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Fix macOS app PID selection to avoid helper processes #28

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Fix macOS app PID selection to avoid helper processes #28

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16 changes: 8 additions & 8 deletions examples/print_app_tree.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -8,7 +8,7 @@

sys.path.append(os.path.dirname(os.path.dirname(os.path.abspath(__file__))))
from mlx_use.mac.tree import MacUITreeBuilder
from mlx_use.controller.service import Controller
from mlx_use.controller.service import Controller, _find_best_running_app
from mlx_use.controller.views import OpenAppAction
from mlx_use.agent.views import ActionModel

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -38,13 +38,13 @@ async def print_app_tree(app_name: str):

# Find the app's PID
app_pid = None
for app in workspace.runningApplications():
if app.bundleIdentifier() and bundle_id.lower() in app.bundleIdentifier().lower():
print(f'Found {formatted_app_name}!')
print(f'Bundle ID: {app.bundleIdentifier()}')
app_pid = app.processIdentifier()
print(f'PID: {app_pid}')
break
best_app = _find_best_running_app(workspace, formatted_app_name)
if best_app is not None:
print(f'Found {formatted_app_name}!')
print(f'Localized name: {best_app.localizedName()}')
print(f'Bundle ID: {best_app.bundleIdentifier()}')
app_pid = best_app.processIdentifier()
print(f'PID: {app_pid}')

if not app_pid:
print(f'❌ Could not find {formatted_app_name} app')
Expand Down
56 changes: 50 additions & 6 deletions mlx_use/controller/service.py
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Original file line number Diff line number Diff line change
Expand Up @@ -7,6 +7,50 @@
import Cocoa
from playwright.async_api import Page


def _score_running_app(app, app_name: str) -> int:
"""Prefer the real app process over helper/background processes."""
name = (str(app.localizedName() or '')).lower()
bundle_id = (str(app.bundleIdentifier() or '')).lower()
target = app_name.lower()
score = 0

if name == target:
score += 100
elif target in name:
score += 40

if bundle_id == f'com.apple.{target}':
score += 120
elif bundle_id.endswith(f'.{target}'):
score += 80
elif target in bundle_id:
score += 20

if 'helper' in name or 'helper' in bundle_id:
score -= 200
if 'platformsupport' in name or 'platformsupport' in bundle_id:
score -= 200
if 'web content' in name or 'webcontent' in bundle_id:
score -= 120

return score


def _find_best_running_app(workspace, app_name: str):
apps = list(workspace.runningApplications())
scored = []
for app in apps:
try:
scored.append((_score_running_app(app, app_name), app))
except Exception:
continue
if not scored:
return None
scored.sort(key=lambda item: item[0], reverse=True)
best_score, best_app = scored[0]
return best_app if best_score > 0 else None
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@cubic-dev-ai cubic-dev-ai bot Mar 12, 2026 •
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P2: When scored selection returns None, fallback pgrep picks the first matching PID without helper/background filtering, reintroducing wrong app PID selection.

Prompt for AI agents 
Check if this issue is valid — if so, understand the root cause and fix it. At mlx_use/controller/service.py, line 52:

<comment>When scored selection returns `None`, fallback `pgrep` picks the first matching PID without helper/background filtering, reintroducing wrong app PID selection.</comment>

<file context>
@@ -7,6 +7,50 @@
+		return None
+	scored.sort(key=lambda item: item[0], reverse=True)
+	best_score, best_app = scored[0]
+	return best_app if best_score > 0 else None
+
 from mlx_use.agent.views import ActionModel, ActionResult
</file context>
Fix with Cubic


from mlx_use.agent.views import ActionModel, ActionResult
from mlx_use.controller.registry.service import Registry
from mlx_use.controller.views import (
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -188,12 +232,12 @@ async def open_app(app_name: str):

await asyncio.sleep(1) # Give it a moment to appear in running apps
pid = None
for app in workspace.runningApplications():
if app.bundleIdentifier() and app_name.lower() in app.bundleIdentifier().lower():
logging.debug(f'Bundle ID: {app.bundleIdentifier()}')
pid = app.processIdentifier()
logging.debug(f'PID: {pid}')
break
best_app = _find_best_running_app(workspace, app_name)
if best_app is not None:
logging.debug(f'Localized name: {best_app.localizedName()}')
logging.debug(f'Bundle ID: {best_app.bundleIdentifier()}')
pid = best_app.processIdentifier()
logging.debug(f'PID: {pid}')

# If no PID is found, try to find the app by name with pgrep -i
if pid is None:
Expand Down