Up and running in a couple of minutes
Install the binary, point your MCP client at it, and start in read-only mode. Everything below is copy-pasteable. Tidesman needs macOS 26 on Apple Silicon, with Apple's container engine installed and started.
Four ways to install
Pick whichever fits your setup. Homebrew is the simplest to keep updated.
Homebrew
Tap and install in one command. Upgrades come through brew upgrade.
$ brew install JeronimoColon/tidesman/tidesman.pkg installer
Prefer a graphical install? Download the signed .pkg, double-click it, and follow the prompts. It places tidesman on your PATH for you.
Zip archive
Grab the .zip from the releases page, unzip it, and move the binary somewhere on your PATH.
$ unzip tidesman-0.1.0-macos-arm64.zip
$ sudo mv tidesman /usr/local/bin/
$ command -v tidesman
/usr/local/bin/tidesman.mcpb bundle
For Claude Desktop and other clients that support MCP bundles: download the .mcpb file and open it. The client installs and registers the server in one step — no terminal required.
Point your MCP client at Tidesman
Add a server entry keyed tidesman. Set the access level with --mode; start with read-only and raise it when you're ready.
Claude Desktop
Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and add the server, then restart Claude Desktop. Use the binary's full path — Claude Desktop doesn't inherit your shell PATH. Homebrew installs it to /opt/homebrew/bin/tidesman (the .pkg to /usr/local/bin/tidesman); run command -v tidesman to print yours.
{
"mcpServers": {
"tidesman": {
"command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/tidesman",
"args": ["--mode=read-only"]
}
}
}Claude Code
Register it from the terminal, or commit a .mcp.json to share it with your project.
$ claude mcp add --transport stdio --scope user tidesman -- /opt/homebrew/bin/tidesman --mode=safe{
"mcpServers": {
"tidesman": {
"command": "/opt/homebrew/bin/tidesman",
"args": ["--mode=safe"]
}
}
}The nine tools
Read tools work in every mode. Write tools require Safe or Full. The destructive tool requires Full.
| Tool | What it does | Modes |
|---|---|---|
system_ping | Check that Apple's container engine is up and reachable. | Read · all modes |
container_list | List containers and their current status. | Read · all modes |
container_inspect | Return the full configuration and state of one container. | Read · all modes |
container_logs | Read a container's stdout and stderr. | Read · all modes |
container_run | Start a new container from an image. | Write · safe + full |
container_exec | Run a command inside a running container. | Write · safe + full |
container_stop | Gracefully stop a running container. | Write · safe + full |
container_kill | Force-terminate a container immediately. | Write · safe + full |
container_delete | Permanently remove a container. | Destructive · full only |
The flags
Two flags control what Tidesman can do and what it can reach.
--mode=read-only | safe | full
Sets the access level. read-only (the default) exposes read tools only; safe adds run, exec, stop and kill; full adds delete.
--allow-host-mounts
Off unless you pass it. When set, containers may mount folders from your Mac. Leave it off to keep your filesystem out of reach.
$ tidesman --mode=safe --allow-host-mountsCheck the checksum before you run it
Every release ships a SHA256SUMS file. Download it alongside the binary and verify, from the same folder:
$ shasum -c SHA256SUMS
tidesman: OKA line ending in OK means the download matches. Tidesman is also Developer-ID signed and notarized, so Gatekeeper will let it run without extra steps.
That's the whole setup
Start in read-only, watch what your assistant does in the audit log, and raise the mode when you trust it.