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mack-peng
by mack-peng

cssprobe-cli

Runtime CSS probe — inspect layout, scroll, colors, backgrounds, fonts and more in a live browser. Built for both humans and AI agents.

License: MIT Node.js npm version npm downloads GitHub stars

Static + runtime CSS diagnosis for AI agents — pair with cssgraph (the CSS knowledge graph) for the full picture.


Why cssprobe-cli?

When an AI agent needs to debug CSS — why is this element overflowing, what's the actual rendered layout, is this container scrollable — it can't see the browser. It guesses from static code, missing runtime-only issues like overflow, scroll chains, and containing block hijacks.

cssprobe-cli gives the agent eyes. It opens a real browser, collects computed styles and metrics via injected JavaScript, analyzes them with a confidence model, and returns structured findings — all in one command. The agent asks a question about any selector and gets back the DOM tree, ASCII layout diagram, overflow warnings, and scroll diagnosis without leaving the terminal.


Related MCP server: mcp-browser-lens

Installation

For Humans

Copy and paste this prompt to your LLM agent (Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, etc.):

Install and configure cssprobe-cli by following the instructions here:
https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mack-peng/cssprobe-cli/main/docs/guide/installation.md

Or read the Installation Guide, but seriously, let an agent do it. Humans fat-finger configs.

For LLM Agents

Fetch the installation guide and follow it:

curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/mack-peng/cssprobe-cli/main/docs/guide/installation.md

Or install directly:

npm install -g cssprobe-cli
cssprobe-cli skill-install

How It Works

┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                      AI Agent                              │
│                                                           │
│  "Is .sidebar overflowing?"                               │
│      calls: cssprobe-cli inspect .sidebar                 │
│                             │                             │
└─────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  cssprobe-cli daemon                       │
│                                                           │
│  collector (IIFE) → analyzer (pure) → renderer (md/json)  │
│                             │                             │
│                             ▼                             │
│               Playwright browser (Chromium)                │
│     getBoundingClientRect · getComputedStyle · DOM walk    │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  1. Session — open spawns a daemon process managing a browser. Commands connect via Unix socket.

  2. Collector — Injected as IIFE into the page. Walks the DOM, reads computed styles, declared values, and element metrics.

  3. Analyzer — Pure Node.js functions. Classifies findings with confidence levels (DEFINITE / INDEFINITE / UNVERIFIABLE).

  4. Renderer — Outputs Markdown (default) or JSON. Includes ASCII layout diagram, DOM tree, and findings.


Quick Start

1. Inspect a Page

# Open browser (non-blocking, starts daemon session)
cssprobe-cli open https://getbootstrap.com/docs/5.3/examples/checkout

# Inspect with CSS selector
cssprobe-cli inspect .container

# Show ASCII layout diagram
cssprobe-cli layout .container

# Show only issues/warnings
cssprobe-cli findings .container

# Close browser when done
cssprobe-cli close

2. Login-Protected Pages

# Open browser in headed mode
cssprobe-cli open https://mysite.com --headed

# User manually logs in...

# Save session state for future use
cssprobe-cli state-save --name mysite

# Reopen with saved state (no login needed)
cssprobe-cli open https://mysite.com --state state.json --headed

3. JSON Output

cssprobe-cli inspect body --json
cssprobe-cli inspect body --json | jq '.findings[] | {id, confidence, message}'

4. Use as an MCP Server (AI clients)

cssprobe-cli ships an MCP server (stdio), so AI clients call it as a native tool — no shell needed:

cssprobe-cli mcp-install          # auto-detect and configure installed clients
cssprobe-cli mcp-install --target=claude,cursor,codex
cssprobe-cli mcp-install --local  # write project-scoped config

Manual configuration for any MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cssprobe-cli": { "command": "cssprobe-cli", "args": ["mcp"] }
  }
}

Exposes 10 tools: cssprobe_open, cssprobe_inspect, cssprobe_tree, cssprobe_layout, cssprobe_findings, cssprobe_eval, cssprobe_screenshot, cssprobe_inject_css, cssprobe_close, cssprobe_status. Remove with cssprobe-cli mcp-uninstall.


Commands

Session Management

Command

Description

open [url]

Open browser in session mode (non-blocking)

open [url] --headed

Show browser window

open [url] --state <file>

Open with saved cookies + localStorage

open [url] --viewport 1280x720

Custom viewport size

open [url] --expect-url <regex>

Fail unless the final URL matches the pattern

open [url] --fail-on-login

Fail fast when redirected to a login URL

close

Close browser session

close --all

Close all sessions across all workspaces

status

Show session status (URL, title, frame count)

frames

List frames: index, name, URL, main marker

doctor

Diagnose browser install vs Playwright expected revision

CSS Inspection

Command

Description

inspect <selector>

Full CSS diagnosis (computed values, declared values, findings)

inspect <selector> --layout

Include ASCII layout diagram

inspect <selector> --brief

Compact: tree sketch + warnings/errors only

inspect <selector> --json

Structured JSON output

tree <selector>

DOM tree structure

layout <selector>

ASCII layout diagram

findings <selector>

Only issues/warnings/errors

Inspection commands accept --frame <index|name|url-substring> to target an iframe; the default is the main frame.

CSS Injection

Command

Description

inject-css <css>

Inject CSS into current page

Browser

Command

Description

resize <width> <height>

Resize browser viewport

eval <expression>

Evaluate JavaScript (browser context); DOM nodes are auto-serialized; promises are awaited, undefined fields become null

eval @file / eval -

Read the expression from a file or stdin

playwright <call>

Execute Playwright API (Node.js context)

screenshot

Take screenshot (saves to ~/.cssprobe-cli/screenshots/, --out to override)

Interaction

Command

Description

click <selector>

Real mouse click (auto-scroll + actionability wait; works with custom React components)

hover <selector>

Real mouse hover

type <selector> <text>

Fill text (replaces value); --press Enter to submit; --sequential for real key events

wait-for <selector>

Wait for selector state (--state visible|hidden|attached|detached, --timeout ms)

wait-for --js "<predicate>"

Wait until a JS predicate is truthy

wait-for --network-idle

Wait until the page is network-idle (page-level; no --frame)

wait-for ... --frame <spec>

Wait inside an iframe (selector/js modes)

sample "<expr>"

Sample an expression over time (--interval, --duration, --key, --frame); returns timeline + summary

wait-stable "<expr>"

Wait until an expression stops changing (--tolerance, --window, --timeout)

run <file>

Run a multi-step flow script

click / hover support --nth N (1-based, default first match), --force (skip actionability checks) and --timeout ms. Without --nth, multiple matches fail (strict) to prevent wrong-target clicks.

State

Command

Description

state-import <file>

Import cookies from Netscape format

state-save

Save current browser session state (cookies + localStorage)

state-check

Validate a state file: cookie count, expiry, target domain coverage (--state, --url)

Configuration

Command

Description

config-show

Show current config

config-set <key> <value>

Set config value

config-list

List all profiles

config-use <name>

Switch active profile

config-new <name>

Create new profile

config-path

Show config file path


Multi-step Flows

The interaction commands drive a page step by step; run turns a sequence into a versionable script:

cssprobe-cli open https://example.com/editor
cssprobe-cli wait-for .editor-canvas
cssprobe-cli click ".layout-switch" --nth 1
cssprobe-cli type ".block-title input" "Hello" --press Enter
cssprobe-cli inspect .block-grid --json
cssprobe-cli close

For repeatable flows, write a script and run it with one command. The script runs inside the daemon session (full Playwright page access):

// flow.js
export default async ({ page, context, frames, newPage, click, waitFor, type, inspect, screenshot, expect, log }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com/editor', { waitUntil: 'domcontentloaded' });
  await waitFor('.editor-canvas', { state: 'visible', timeout: 10000 });

  await click('.layout-switch', { nth: 1 });
  await waitFor({ js: "() => document.body.dataset.layout === 'two-col'" });

  await type('.block-title input', 'Hello', { press: 'Enter', sequential: true, clear: true });
  await waitFor({ networkIdle: true });

  const { findings } = await inspect('.block-grid', { format: 'json' });
  log('findings:', findings.length);
  await screenshot({ path: './after-layout-switch.png' });

  return { findings: findings.length };
};
cssprobe-cli run ./flow.js        # --timeout ms for the whole script (default 300000, 0 = unlimited)

Scripts must default-export an async function receiving the API object: page, context, frames(), newPage(), click, hover, type, waitFor, inspect, screenshot, expect, log. waitFor accepts { state, timeout, frame }. Uncaught page errors are collected into the result envelope as pageErrors. screenshot relative paths resolve against the script's directory; logs (log() and console.*) are collected and returned with the result. On failure the command exits 1, prints the collected logs, and keeps the session alive.

Scripts are executed by the local daemon with full Node privileges — only run trusted scripts.


Scenario Suites (Regression)

Run repeatable regression cases from a JSON suite: each case opens a fresh browser, executes steps, asserts on saved values, and writes artifacts + an optional JUnit report.

cssprobe-cli scenario run suites/ticket-26571394.json \
  --state ~/.cssprobe-cli/states/preprod.json \
  --artifacts out/ticket-26571394 \
  --junit out/junit.xml
{
  "name": "ticket 26571394 preprod",
  "defaults": { "viewport": { "width": 1280, "height": 800 } },
  "cases": [
    {
      "name": "refresh keeps the hash section aligned",
      "url": "https://example.com/#listen-to-tcmi",
      "steps": [
        { "do": "sample", "expression": "({ hash: location.hash, top: Math.round(document.querySelector('#listen-to-tcmi')?.getBoundingClientRect().top ?? -1) })", "interval": 250, "duration": 12000, "key": "top", "tailFrom": 9500, "save": "timeline" },
        { "do": "assert", "label": "hash retained", "on": "timeline", "path": "summary.last.value.hash", "eq": "#listen-to-tcmi" },
        { "do": "assert", "label": "anchor stable", "on": "timeline", "path": "summary.tail.min", "min": 70 },
        { "do": "assert", "label": "anchor stable", "on": "timeline", "path": "summary.tail.max", "max": 90 }
      ]
    },
    {
      "name": "deployment fingerprint",
      "url": "https://example.com/",
      "steps": [
        { "do": "waitFor", "js": "() => !!window.DEBUG?.NavigatorStore", "timeout": 20000 },
        { "do": "assert", "globals": { "DEBUG.NavigatorStore.setHashRestoreProtected": "function" }, "absent": ["DEBUG.NavigatorStore.navigateToSectionId"] }
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Steps: goto, reload, wait, eval, sample, waitStable, click, waitFor, screenshot, assert. wait takes a fixed ms; waitFor supports frame for in-iframe selector/js waits. sample and eval save values with save: "<name>"; assertions read them with on: "<name>" + path, or check live state (url, title, frames), url, globals, absent. sample supports key, tailFrom, ignoreErrors; every run writes summary.json, per-case case.json, sample series and failure screenshots.

Iframe and preview pages. A page can contain hidden helper iframes (about:blank); use frames to pick the real one, and state: "attached" when waiting for a frame element that is not visible. Preview frames can take 6–8s to render and analytics requests keep networkIdle busy — prefer a fixed wait step followed by a waitFor inside the frame (frame: "i/preview") instead of networkIdle.

Confidence Model

Every finding carries a confidence level:

Level

Meaning

DEFINITE

Based on computed values (facts from getComputedStyle) or accessible declared values

INDEFINITE

Declared value uses % — resolves at runtime

UNVERIFIABLE

Declared value missing or from blocked cross-origin stylesheet

The report header shows: confidence: DEFINITE 8 | INDEFINITE 0 | UNVERIFIABLE 1


Complementary Tool: cssgraph

cssprobe-cli is a runtime CSS probe — it opens a real browser and reads what is actually rendered. For static questions about the source code — where is .btn-primary defined, what cascades over it, which components reference it, what would change if I edited it — use cssgraph, a local SQLite knowledge graph of every className, property, variable, and at-rule in your stylesheets. The two tools complement each other:

cssgraph (static)

cssprobe-cli (runtime)

Analyzes

source code (CSS/SCSS/Less + JSX/TSX + templates)

live browser (computed styles + DOM)

Answers

where a class is defined, cascade, impact, unused CSS

actual rendered layout, overflow, scroll, height chains

When

before/without a browser

after static analysis, to verify at runtime

Usage

cssgraph init + explore/rule/impact

open + inspect/layout/findings

Recommended workflow for a style problem — go static first, then verify at runtime:

# 1. Static: find the definitions, cascade, and blast radius (cssgraph)
cssgraph explore .btn-primary
cssgraph cascade .btn-primary

# 2. Runtime: confirm what actually renders (cssprobe-cli)
cssprobe-cli open https://example.com
cssprobe-cli inspect .btn-primary
cssprobe-cli findings .btn-primary

Install: npm install -g cssgraph (requires Node.js >= 22.5.0). It exposes 12 MCP tools (cssgraph_explore, cssgraph_rule, cssgraph_impact, …) plus CLI commands. See npm / GitHub.


Configuration

# Set values
cssprobe-cli config-set browser chromium
cssprobe-cli config-set depth 8
cssprobe-cli config-set viewport 375x812

# Profile management
cssprobe-cli config-new staging
cssprobe-cli -p staging config-set browser firefox
cssprobe-cli config-use staging

Priority: CLI flags > Environment variables > Config file

--browser       CSSPROBE_BROWSER
--depth         CSSPROBE_DEPTH
--headed        CSSPROBE_HEADED
--viewport      CSSPROBE_VIEWPORT
-p, --profile   CSSPROBE_PROFILE

Config file: ~/.cssprobe-clirc


Supported Platforms

Platform

Architectures

macOS

x64, arm64

Linux

x64, arm64

Windows

x64, arm64


Development

npm install
npm run build       # tsc + esbuild collector + daemon entry + generate help.json
npm test            # Run unit tests (58 tests)
npx tsc --noEmit    # Type check only

If cssprobe-cli is useful

A ⭐ star helps other developers discover it — and tells us to keep shipping.


License

MIT

Maintenance

ActivityActive
ResponsivenessUnresponsive

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