RawTrace MCP

RawTrace MCP is a local MCP server that wraps Playwright and Chrome DevTools Protocol to record raw DOM mutation and network event streams while an AI coding agent interacts with a web page.

It is designed for building and debugging complex Playwright automations where post-click snapshots are not enough.

Warning

RawTrace MCP records raw browser data by design. It may capture cookies, authorization headers, request bodies, response bodies, tokens, personal information, WebSocket messages, hidden form values, and DOM text. Treat every trace as sensitive. Do not commit traces to GitHub. Use only on systems and accounts you are authorized to inspect.

RawTrace does not silently mask, redact, or omit sensitive fields by default. Every monitor_start call must include:

{
  "acknowledgeRawCapture": true
}

In an explicitly authorized development or test task, the bundled Skill passes this acknowledgement directly instead of asking again. If the target system, account, or data scope is unclear, confirm authorization before capture. Client approval settings still apply.

Related MCP server: FlowLens MCP Server

Requirements

• Node.js 22 or newer.

• Chromium available to Playwright or an authorized Chromium CDP endpoint.

• A client restart, new session, or plugin reload after installation or MCP configuration changes.

Install as a Codex Plugin

The Codex marketplace entry installs the rawtrace-mcp@0.3.0 npm package, including its MCP server and shared browser-debugging Skill:

codex plugin marketplace add ss26367098/rawtrace-mcp
codex plugin add rawtrace-mcp@rawtrace

Start a new Codex session after installation. The plugin launches the bundled dist/cli.js with the 35-tool agent profile; it does not depend on npx latest at runtime.

Install as a Claude Code Plugin

From inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add ss26367098/rawtrace-mcp
/plugin install rawtrace-mcp@rawtrace
/reload-plugins

The equivalent shell commands are:

claude plugin marketplace add ss26367098/rawtrace-mcp
claude plugin install rawtrace-mcp@rawtrace

Claude Code uses the same npm package, MCP configuration, Skill, and version as Codex. Run claude plugin validate . --strict when validating a local checkout.

Direct MCP Install

Install globally if desired:

npm install -g rawtrace-mcp

The default direct installation remains the complete 59-tool full profile. Use agent when you want the smaller agent-oriented surface.

Codex with the agent profile:

[mcp_servers.rawtrace]
type = "stdio"
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "rawtrace-mcp@0.3.0", "--tool-profile", "agent"]
startup_timeout_sec = 120

Codex with all 59 tools:

[mcp_servers.rawtrace]
type = "stdio"
command = "npx"
args = ["-y", "rawtrace-mcp@0.3.0", "--tool-profile", "full"]
startup_timeout_sec = 120

Claude Code direct MCP examples:

claude mcp add rawtrace -- npx -y rawtrace-mcp@0.3.0 --tool-profile agent
claude mcp add rawtrace-full -- npx -y rawtrace-mcp@0.3.0 --tool-profile full

For local development, build and point the client at the generated CLI:

npm install
npm run build
node dist/cli.js --tool-profile agent

[mcp_servers.rawtrace]
type = "stdio"
command = "node"
args = ["C:\\path\\to\\rawtrace-mcp\\dist\\cli.js", "--tool-profile", "agent"]
startup_timeout_sec = 120

Streamable HTTP:

rawtrace-mcp --transport http --host 127.0.0.1 --port 3757 --tool-profile agent

HTTP binds to 127.0.0.1 by default. Binding to a non-loopback host requires --unsafe-remote and --auth-token.

After changing MCP client configuration, restart the client or start a new session. Claude Code can use /reload-plugins. Tool names include the client-assigned namespace, for example rawtrace.browser_get_elements or mcp__plugin_rawtrace-mcp_rawtrace__monitor_start; match the final RawTrace tool name when following the workflow.

Tool Profiles and Agent Selection

An unknown --tool-profile value fails immediately with a clear CLI error. The agent profile reduces selection noise and risky low-frequency capabilities, but it is not a security boundary: RawTrace outputs remain sensitive and existing per-tool acknowledgement checks remain enforced.

RawTrace advertises server instructions and detailed tool metadata so agents can choose it without the user naming it explicitly. The bundled rawtrace-debug-browser Skill applies this decision flow:

1. Use RawTrace proactively for intermittent Playwright/Cypress failures, transient DOM changes, unclear click results, network or WebSocket timing, redirects, downloads, authentication callbacks, or API-body questions that snapshots cannot explain.

2. For one uncertain interaction, prefer browser_observe_action_result.

3. For a multi-step issue, call monitor_start, reproduce the complete flow with RawTrace actions, call monitor_stop, then inspect monitor_get_summary before targeted monitor_search_events, monitor_search_bodies, or monitor_read_artifact.

4. Do not invoke RawTrace for static CSS edits, ordinary source summaries, deterministic non-browser work, or simple webpage fact lookup.

The MCP server's original capture defaults remain compatible: a bare authorized monitor_start still enables cookie and body capture. The bundled Skill explicitly starts ordinary traces with captureCookies: false and captureBodies: false, enabling either only when authentication, cookies, or request/response content is actually relevant.

Tools

RawTrace MCP currently exposes 59 MCP tools:

• Browser lifecycle and tabs: browser_launch, browser_attach_cdp, browser_close, browser_list_tabs, browser_new_tab, browser_switch_tab, browser_close_tab.

• Navigation: browser_navigate, browser_reload, browser_go_back, browser_go_forward.

• Page observation: browser_get_state, browser_snapshot, browser_get_dom, browser_get_elements, browser_optimize_selector, browser_get_accessibility, browser_get_forms, browser_screenshot, browser_screenshot_annotated, browser_get_network.

• Browser actions: browser_click, browser_type, browser_press, browser_hover, browser_scroll, browser_select_option, browser_check, browser_fill_form, browser_wait, browser_poll_until, browser_observe_action_result, browser_wait_for_response, browser_wait_for_response_body, browser_handle_dialog.

• Files, downloads, and environment: browser_upload_file, browser_wait_for_download, browser_get_downloads, browser_set_viewport, browser_grant_permissions, browser_set_geolocation.

• Raw trace tools: monitor_start, monitor_stop, monitor_list_sessions, monitor_get_manifest, monitor_get_summary, monitor_read_events, monitor_search_events, monitor_search_bodies, monitor_read_artifact, monitor_export.

• Dangerous page execution: browser_eval.

• Credential and browser state tools: browser_get_cookies, browser_set_cookies, browser_clear_cookies, browser_get_storage, browser_set_storage, browser_export_storage_state, browser_import_storage_state.

Inspection tools that read raw page content, forms, response bodies, downloads, screenshots, or trace artifacts require acknowledgeRawCapture: true, the same safety acknowledgment used by monitor_start. browser_snapshot, browser_poll_until, browser_observe_action_result, and browser_screenshot_annotated can return or save raw page text, input values, element metadata, screenshots, and before/after diffs. browser_eval also requires acknowledgeDangerousEval: true; browser_observe_action_result requires the same dangerous acknowledgment when its action is eval. If eval times out, RawTrace closes the timed-out page and switches to another or new page, because browser-side JavaScript evaluation cannot be safely canceled in place.

Credential/state tools require both acknowledgeRawCapture: true and acknowledgeCredentialAccess: true; browser_launch requires the same acknowledgments when using storageStatePath. Applying Playwright storageState clears existing cookies, localStorage, and IndexedDB before importing the new state. For CDP-connected browsers or explicit userDataDir profiles, browser_launch({ storageStatePath }) and browser_import_storage_state also require acknowledgeStorageStateOverwrite: true.

browser_upload_file requires acknowledgeFileAccess: true. browser_grant_permissions requires acknowledgePermissionChange: true. browser_set_geolocation requires acknowledgeLocationAccess: true. These acknowledgments are separate so a caller cannot accidentally treat raw capture consent as file, permission, or location consent.

When no monitor is running, large DOM/text, snapshots, screenshots, eval results, response bodies, and storageState artifacts are written under rawtrace-traces/inspections/. When a monitor is active, large raw values are written under the trace bodies/ directory and returned by reference. monitor_read_artifact can read only files inside a trace session directory and rejects path traversal such as ../.

Trace Output

Trace bundles are written under rawtrace-traces/ by default:

trace_2026-06-14T064500Z_ab12cd34/
  manifest.json
  actions.ndjson
  dom.ndjson
  network.ndjson
  cookies.ndjson
  websocket.ndjson
  console.ndjson
  frames.ndjson
  bodies/
  snapshots/

The stable v1 trace schema is documented in docs/trace-schema-v1.md.

monitor_read_events returns at most 1000 events per call. Use offset/limit pagination for browsing or monitor_search_events when looking for a specific endpoint, DOM text, or event type. Search includes inline event fields and DOM htmlRef/textRef artifacts; it does not expand network request or response body files by default. Use monitor_search_bodies when you want to search raw request or response body files, and monitor_read_artifact when you need to read a specific bodyRef, htmlRef, textRef, or snapshot from the trace directory.

Development

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm test

Integration tests launch Chromium. If your environment does not already have Playwright browsers installed, run:

npx playwright install chromium

The repeatable proactive-invocation prompts and acceptance thresholds are in evals/README.md.

Scope

RawTrace MCP is a raw event recorder for automation development. It is not an AI decision-making agent, selector-healing system, CAPTCHA solver, anti-bot bypass tool, cloud browser service, or cross-browser recorder.

The public open-source surface for v1 is the rawtrace-mcp CLI, MCP tools, and documented trace schema. Internal TypeScript modules are not a stable library API and are not covered by SemVer compatibility promises yet.