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Browser-Use MCP Server

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mcp-server-browser-use

MCP server that gives AI assistants the power to control a web browser.

License

Table of Contents

Related MCP server: Browser Automation MCP Server

What is this?

This wraps browser-use as an MCP server, letting Claude (or any MCP client) automate a real browser—navigate pages, fill forms, click buttons, extract data, and more.

Why HTTP instead of stdio?

Browser automation tasks take 30-120+ seconds. The standard MCP stdio transport has timeout issues with long-running operations—connections drop mid-task. HTTP transport solves this by running as a persistent daemon that handles requests reliably regardless of duration.

Installation

Claude Code Plugin (Recommended)

Install as a Claude Code plugin for automatic setup:

# Install the plugin /plugin install browser-use/mcp-browser-use

The plugin automatically:

  • Installs Playwright browsers on first run

  • Starts the HTTP daemon when Claude Code starts

  • Registers the MCP server with Claude

Set your API key (the browser agent needs an LLM to decide actions):

# Set API key (environment variable - recommended) export GEMINI_API_KEY=your-key-here # Or use config file mcp-server-browser-use config set -k llm.api_key -v your-key-here

That's it! Claude can now use browser automation tools.

Manual Installation

For other MCP clients or standalone use:

# Clone and install git clone https://github.com/anthropics/mcp-server-browser-use.git cd mcp-server-browser-use uv sync # Install browser uv run playwright install chromium # Start the server uv run mcp-server-browser-use server

Add to Claude Desktop (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{ "mcpServers": { "browser-use": { "type": "streamable-http", "url": "http://localhost:8383/mcp" } } }

For MCP clients that don't support HTTP transport, use mcp-remote as a proxy:

{ "mcpServers": { "browser-use": { "command": "npx", "args": ["mcp-remote", "http://localhost:8383/mcp"] } } }

Web UI

Access the task viewer at http://localhost:8383 when the daemon is running.

Features:

  • Real-time task list with status and progress

  • Task details with execution logs

  • Server health status and uptime

  • Running tasks monitoring

The web UI provides visibility into browser automation tasks without requiring CLI commands.

Configuration

Settings are stored in ~/.config/mcp-server-browser-use/config.json.

View current config:

mcp-server-browser-use config view

Change settings:

mcp-server-browser-use config set -k llm.provider -v openai mcp-server-browser-use config set -k llm.model_name -v gpt-4o # Note: Set API keys via environment variables (e.g., ANTHROPIC_API_KEY) for better security # mcp-server-browser-use config set -k llm.api_key -v sk-... mcp-server-browser-use config set -k browser.headless -v false mcp-server-browser-use config set -k agent.max_steps -v 30

Settings Reference

Key

Default

Description

llm.provider

google

LLM provider (anthropic, openai, google, azure_openai, groq, deepseek, cerebras, ollama, bedrock, browser_use, openrouter, vercel)

llm.model_name

gemini-3-flash-preview

Model for the browser agent

llm.api_key

-

API key for the provider (prefer env vars: GEMINI_API_KEY, ANTHROPIC_API_KEY, etc.)

browser.headless

true

Run browser without GUI

browser.cdp_url

-

Connect to existing Chrome (e.g.,

http://localhost:9222

)

browser.user_data_dir

-

Chrome profile directory for persistent logins/cookies

agent.max_steps

20

Max steps per browser task

agent.use_vision

true

Enable vision capabilities for the agent

research.max_searches

5

Max searches per research task

research.search_timeout

-

Timeout for individual searches

server.host

127.0.0.1

Server bind address

server.port

8383

Server port

server.results_dir

-

Directory to save results

server.auth_token

-

Auth token for non-localhost connections

skills.enabled

false

Enable skills system (beta - disabled by default)

skills.directory

~/.config/browser-skills

Skills storage location

skills.validate_results

true

Validate skill execution results

Config Priority

Environment Variables > Config File > Defaults

Environment variables use prefix MCP_ + section + _ + key (e.g., MCP_LLM_PROVIDER).

Using Your Own Browser

Option 1: Persistent Profile (Recommended)

Use a dedicated Chrome profile to preserve logins and cookies:

# Set user data directory mcp-server-browser-use config set -k browser.user_data_dir -v ~/.chrome-browser-use

Option 2: Connect to Existing Chrome

Connect to an existing Chrome instance (useful for advanced debugging):

# Launch Chrome with debugging enabled google-chrome --remote-debugging-port=9222 # Configure CDP connection (localhost only for security) mcp-server-browser-use config set -k browser.cdp_url -v http://localhost:9222

CLI Reference

Server Management

mcp-server-browser-use server # Start as background daemon mcp-server-browser-use server -f # Start in foreground (for debugging) mcp-server-browser-use status # Check if running mcp-server-browser-use stop # Stop the daemon mcp-server-browser-use logs -f # Tail server logs

Calling Tools

mcp-server-browser-use tools # List all available MCP tools mcp-server-browser-use call run_browser_agent task="Go to google.com" mcp-server-browser-use call run_deep_research topic="quantum computing"

Configuration

mcp-server-browser-use config view # Show all settings mcp-server-browser-use config set -k <key> -v <value> mcp-server-browser-use config path # Show config file location

Observability

mcp-server-browser-use tasks # List recent tasks mcp-server-browser-use tasks --status running mcp-server-browser-use task <id> # Get task details mcp-server-browser-use task cancel <id> # Cancel a running task mcp-server-browser-use health # Server health + stats

Skills Management

mcp-server-browser-use call skill_list mcp-server-browser-use call skill_get name="my-skill" mcp-server-browser-use call skill_delete name="my-skill"

MCP Tools

These tools are exposed via MCP for AI clients:

Tool

Description

Typical Duration

run_browser_agent

Execute browser automation tasks

60-120s

run_deep_research

Multi-search research with synthesis

2-5 min

skill_list

List learned skills

<1s

skill_get

Get skill definition

<1s

skill_delete

Delete a skill

<1s

health_check

Server status and running tasks

<1s

task_list

Query task history

<1s

task_get

Get full task details

<1s

run_browser_agent

The main tool. Tell it what you want in plain English:

mcp-server-browser-use call run_browser_agent \ task="Find the price of iPhone 16 Pro on Apple's website"

The agent launches a browser, navigates to apple.com, finds the product, and returns the price.

Parameters:

Parameter

Type

Description

task

string

What to do (required)

max_steps

int

Override default max steps

skill_name

string

Use a learned skill

skill_params

JSON

Parameters for the skill

learn

bool

Enable learning mode

save_skill_as

string

Name for the learned skill

run_deep_research

Multi-step web research with automatic synthesis:

mcp-server-browser-use call run_deep_research \ topic="Latest developments in quantum computing" \ max_searches=5

The agent searches multiple sources, extracts key findings, and compiles a markdown report.

Deep Research

Deep research executes a 3-phase workflow:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Phase 1: PLANNING │ │ LLM generates 3-5 focused search queries from topic │ └─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Phase 2: SEARCHING │ │ For each query: │ │ • Browser agent executes search │ │ • Extracts URL + summary from results │ │ • Stores findings │ └─────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────┘ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ Phase 3: SYNTHESIS │ │ LLM creates markdown report: │ │ 1. Executive Summary │ │ 2. Key Findings (by theme) │ │ 3. Analysis and Insights │ │ 4. Gaps and Limitations │ │ 5. Conclusion with Sources │ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Reports can be auto-saved by configuring research.save_directory.

Observability

All tool executions are tracked in SQLite for debugging and monitoring.

Task Lifecycle

PENDING ──► RUNNING ──► COMPLETED │ ├──► FAILED └──► CANCELLED

Task Stages

During execution, tasks progress through granular stages:

INITIALIZING → PLANNING → NAVIGATING → EXTRACTING → SYNTHESIZING

Querying Tasks

List recent tasks:

mcp-server-browser-use tasks
┌──────────────┬───────────────────┬───────────┬──────────┬──────────┐ │ ID │ Tool │ Status │ Progress │ Duration │ ├──────────────┼───────────────────┼───────────┼──────────┼──────────┤ │ a1b2c3d4 │ run_browser_agent │ completed │ 15/15 │ 45s │ │ e5f6g7h8 │ run_deep_research │ running │ 3/7 │ 2m 15s │ └──────────────┴───────────────────┴───────────┴──────────┴──────────┘

Get task details:

mcp-server-browser-use task a1b2c3d4

Server health:

mcp-server-browser-use health

Shows uptime, memory usage, and currently running tasks.

MCP Tools for Observability

AI clients can query task status directly:

  • health_check - Server status + list of running tasks

  • task_list - Recent tasks with optional status filter

  • task_get - Full details of a specific task

Storage

  • Database: ~/.config/mcp-server-browser-use/tasks.db

  • Retention: Completed tasks auto-deleted after 7 days

  • Format: SQLite with WAL mode for concurrency

Skills System (Super Alpha)

Warning: This feature is experimental and under active development. Expect rough edges.

Skills are disabled by default. Enable them first:

mcp-server-browser-use config set -k skills.enabled -v true

Skills let you "teach" the agent a task once, then replay it 50x faster by reusing discovered API endpoints instead of full browser automation.

The Problem

Browser automation is slow (60-120 seconds per task). But most websites have APIs behind their UI. If we can discover those APIs, we can call them directly.

The Solution

Skills capture the API calls made during a browser session and replay them directly via CDP (Chrome DevTools Protocol).

Without Skills: Browser navigation → 60-120 seconds With Skills: Direct API call → 1-3 seconds

Learning a Skill

mcp-server-browser-use call run_browser_agent \ task="Find React packages on npmjs.com" \ learn=true \ save_skill_as="npm-search"

What happens:

  1. Recording: CDP captures all network traffic during execution

  2. Analysis: LLM identifies the "money request"—the API call that returns the data

  3. Extraction: URL patterns, headers, and response parsing rules are saved

  4. Storage: Skill saved as YAML to ~/.config/browser-skills/npm-search.yaml

Using a Skill

mcp-server-browser-use call run_browser_agent \ skill_name="npm-search" \ skill_params='{"query": "vue"}'

Two Execution Modes

Every skill supports two execution paths:

1. Direct Execution (Fast Path) ~2 seconds

If the skill captured an API endpoint (SkillRequest):

Initialize CDP session ↓ Navigate to domain (establish cookies) ↓ Execute fetch() via Runtime.evaluate ↓ Parse response with JSONPath ↓ Return data

2. Hint-Based Execution (Fallback) ~60-120 seconds

If direct execution fails or no API was found:

Inject navigation hints into task prompt ↓ Agent uses hints as guidance ↓ Agent discovers and calls API ↓ Return data

Skill File Format

Skills are stored as YAML in ~/.config/browser-skills/:

name: npm-search description: Search for packages on npmjs.com version: "1.0" # For direct execution (fast path) request: url: "https://www.npmjs.com/search?q={query}" method: GET headers: Accept: application/json response_type: json extract_path: "objects[*].package" # For hint-based execution (fallback) hints: navigation: - step: "Go to npmjs.com" url: "https://www.npmjs.com" money_request: url_pattern: "/search" method: GET # Auth recovery (if API returns 401/403) auth_recovery: trigger_on_status: [401, 403] recovery_page: "https://www.npmjs.com/login" # Usage stats success_count: 12 failure_count: 1 last_used: "2024-01-15T10:30:00Z"

Parameters

Skills support parameterized URLs and request bodies:

request: url: "https://api.example.com/search?q={query}&limit={limit}" body_template: '{"filters": {"category": "{category}"}}'

Parameters are substituted at execution time from skill_params.

Auth Recovery

If an API returns 401/403, skills can trigger auth recovery:

auth_recovery: trigger_on_status: [401, 403] recovery_page: "https://example.com/login" max_retries: 2

The system will navigate to the recovery page (letting you log in) and retry.

Limitations

  • API Discovery: Only works if the site has an API. Sites that render everything server-side won't yield useful skills.

  • Auth State: Skills rely on browser cookies. If you're logged out, they may fail.

  • API Changes: If a site changes their API, the skill breaks. Falls back to hint-based execution.

  • Complex Flows: Multi-step workflows (login → navigate → search) may not capture cleanly.

Architecture

High-Level Overview

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ MCP CLIENTS │ │ (Claude Desktop, mcp-remote, CLI call) │ └─────────────────────────────────┬───────────────────────────────────────┘ │ HTTP POST /mcp ▼ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ FastMCP SERVER │ │ ┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ MCP TOOLS │ │ │ │ • run_browser_agent • skill_list/get/delete │ │ │ │ • run_deep_research • health_check/task_list/task_get │ │ │ └──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │ └────────┬──────────────┬─────────────────┬────────────────┬──────────────┘ │ │ │ │ ▼ ▼ ▼ ▼ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌─────────────────────┐ │ CONFIG │ │ PROVIDERS │ │ SKILLS │ │ OBSERVABILITY │ │ Pydantic │ │ 12 LLMs │ │ Learn+Run │ │ Task Tracking │ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────────────────────┘ │ ▼ ┌─────────────────────────┐ │ browser-use │ │ (Agent + Playwright) │ └─────────────────────────┘

Module Structure

src/mcp_server_browser_use/ ├── server.py # FastMCP server + MCP tools ├── cli.py # Typer CLI for daemon management ├── config.py # Pydantic settings ├── providers.py # LLM factory (12 providers) │ ├── observability/ # Task tracking │ ├── models.py # TaskRecord, TaskStatus, TaskStage │ ├── store.py # SQLite persistence │ └── logging.py # Structured logging │ ├── skills/ # Machine-learned browser skills │ ├── models.py # Skill, SkillRequest, AuthRecovery │ ├── store.py # YAML persistence │ ├── recorder.py # CDP network capture │ ├── analyzer.py # LLM skill extraction │ ├── runner.py # Direct fetch() execution │ └── executor.py # Hint injection │ └── research/ # Deep research workflow ├── models.py # SearchResult, ResearchSource └── machine.py # Plan → Search → Synthesize

File Locations

What

Where

Config

~/.config/mcp-server-browser-use/config.json

Tasks DB

~/.config/mcp-server-browser-use/tasks.db

Skills

~/.config/browser-skills/*.yaml

Server Log

~/.local/state/mcp-server-browser-use/server.log

Server PID

~/.local/state/mcp-server-browser-use/server.json

Supported LLM Providers

  • OpenAI

  • Anthropic

  • Google Gemini

  • Azure OpenAI

  • Groq

  • DeepSeek

  • Cerebras

  • Ollama (local)

  • AWS Bedrock

  • OpenRouter

  • Vercel AI

License

MIT

One-click Deploy
A
security – no known vulnerabilities
A
license - permissive license
A
quality - confirmed to work

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