cssprobe-cli
Click on "Deploy Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type
@followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@cssprobe-cliinspect .sidebar on https://example.com and list overflow issues"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
cssprobe-cli
Runtime CSS probe — inspect layout, scroll, colors, backgrounds, fonts and more in a live browser. Built for both humans and AI agents.
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.mdOr 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.mdOr install directly:
npm install -g cssprobe-cli
cssprobe-cli skill-installHow 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 │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Session —
openspawns a daemon process managing a browser. Commands connect via Unix socket.Collector — Injected as IIFE into the page. Walks the DOM, reads computed styles, declared values, and element metrics.
Analyzer — Pure Node.js functions. Classifies findings with confidence levels (DEFINITE / INDEFINITE / UNVERIFIABLE).
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 close2. 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 --headed3. 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 configManual 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 browser in session mode (non-blocking) |
| Show browser window |
| Open with saved cookies + localStorage |
| Custom viewport size |
| Fail unless the final URL matches the pattern |
| Fail fast when redirected to a login URL |
| Close browser session |
| Close all sessions across all workspaces |
| Show session status (URL, title, frame count) |
| List frames: index, name, URL, main marker |
| Diagnose browser install vs Playwright expected revision |
CSS Inspection
Command | Description |
| Full CSS diagnosis (computed values, declared values, findings) |
| Include ASCII layout diagram |
| Compact: tree sketch + warnings/errors only |
| Structured JSON output |
| DOM tree structure |
| ASCII layout diagram |
| 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 into current page |
Browser
Command | Description |
| Resize browser viewport |
| Evaluate JavaScript (browser context); DOM nodes are auto-serialized; promises are awaited, |
| Read the expression from a file or stdin |
| Execute Playwright API (Node.js context) |
| Take screenshot (saves to ~/.cssprobe-cli/screenshots/, --out to override) |
Interaction
Command | Description |
| Real mouse click (auto-scroll + actionability wait; works with custom React components) |
| Real mouse hover |
| Fill text (replaces value); |
| Wait for selector state ( |
| Wait until a JS predicate is truthy |
| Wait until the page is network-idle (page-level; no |
| Wait inside an iframe (selector/js modes) |
| Sample an expression over time ( |
| Wait until an expression stops changing ( |
| 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 |
| Import cookies from Netscape format |
| Save current browser session state (cookies + localStorage) |
| Validate a state file: cookie count, expiry, target domain coverage ( |
Configuration
Command | Description |
| Show current config |
| Set config value |
| List all profiles |
| Switch active profile |
| Create new profile |
| 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 closeFor 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 |
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 |
|
|
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-primaryInstall: 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 stagingPriority: CLI flags > Environment variables > Config file
--browser CSSPROBE_BROWSER
--depth CSSPROBE_DEPTH
--headed CSSPROBE_HEADED
--viewport CSSPROBE_VIEWPORT
-p, --profile CSSPROBE_PROFILEConfig 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 onlyIf cssprobe-cli is useful
A ⭐ star helps other developers discover it — and tells us to keep shipping.
License
MIT
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Maintenance
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