Poke Gate

Why it's ranked here

This is a focused, unusually complete bridge between conversational requests and local Mac automation. It combines guided setup, reconnect handling, logs, permission modes, approval tokens, and scheduled jobs. Its value is substantial, but tightly coupled to Poke and macOS-specific protections.

What's good

Three access modes offer meaningful control. Limited mode permits reading and selected commands, while Sandbox broadens command support under macOS restrictions. Risky actions use short-lived, argument-bound approval tokens. The connection retries automatically, and scheduled scripts support isolated environment files for credentials.

Tradeoffs

Full mode can execute commands with the user’s permissions and read or write accessible files. The native app requires macOS 15 or later, is not notarized, and may require manually clearing quarantine. Screenshot capture needs extra permission. Scheduled scripts execute as ordinary Node.js programs, so downloaded agents require trust.

How to use it well

It suits Poke users who want occasional remote diagnostics, file work, screenshots, or recurring personal automations on a trusted Mac. Start with Limited mode, move to Sandbox when commands need controlled writes, and reserve Full mode for deliberate tasks. It does not provide a general cross-platform remote administration layer or a Poke-independent assistant.

Observed

License

MIT

Primary implementation

JavaScript ES modules, plus a native SwiftUI macOS menu bar client

Runtime

Node.js 18 or later for the CLI

Install surfaces

Homebrew, npm via npx, GitHub release DMG, or source build with Xcode

Interfaces

CLI, native macOS menu bar app, and local MCP server tunneled to Poke

Platform support

Native app requires macOS 15 or later; screenshot and sandbox features are macOS-specific

Authentication

Poke OAuth through the browser, with an API key environment override

Runtime dependency

The npm package declares the Poke SDK as its sole production dependency