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SideButton

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SideButton

Open-source AI agent platform — MCP server, knowledge packs, and workflow automation tools.

License Website Docs

Website · Documentation · GitHub

AI agent platform with 40+ AI agent tools. Run autonomous AI agents with agentic workflows, knowledge packs, and real browser control. Connect Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, or any MCP client.

npx sidebutton@latest
# Dashboard at http://localhost:9876

What you get

MCP Server

40+ AI agent tools for browser control, workflow execution, knowledge pack access. Stdio and SSE transports.

REST API

60+ endpoints. Trigger workflows remotely from webhooks, cron jobs, mobile apps, or other agents.

Workflow Engine

AI workflow automation with 34+ step types — browser, shell, LLM, control flow. Define agentic workflows in YAML.

Knowledge Packs

Installable domain knowledge — CSS selectors, data models, state machines. Role playbooks turn coding agents into an AI software engineer, QA, or PM.

Chrome Extension

40+ browser commands. Real DOM access via WebSocket, not screenshots. Recording mode.

Dashboard

Svelte UI — workflow browser, run logs, skill pack manager, system status.

Quick Start

# Install and start
npx sidebutton@latest

# Or from source
pnpm install && pnpm build && pnpm start

# Open http://localhost:9876

CLI

pnpm cli serve          # Start server with dashboard
pnpm cli serve --stdio  # Start with stdio transport (for Claude Desktop)
pnpm cli list           # List available workflows
pnpm cli status         # Check server status

# Skill pack management
pnpm cli registry add <path|url>   # Install skill packs from a registry
pnpm cli registry update [name]    # Update installed packs
pnpm cli registry remove <name>    # Uninstall packs and remove registry
pnpm cli search [query]            # Search available skill packs

# Creating skill packs
pnpm cli init [domain]             # Scaffold a new skill pack
pnpm cli validate [path]           # Validate pack structure
pnpm cli publish [source]          # Publish to a registry

MCP Server

SideButton is an AI agent platform and MCP server. AI coding agents connect to it directly for browser control, workflow automation, and domain knowledge.

Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Windsurf, ChatGPT — any MCP client.

Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sidebutton": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://localhost:9876/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

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

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sidebutton": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["sidebutton", "--stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sidebutton": {
      "url": "http://localhost:9876/mcp"
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

Tool

Description

run_workflow

Execute a workflow by ID

list_workflows

List all available workflows

get_workflow

Get workflow YAML definition

get_run_log

Get execution log for a run

list_run_logs

List recent workflow executions

get_browser_status

Check browser extension connection

capture_page

Capture selectors from current page

navigate

Navigate browser to URL

snapshot

Get page accessibility snapshot

click

Click an element

type

Type text into an element

scroll

Scroll the page

screenshot

Capture page screenshot

hover

Hover over element

extract

Extract text from element

extract_all

Extract all matching elements

extract_map

Extract structured data from repeated elements

select_option

Select dropdown option

fill

Fill input value (React-compatible)

press_key

Send keyboard keys

scroll_into_view

Scroll element into viewport

evaluate

Execute JavaScript in browser

exists

Check if element exists

wait

Wait for element or delay

check_writing_quality

Evaluate text quality

REST API

60+ JSON endpoints for external integrations. Same workflows available via MCP locally and via REST remotely.

# Run a workflow
curl -X POST http://localhost:9876/api/workflows/check_ticket/run \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"params": {"ticket_id": "PROJ-123"}}'

# List workflows
curl http://localhost:9876/api/workflows

# Get run log
curl http://localhost:9876/api/runs/latest

Trigger workflows from webhooks, cron jobs, mobile apps, or other agents on different machines.

Workflow Engine

YAML-first orchestration. 34+ step types:

Step Types

Type

Description

Browser

browser.navigate

Open a URL

browser.click

Click an element by selector

browser.type

Type text into an element

browser.fill

Fill input value (React-compatible)

browser.scroll

Scroll the page

browser.extract

Extract text from element into variable

browser.extractAll

Extract all matching elements

browser.extractMap

Extract structured data from repeated elements

browser.wait

Wait for element or fixed delay

browser.exists

Check if element exists

browser.hover

Position cursor on element

browser.key

Send keyboard keys

browser.snapshot

Capture accessibility snapshot

browser.injectCSS

Inject CSS styles into page

browser.injectJS

Execute JavaScript in page

browser.select_option

Select dropdown option

browser.scrollIntoView

Scroll element into view

Shell

shell.run

Execute a bash command

terminal.open

Open a visible terminal window (macOS)

terminal.run

Run command in terminal window

LLM

llm.classify

Structured classification with categories

llm.generate

Free-form text generation

Control Flow

control.if

Conditional branching

control.retry

Retry with backoff

control.stop

End workflow with message

workflow.call

Call another workflow with parameters

Data

data.first

Extract first item from list

LLM steps work with Ollama (local), OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

Example

id: check_ticket_status
title: "Check Jira ticket and classify"
steps:
  - type: browser.navigate
    url: "https://your-org.atlassian.net/browse/{{ticket_id}}"
  - type: browser.extract
    selector: "[data-testid='status-field']"
    as: current_status
  - type: control.if
    condition: "{{current_status}} != 'Done'"
    then:
      - type: llm.classify
        prompt: "Should this ticket be closed? Context: {{current_status}}"
        classes: [close, keep_open]
        as: decision

Variable Interpolation

Use {{variable}} syntax to reference extracted values or parameters:

steps:
  - type: browser.extract
    selector: ".username"
    as: user
  - type: shell.run
    cmd: "echo 'Hello, {{user}}!'"

Knowledge Packs

Installable domain knowledge (skill packs) per web app or domain. Knowledge packs power AI code review, automated testing, and enterprise AI agent deployments.

Also referred to as skill packs in code and CLI commands.

  • Selectors — CSS selectors for UI elements

  • Data models — entity types, fields, relationships, valid states

  • State machines — valid transitions per state

  • Role playbooks — role-specific procedures (QA, SE, PM, SD)

  • Common tasks — step-by-step procedures, gotchas, edge cases

sidebutton install github.com
sidebutton install atlassian.net

11 domains, 28+ modules published. Open registry — build and share packs for any web app.

Chrome Extension

Install from the Chrome Web Store.

  • 40+ browser commands — navigate, click, type, extract, scroll, wait, snapshot

  • Real DOM access via CSS selectors — not pixel coordinates, not screenshots

  • Recording mode — capture manual actions as workflows

  • Embed buttons — inject action buttons into any web page

  • WebSocket connection — stable reconnection, works with local or remote server

After installing:

  1. Navigate to any website

  2. Click the SideButton extension icon

  3. Click "Connect This Tab"

Dashboard & Observability

Svelte UI at http://localhost:9876:

  • Workflow browser — list, search, run

  • Run logs — step-by-step execution traces with timing, variables, errors

  • Skill pack manager — install, browse, inspect

  • System status — extension connection, LLM config, server health

SideButton handles AI agent orchestration — from workflow execution to knowledge injection.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                          @sidebutton/server                               │
│                                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────┐   ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  stdio Transport    │   │    Fastify HTTP + WebSocket (port 9876)  │  │
│  │  ─────────────────  │   │    ────────────────────────────────────  │  │
│  │  stdin → JSON-RPC   │   │  GET  /        → Dashboard (Svelte)      │  │
│  │  stdout ← JSON-RPC  │   │  GET  /ws      → Chrome Extension WS     │  │
│  │  (Claude Desktop)   │   │  POST /mcp     → MCP JSON-RPC (SSE)      │  │
│  └──────────┬──────────┘   │  GET  /api/*   → REST API                │  │
│             │              └──────────────────────┬───────────────────┘  │
│             │                                     │                      │
│             └──────────────────┬──────────────────┘                      │
│                                ▼                                         │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                       @sidebutton/core                              │  │
│  │                                                                     │  │
│  │  - Workflow types & parser (YAML)                                  │  │
│  │  - Step executors (37 step types)                                  │  │
│  │  - Variable interpolation                                          │  │
│  │  - Execution context & events                                      │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      ▲                ▲                      ▲                      ▲
      │ stdio          │ WebSocket            │ HTTP POST            │ REST
      ▼                ▼                      ▼                      ▼
┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐
│Claude Desktop│ │ Chrome Extension│ │   Claude Code   │ │   Mobile App      │
│ (MCP stdio)  │ │ (Browser Auto)  │ │   (MCP SSE)     │ │   (REST Client)   │
└──────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └───────────────────┘

Project Structure

sidebutton/
├── packages/
│   ├── core/              # @sidebutton/core — workflow engine
│   │   └── src/
│   │       ├── types.ts       # Workflow types
│   │       ├── parser.ts      # YAML loader
│   │       ├── executor.ts    # Workflow runner
│   │       └── steps/         # Step implementations
│   ├── server/            # @sidebutton/server — MCP + HTTP + CLI
│   │   ├── bin/               # CLI entry point
│   │   └── src/
│   │       ├── server.ts      # Fastify HTTP server
│   │       ├── stdio-mode.ts  # stdio transport entry point
│   │       ├── extension.ts   # WebSocket client
│   │       ├── mcp/           # MCP handlers
│   │       │   ├── handler.ts    # MCP JSON-RPC logic
│   │       │   ├── stdio.ts      # stdio transport adapter
│   │       │   └── tools.ts      # Tool definitions
│   │       └── cli.ts         # Commander CLI
│   └── dashboard/         # Svelte web UI
│       └── src/
│           ├── App.svelte
│           └── lib/
├── extension/             # Chrome extension
├── workflows/             # Public workflow library
├── actions/               # User-created workflows
├── skills/                # Installed skill packs
└── run_logs/              # Execution history

Environment Variables

Variable

Required For

Description

OPENAI_API_KEY

llm.* steps

OpenAI API key for LLM workflows

ANTHROPIC_API_KEY

llm.* steps

Anthropic API key (alternative)

Development

pnpm install       # Install dependencies
pnpm build         # Build all packages
pnpm start         # Start server
pnpm cli list      # List workflows
pnpm cli status    # Check status

Watch Mode

pnpm dev              # Full dev mode (all packages)
pnpm dev:server       # Server with auto-restart on :9876
pnpm dev:dashboard    # Dashboard watch build
pnpm dev:core         # Core library watch build

Platform Automation Disclaimer

SideButton is a general-purpose browser automation framework. When automating third-party platforms:

  • Review Terms of Service: Many platforms prohibit or restrict automation. You are responsible for complying with the terms of any platform you automate.

  • Account Risk: Automation may result in account restrictions or suspension on some platforms.

  • Use Responsibly: Only automate actions you would perform manually. Respect rate limits and platform guidelines.

The authors do not endorse or encourage violations of third-party terms of service.

License

This project uses mixed licensing. See LICENSING.md for details.

-
security - not tested
A
license - permissive license
-
quality - not tested

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