Launch HN: Minicor (YC P26) – Windows desktop automations at scale
Source: Hacker News
Overview
Faiz and Saheed built Minicor, a platform that enables AI companies to integrate with desktop systems that lack APIs by quickly creating scalable desktop RPAs.
Demo:
The Problem
While working on non‑RPA integrations, a customer promised a deal within two days if a sale could be unblocked. The obstacle was integrating with a clinic’s Windows‑based medical record system. This experience highlighted three major challenges of building desktop RPAs at scale:
- Scripting – learning the target system, defining the automation, and coping with constantly changing UIs.
- Orchestration – ensuring VMs are up, handling queuing, and parallelizing tasks.
- Debugging – lack of observability, false positives, and cascading failures, often resulting in 30%+ failure rates and thousands of support tickets per month.
The Solution: Minicor MCP
Minicor introduces an MCP (Machine Control Protocol) that allows Claude Code/Codex (or similar LLMs) to navigate a virtual machine running desktop software using Python. Key features include:
- Python‑based RPA workflows for speed, cost efficiency, and deterministic execution.
- API‑triggerable workflows with any input/output schema, accompanied by video replays and logs for each run.
- Version‑controlled debugging: the MCP can debug RPAs and modify underlying code.
- VM cloning tools to enable parallel execution of RPAs.
- 2FA/OTP handling for secure automation.
- Extensible triggers: Slack notifications, human‑in‑the‑loop steps, or calls to an LLM for state verification via screenshots.
Call for Feedback
The creators are eager to hear feedback and learn about any RPA horror stories.
Comments: (32 points, 19 comments)