Claude Code can act on apps through CLI-Anything when a command-line harness exposes actions the app supports. In a report published November 4, 2026, XDA journalist Mahnoor Faisal described using a community-built NotebookLM harness and custom tools that used scripting interfaces exposed by apps on macOS.
A harness is a command-line layer that lets an AI agent request specific actions from an app and receive results. The app performs the requested work; the harness gives the agent a way to ask for it.
What a CLI-Anything harness does
CLI-Anything can be used with an existing harness or to build one for an app. The underlying connection may rely on the app’s source code, an API, or a scripting interface. In Faisal’s reported custom-tool examples, the apps exposed scripting interfaces on macOS, so the workflow ran through commands rather than general screen clicking.
That distinction shapes what the examples mean: the agent can request actions made available through the harness, but the specific interface depends on the app.
The app tasks in Faisal’s report
For NotebookLM, Claude used a community-built harness to find a notebook, list its sources, and return an answer with source references. NotebookLM generated the answer from material Faisal had uploaded; Claude handled the interaction with the notebook.
The other reported tasks were more direct. Claude resumed and then paused a song in Spotify, created an Apple Notes entry with three article pitches, and searched existing notes for interview questions. Faisal also reported that Claude found a contact and sent a message through Messages. She asked for an Apple Music tool as well.
What these examples say about app control
The examples are individual tasks using app-specific connections, not evidence of a universal app-control method. Each harness depends on actions the relevant app makes accessible.
A separate Reddit discussion concerned PC-Control, an early Windows MCP server, rather than CLI-Anything. Its developer said PC-Control supported fewer apps and lacked shortcuts; one commenter reported timeouts while trying Firefox tasks, and the developer later replied that the issue should be fixed. Those remarks concern that separate implementation, not Faisal’s macOS examples.
