macOS 14+ · SwiftUI · MCP · OpenRouter

Mac Native MCP

A native macOS client for the Model Context Protocol.
AI conversation via OpenRouter. Pure SwiftUI. No Electron.

↓ Download .dmg View on GitHub

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What it does

⚙

MCP Server Manager

Add any MCP server by command + args or HTTP URL. Start, stop, reconnect. Tools list populates automatically.

💬

AI Conversation

Chat with Claude, GPT-4o, Llama, Mistral and 200+ models via OpenRouter — all in one key. Tool calls show inline.

🖥

Output Viewer

Code with syntax highlighting, file trees, and rich text results rendered side-by-side with the chat.

📊

Cost & Usage

Per-deployment token burn tracking. Estimated credit cost per service. Export CSV for billing analysis.

🎨

Admiral Dark UI

Hand-tuned dark color palette. Native AppKit — respects every macOS convention. No web wrapper.

☁

Nexlayer Native

Deploy, monitor, debug, and scale your Nexlayer services without leaving your editor context.

Get Started

You need two things: a Nexlayer API key (required) and an OpenRouter key (optional — unlocks AI conversation).

1

Get a Nexlayer API key

Create a free account at Nexlayer, then generate an API key from the settings page.

app.nexlayer.com/settings/api-keys →
💡 Use referral code Jordan-D-Elizaga-nexlayer-partner when you sign up to support this project and unlock bonus credits.
2

Get an OpenRouter key (optional)

OpenRouter gives you access to Claude, GPT-4o, Llama, Mistral and 200+ models under a single API key. Free tier available.

openrouter.ai/keys →
3

Download and launch

Download the .dmg, drag to Applications, right-click → Open on first launch (Gatekeeper bypass). Paste your keys in the landing screen.

4

Add your MCP servers

The app pre-populates with Nexlayer MCP. Use the Servers panel (⌘1) to add any additional MCP server by command or HTTP URL.

Install

  1. Download MacNativeMCP-vX.Y.Z.dmg from the button above
  2. Open the .dmg — drag MacNativeMCP.app to Applications
  3. First launch: right-click the app → Open to bypass Gatekeeper (app is not notarized yet)
  4. Paste your Nexlayer API key in the landing screen
  5. (Optional) Paste your OpenRouter key to enable AI conversation
  6. Both keys are stored in macOS Keychain — never transmitted elsewhere

Requires macOS 14 Sonoma or later · Universal binary (Apple Silicon + Intel)

Build from source

git clone git@github.com:jay-elizaga-dev/Nexlayer-mac-native-mcp.git
cd Nexlayer-mac-native-mcp
swift build          # debug build
./run.sh             # build + launch (copies binary into .app, opens it)

Requires Xcode Command Line Tools: xcode-select --install

How to Use

⌘1 — Servers Panel

Lists all connected MCP servers and their tools. Click a server to see available tools. Click a tool to run it directly or reference it in conversation.

  • Add server: click + in the sidebar → set name, transport (stdio or HTTP), command/URL
  • Nexlayer MCP is pre-wired at mcp.nexlayer.ai using your API key
  • Stdio servers run as child processes — set command + args just like claude_desktop_config.json

💬 Conversation Panel

Chat with any OpenRouter model. The assistant has context about which Nexlayer server you're working with.

  • Select a server in the sidebar to open its chat
  • Type a message and press ⌘↩ to send
  • If no OpenRouter key is set, the panel shows a setup prompt — tool calls still work
  • Conversation history is kept per-session (not persisted across restarts yet)

📊 Cost & Usage

Every MCP tool call is tracked with token burn and estimated credit cost (at $0.01/token — Nexlayer's $10 = 1,000 credits rate).

  • Switch to Cost mode from the left sidebar icon
  • Table shows: Deployment · Calls · Tokens · Est. Cost · Success % · Avg ms
  • Export CSV via the button in the header

⚙ Settings

Open via ⌘, — manage servers, adjust appearance.

  • Servers tab: edit server name and command inline
  • Appearance tab: Dark / Light / System · font size · code font
  • OpenRouter key can be updated in Settings after initial setup

🌍 Environments

The app supports multiple environments for developers building against different Nexlayer endpoints.

# Default (debug builds)
./run.sh

# Staging endpoint
APP_ENV=staging ./run.sh

# Production build
APP_ENV=production swift build -c release

🔑 API Keys FAQ

  • Nexlayer key: Bearer token to mcp.nexlayer.ai. Required. Get one at app.nexlayer.com.
  • OpenRouter key: Routes to 200+ LLMs. Optional — app works as a pure tool runner without it.
  • Both keys stored in macOS Keychain under dev.elizaga.mac-native-mcp.
  • Sign out clears both keys from keychain.

Contribute

Mac Native MCP is open source. PRs welcome — especially bug fixes, new MCP transport types, and UI polish.

🐛 Report a Bug

Open an issue on GitHub. Include macOS version, steps to reproduce, and the error (if any) from Console.app.

Open an issue →

💡 Suggest a Feature

Check existing discussions first, then open a new one describing the use case — not just the feature.

Start a discussion →

🔧 Submit a PR

  1. Fork the repo and create a branch: git checkout -b feat/your-feature
  2. Run ./run.sh to verify the build works locally
  3. Keep PRs focused — one feature or fix per PR
  4. No new dependencies without discussion first
  5. Open a PR against main
Fork on GitHub →

🏗 Architecture

  • SPM executable target — no Xcode project file
  • @Observable — no Combine, no @Published
  • AppState owns server list + chat sessions
  • AuthManager — Nexlayer + OpenRouter keys, Keychain
  • NexlayerService — all MCP tool calls, token burn tracking
  • OpenRouterClient — chat completions via OpenAI-compat API
  • AppEnvironment — local / dev / staging / production

Roadmap (help wanted)

Affiliate Program

Mac Native MCP is built on top of Nexlayer — the agent-native cloud platform. If this app has been useful to you, signing up for Nexlayer through the referral link below supports continued development.

🤝 Referral

Sign up for Nexlayer

Use the referral code or link below when creating your Nexlayer account. You get bonus credits, and it helps keep Mac Native MCP maintained.

Referral code Jordan-D-Elizaga-nexlayer-partner
Referral link app.nexlayer.com/signup?ref=Jordan-D-Elizaga-nexlayer-partner →
Sign up for Nexlayer →

What is Nexlayer?

Nexlayer is an agent-native cloud platform — deploy any stack from your AI coding agent directly to production Kubernetes. One MCP connection. No DevOps required.

View pricing →

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