with Parallels Desktop Pro or Business Edition installed.
   • Note: Parallels Desktop Pro or Business is required for the prlctl command-line utility and prlctl exec guest execution.
2. Parallels Tools installed inside each target guest VM.
3. Python 3.10+ and uv (recommended).

Verify Your Environment

Before connecting an MCP client, run the pre-flight diagnostic:

# Using uv:
uv run parallels-pro-mcp doctor

# Or using the standalone script:
./scripts/doctor.sh

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Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add the following to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "parallels-pro": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["parallels-pro-mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "PARALLELS_DEFAULT_VM": "Windows 11",
        "PARALLELS_ARTIFACT_DIR": "~/.cache/parallels-mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or when running from a local checkout:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "parallels-pro": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/parallels-pro-mcp-server",
        "parallels-pro-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Codex / ChatGPT Desktop

In ~/.codex/config.toml:

[mcp_servers.parallels-pro]
command = "uv"
args = ["run", "--project", "/path/to/parallels-pro-mcp-server", "parallels-pro-mcp"]
startup_timeout_sec = 30
tool_timeout_sec = 600

[mcp_servers.parallels-pro.env]
PARALLELS_DEFAULT_VM = "Windows 11"
PARALLELS_ARTIFACT_DIR = "~/.cache/parallels-mcp"

Google Antigravity (Gemini CLI)

Add the server to ~/.gemini/config/mcp_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "parallels-pro": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "--directory",
        "/path/to/parallels-pro-mcp-server",
        "parallels-pro-mcp"
      ],
      "env": {
        "PARALLELS_DEFAULT_VM": "Windows 11",
        "PARALLELS_ARTIFACT_DIR": "~/.cache/parallels-mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Or using uvx:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "parallels-pro": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["parallels-pro-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

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Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
PARALLELS_DEFAULT_VM	Fallback VM name or UUID used when a tool argument is omitted	None
PARALLELS_ARTIFACT_DIR	Host directory where captured screenshots and artifacts are stored	~/.cache/parallels-pro-mcp-server

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Safe Operating Sequence for Agents

1. Discover: Call vm_list to see available VMs and states.
2. Inspect: Call vm_status(vm="...") to verify guest tools and power status.
3. Optional Sandbox: For risky or destructive test sessions, call vm_clone(vm="...", name="agent-sandbox", linked=true) to create a fast, isolated linked clone.
4. Power Up: If stopped, call vm_start followed by vm_wait_ready to ensure guest tools are responsive.
5. Inspect Desktop: Call vm_screenshot to visually check if dialogs or login prompts are blocking the session.
6. Snapshot Baseline: Call snapshot_create(vm="...", name="clean-baseline", confirm=true) before performing major tasks.
7. Transfer & Execute: Use vm_copy_to_guest to stage scripts, vm_exec with explicit argv arrays to run commands, and vm_copy_from_guest to retrieve build artifacts.
8. Teardown: Revert via snapshot_revert or destroy ephemeral sandboxes via vm_delete(vm="agent-sandbox", confirm=true).

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Security Model

• Automation Bridge: This server delegates guest execution directly to prlctl exec.
• Privilege & Shared Folders: If your VM has Parallels Shared Folders enabled (e.g. \\Mac\Home on Windows or /media/psf/ on Linux), guest commands can read and write to your host filesystem. Always run only on trusted virtual machines.
• Explicit Argv Only: vm_exec only accepts argument vectors (list[str]), preventing shell injection on the host.

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Development & Testing

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/PopBot/parallels-pro-mcp-server.git
cd parallels-pro-mcp-server

# Install dependencies and sync environment
uv sync

# Run diagnostic doctor
uv run parallels-pro-mcp doctor

# Run test suite with test coverage reporting
uv run coverage run --source=parallels_mcp -m unittest discover -s tests
uv run coverage report -m

For instructions on semantic versioning, GitHub Releases, and PyPI distribution, see the Releasing & Publishing Guide.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.