Fetcher MCP
by jae-jae
Verified
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# Fetcher MCP
MCP server for fetch web page content using Playwright headless browser.
## Advantages
- **JavaScript Support**: Unlike traditional web scrapers, Fetcher MCP uses Playwright to execute JavaScript, making it capable of handling dynamic web content and modern web applications.
- **Intelligent Content Extraction**: Built-in Readability algorithm automatically extracts the main content from web pages, removing ads, navigation, and other non-essential elements.
- **Flexible Output Format**: Supports both HTML and Markdown output formats, making it easy to integrate with various downstream applications.
- **Parallel Processing**: The `fetch_urls` tool enables concurrent fetching of multiple URLs, significantly improving efficiency for batch operations.
- **Resource Optimization**: Automatically blocks unnecessary resources (images, stylesheets, fonts, media) to reduce bandwidth usage and improve performance.
- **Robust Error Handling**: Comprehensive error handling and logging ensure reliable operation even when dealing with problematic web pages.
- **Configurable Parameters**: Fine-grained control over timeouts, content extraction, and output formatting to suit different use cases.
## Quick Start
Run directly with npx:
```bash
npx -y fetcher-mcp
```
### Debug Mode
Run with the `--debug` option to show the browser window for debugging:
```bash
npx -y fetcher-mcp --debug
```
## Configuration MCP
Configure this MCP server in Claude Desktop:
On MacOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
On Windows: `%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"fetcher": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "fetcher-mcp"]
}
}
}
```
## Features
- `fetch_url` - Retrieve web page content from a specified URL
- Uses Playwright headless browser to parse JavaScript
- Supports intelligent extraction of main content and conversion to Markdown
- Supports the following parameters:
- `url`: The URL of the web page to fetch (required parameter)
- `timeout`: Page loading timeout in milliseconds, default is 30000 (30 seconds)
- `waitUntil`: Specifies when navigation is considered complete, options: 'load', 'domcontentloaded', 'networkidle', 'commit', default is 'load'
- `extractContent`: Whether to intelligently extract the main content, default is true
- `maxLength`: Maximum length of returned content (in characters), default is no limit
- `returnHtml`: Whether to return HTML content instead of Markdown, default is false
- `waitForNavigation`: Whether to wait for additional navigation after initial page load (useful for sites with anti-bot verification), default is false
- `navigationTimeout`: Maximum time to wait for additional navigation in milliseconds, default is 10000 (10 seconds)
- `disableMedia`: Whether to disable media resources (images, stylesheets, fonts, media), default is true
- `debug`: Whether to enable debug mode (showing browser window), overrides the --debug command line flag if specified
- `fetch_urls` - Batch retrieve web page content from multiple URLs in parallel
- Uses multi-tab parallel fetching for improved performance
- Returns combined results with clear separation between webpages
- Supports the following parameters:
- `urls`: Array of URLs to fetch (required parameter)
- Other parameters are the same as `fetch_url`
## Tips
### Handling Special Website Scenarios
#### Dealing with Anti-Crawler Mechanisms
- **Wait for Complete Loading**: For websites using CAPTCHA, redirects, or other verification mechanisms, include in your prompt:
```
Please wait for the page to fully load
```
This will use the `waitForNavigation: true` parameter.
- **Increase Timeout Duration**: For websites that load slowly:
```
Please set the page loading timeout to 60 seconds
```
This adjusts both `timeout` and `navigationTimeout` parameters accordingly.
#### Content Retrieval Adjustments
- **Preserve Original HTML Structure**: When content extraction might fail:
```
Please preserve the original HTML content
```
Sets `extractContent: false` and `returnHtml: true`.
- **Fetch Complete Page Content**: When extracted content is too limited:
```
Please fetch the complete webpage content instead of just the main content
```
Sets `extractContent: false`.
- **Return Content as HTML**: When HTML format is needed instead of default Markdown:
```
Please return the content in HTML format
```
Sets `returnHtml: true`.
### Debugging and Authentication
#### Enabling Debug Mode
- **Dynamic Debug Activation**: To display the browser window during a specific fetch operation:
```
Please enable debug mode for this fetch operation
```
This sets `debug: true` even if the server was started without the `--debug` flag.
#### Using Custom Cookies for Authentication
- **Manual Login**: To login using your own credentials:
```
Please run in debug mode so I can manually log in to the website
```
Sets `debug: true` or uses the `--debug` flag, keeping the browser window open for manual login.
- **Interacting with Debug Browser**: When debug mode is enabled:
1. The browser window remains open
2. You can manually log into the website using your credentials
3. After login is complete, content will be fetched with your authenticated session
- **Enable Debug for Specific Requests**: Even if the server is already running, you can enable debug mode for a specific request:
```
Please enable debug mode for this authentication step
```
Sets `debug: true` for this specific request only, opening the browser window for manual login.
## Development
### Install Dependencies
```bash
npm install
```
### Install Playwright Browser
Install the browsers needed for Playwright:
```bash
npm run install-browser
```
### Build the Server
```bash
npm run build
```
## Debugging
Use MCP Inspector for debugging:
```bash
npm run inspector
```
You can also enable visible browser mode for debugging:
```bash
node build/index.js --debug
```
## License
Licensed under the [MIT License](https://choosealicense.com/licenses/mit/)