MCPBrowser

MCPBrowser gives your AI assistant the ability to browse web pages like a human. Lets AI assistants (Claude, Copilot) access any website — especially those protected by authentication, CAPTCHAs, anti-bot restrictions, or requiring JavaScript rendering. Uses your real Chrome/Edge browser session, so you log in once, and your AI can navigate, click buttons, fill forms, and extract content from sites that block automated requests.

Built on the Model Context Protocol (MCP), MCPBrowser works seamlessly with Claude Desktop, Claude Code (CLI), GitHub Copilot, and any MCP-compatible AI assistant. It handles corporate SSO, CAPTCHAs, Cloudflare protection, SPAs, dashboards, and any site that blocks automated requests. Your AI gets the same access you have — no special APIs, no headless browser detection, just your authenticated browser session.

Example workflow for AI assistant to use MCPBrowser

1. fetch_webpage    → Load the login page
2. type_text        → Enter username
3. type_text        → Enter password
4. click_element    → Click "Sign In"
5. get_current_html → Extract the content after login

Contents

• Requirements
• Installation
  • VS Code Extension
  • Claude Code
  • Claude Desktop
  • npm Package
• MCP Tools
  • fetch_webpage
  • click_element
  • type_text
  • get_current_html
  • close_tab
• Configuration
• Troubleshooting
• For Developers
• Links
• License

Requirements

• Chrome or Edge browser
• Node.js 18+

Installation

Option 1: VS Code Extension

Install from VS Code Marketplace or run:

code --install-extension cherchyk.mcpbrowser

The extension automatically installs and configures everything for GitHub Copilot.

Option 2: Claude Code

claude mcp add mcpbrowser --scope user -- npx -y mcpbrowser@latest

Verify it's working:

claude mcp list

You should see:

mcpbrowser: npx -y mcpbrowser@latest - ✓ Connected

That's it! Ask Claude to fetch any protected page:

"Fetch https://portal.azure.com using mcpbrowser"

Option 3: Claude Desktop

Add to your config file:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "MCPBrowser": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcpbrowser@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop after saving.

Option 4: npm Package

For VS Code (GitHub Copilot) manual setup, add to your mcp.json:

Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\User\mcp.json Mac/Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "MCPBrowser": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcpbrowser@latest"]
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

fetch_webpage

Fetches web pages using your Chrome/Edge browser. Handles authentication, CAPTCHA, SSO, anti-bot protection, and JavaScript-heavy sites. Opens the URL in a browser tab (reuses existing tab for same domain) and waits for the page to fully load before returning content.

Parameters:

• url (string, required) - The URL to fetch
• removeUnnecessaryHTML (boolean, optional, default: true) - Remove unnecessary HTML for size reduction by ~90%
• postLoadWait (number, optional, default: 1000) - Milliseconds to wait after page load for SPAs to render dynamic content

Examples:

// Basic fetch
{ url: "https://example.com" }

// Fetch with custom wait time for slow SPAs
{ url: "https://dashboard.example.com", postLoadWait: 2000 }

// Keep full HTML without cleanup
{ url: "https://example.com", removeUnnecessaryHTML: false }

click_element

Clicks on any clickable element (buttons, links, divs with onclick handlers, etc.). Can target by CSS selector or visible text content. Automatically scrolls element into view and waits for page stability after clicking.

⚠️ Note: Page must be already loaded via fetch_webpage first.

Parameters:

• url (string, required) - The URL of the page (must match a previously fetched page)
• selector (string, optional) - CSS selector for the element (e.g., #submit-btn, .login-button)
• text (string, optional) - Text content to search for if selector not provided (e.g., "Sign In", "Submit")
• returnHtml (boolean, optional, default: true) - Whether to wait for stability and return HTML after clicking. Set to false for fast form interactions (checkboxes, radio buttons)
• removeUnnecessaryHTML (boolean, optional, default: true) - Remove unnecessary HTML for size reduction. Only used when returnHtml is true
• postClickWait (number, optional, default: 1000) - Milliseconds to wait after click for SPAs to render dynamic content
• waitForElementTimeout (number, optional, default: 1000) - Maximum time to wait for element in milliseconds

Examples:

// Click by text content
{ url: "https://example.com", text: "Sign In" }

// Click by CSS selector
{ url: "https://example.com", selector: "#login-button" }

// Click without waiting for HTML (fast checkbox toggle)
{ url: "https://example.com", selector: "#agree-checkbox", returnHtml: false }

// Click with custom wait time
{ url: "https://example.com", text: "Load More", postClickWait: 2000 }

type_text

Types text into an input field, textarea, or other editable element. Simulates human-like typing with configurable delay between keystrokes. Automatically clears existing text by default.

⚠️ Note: Page must be already loaded via fetch_webpage first.

Parameters:

• url (string, required) - The URL of the page (must match a previously fetched page)
• selector (string, required) - CSS selector for the input element (e.g., #username, input[name="email"])
• text (string, required) - Text to type into the field
• clear (boolean, optional, default: true) - Whether to clear existing text first
• typeDelay (number, optional, default: 50) - Delay between keystrokes in milliseconds (simulates human typing)
• returnHtml (boolean, optional, default: true) - Whether to wait for stability and return HTML after typing
• removeUnnecessaryHTML (boolean, optional, default: true) - Remove unnecessary HTML for size reduction. Only used when returnHtml is true
• postTypeWait (number, optional, default: 1000) - Milliseconds to wait after typing for SPAs to render dynamic content
• waitForElementTimeout (number, optional, default: 5000) - Maximum time to wait for element in milliseconds

Examples:

// Basic text input
{ url: "https://example.com", selector: "#email", text: "user@example.com" }

// Append text without clearing
{ url: "https://example.com", selector: "#search", text: " advanced", clear: false }

// Fast typing without human simulation
{ url: "https://example.com", selector: "#username", text: "john", typeDelay: 0 }

// Type without waiting for HTML return (faster)
{ url: "https://example.com", selector: "#field", text: "value", returnHtml: false }

get_current_html

Gets the current HTML from an already-loaded page WITHOUT navigating or reloading. Much faster than fetch_webpage since it only extracts the current DOM state. Use this after interactions (click, type) to get the updated page content efficiently.

⚠️ Note: Page must be already loaded via fetch_webpage first.

Parameters:

• url (string, required) - The URL of the page (must match a previously fetched page)
• removeUnnecessaryHTML (boolean, optional, default: true) - Remove unnecessary HTML for size reduction by ~90%

Examples:

// Get current HTML after interactions
{ url: "https://example.com" }

// Get full HTML without cleanup
{ url: "https://example.com", removeUnnecessaryHTML: false }

Performance comparison:

• fetch_webpage: 2-5 seconds (full page reload)
• get_current_html: 0.1-0.3 seconds (just extracts HTML) ✅

close_tab

Closes the browser tab for the given URL's hostname. Removes the page from the tab pool and forces a fresh session on the next visit to that hostname. Useful for clearing authentication state, managing memory, or starting fresh with a domain.

⚠️ Note: Uses exact hostname match (www.example.com and example.com are treated as different tabs).

Parameters:

• url (string, required) - The URL whose hostname tab should be closed

Examples:

// Close tab for a domain
{ url: "https://example.com" }

// This will close the tab for portal.azure.com
{ url: "https://portal.azure.com/dashboard" }

Use cases:

• Clear authentication/session state
• Free up browser memory
• Reset to fresh state before new login

Configuration (Optional)

Environment variables for advanced setup:

Troubleshooting

Browser doesn't open?

• Make sure Chrome or Edge is installed
• Try setting CHROME_PATH explicitly

Can't connect to browser?

• Close all Chrome instances and try again
• Check if port 9222 is in use

Authentication not preserved?

• Keep the browser tab open (default behavior)
• Use the same domain for related requests

For Developers

For Developers

Clone and setup:

git clone https://github.com/cherchyk/MCPBrowser.git
cd MCPBrowser
npm run install:all  # Installs dependencies for all workspace packages

Run tests:

# Test everything
npm test

# Test MCP server only
npm run test:mcp

# Test extension only
npm run test:extension

Links

• GitHub
• npm
• VS Code Marketplace
• Issues

License

MIT