WindowLayout
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How to let Claude and other AI apps manage your monitors with MCP

MCP, the Model Context Protocol, is the common way for AI apps to use tools on your computer. WindowLayout includes an MCP server, so Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and other MCP clients can ask which monitors you have, read the names of your profiles and, only if you allow it, apply a layout, move a window or change brightness. Everything stays on your PC: WindowLayout opens no network port for this and sends nothing over the internet. This guide covers turning it on, connecting your apps and choosing which tools the AI may use.

Updated 6 steps

  1. Turn on MCP in WindowLayout

    Open WindowLayout, go to Settings and find the card called MCP (AI app connection). Switch on Allow AI apps to connect. It is off by default; while it is off, an AI app only gets a message asking you to turn it on here. The status next to the title changes to Ready as soon as WindowLayout is listening. The connection is a local named pipe that only your own Windows account can open, and it refuses connections from other computers.

  2. Choose which tools the AI may use

    The card lists eight tools in two groups. The read tools list your monitors, list your window and display profiles, and report the status, such as the result of the last restore; they are allowed by default because they only show information. The action tools apply a window profile, apply a display profile, undo the last restore, move the active window to another monitor and set brightness; they stay off until you switch them on. An AI app can be talked into calling a tool by text it reads in a web page, a file or a message, so allow only the actions you really want it to perform. Changes apply to the very next call, with no need to restart the AI app.

  3. Connect Claude Desktop or Cursor

    Under Connect an AI app, the card shows ready-made settings already filled in with the real path of WindowLayout.exe on your PC, each with a Copy button. In Claude Desktop, open Settings, Developer, Edit Config, paste the windowlayout entry into the mcpServers section of claude_desktop_config.json, save the file, then quit Claude Desktop completely and start it again. In Cursor, add the same entry to mcp.json in the .cursor folder of your user profile, or use the MCP page of Cursor's settings, and restart it. The entry runs WindowLayout.exe with the single argument --mcp: a small helper without a window that passes requests to the WindowLayout you already use.

  4. Connect Claude Code

    For Claude Code, copy the one-line command from the card and run it once in PowerShell or Command Prompt. It registers a server named windowlayout that starts WindowLayout.exe with --mcp. Add --scope user right after the word add if you want the tools in every project rather than only the current one. Inside Claude Code, the /mcp command shows whether windowlayout is connected and which tools it offers.

  5. Ask in plain words

    Now you can simply ask: which monitors do I have and which one is primary, apply my Deep Work layout, or set every monitor to 40 percent brightness. The AI first looks up your monitors, numbered from the left as in WindowLayout, and the exact profile names. A window profile applied this way only moves windows and never starts programs, and undo puts the windows back. When a display profile is applied, the WindowLayout window comes up and asks you to keep the new settings; without a click on Keep within 15 seconds the previous resolution and arrangement return. Moving the active window affects the window you used last apart from WindowLayout, which is often the AI app itself.

  6. Check what was called

    The Recent calls list on the same card shows up to 50 calls since WindowLayout started, with the tool, the time and whether it worked. It deliberately stores nothing else: no profile names, no values and no window titles. If WindowLayout is not running when the AI calls a tool and MCP is switched on, it starts in the background without opening its window. A tool you have not allowed or a profile that does not exist comes back to the AI as a clear error.

Frequently asked questions

Does WindowLayout send my data to an AI service?

WindowLayout itself sends nothing over the internet for MCP and opens no network port. What a tool returns, such as monitor names, resolutions and profile names, goes to the AI app, which passes it to its AI service as part of your conversation, just like anything you type there. Window titles are never returned.

Can the AI change my settings, delete profiles or run programs?

No. Only the eight tools on the card exist. There is no tool to change settings, delete or save profiles, restore backups, install updates, turn on the phone remote or touch AI keys, and profiles applied over MCP never start programs.

The AI app says WindowLayout is not available. What should I check?

Make sure the MCP switch is on and the status says Ready, that the path in the AI app's settings matches the WindowLayout.exe you use, and that you restarted the AI app after editing its settings. If WindowLayout reports that its connection name is in use, restart WindowLayout. MCP works on Windows only.

Try it on your own desk

WindowLayout is free, about 3 MB, works offline and has no ads or telemetry. Save your first window layout in under a minute.

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