Chrome DevTools MCP

What is Chrome DevTools MCP?

Provides AI coding assistants (e.g., Gemini, Claude, Cursor, Copilot) with direct access to Chrome DevTools, allowing them to automate actions, debug pages, capture performance traces, and retrieve network data from a running Chrome instance.

How to use Chrome DevTools MCP?

Add a server definition to your MCP client configuration. The simplest setup uses npx to run the latest package:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

The server will launch Chrome automatically when a tool that requires a browser is invoked. Additional command‑line options (e.g., --headless, --isolated, --channel=canary) can be passed via the args array.

Key features

Performance insights – record traces and extract actionable metrics.
Advanced debugging – inspect network requests, console messages, take screenshots, and evaluate scripts.
Robust automation – puppeteer‑based actions with automatic waiting for results.
Emulation – CPU throttling, network throttling, viewport resizing.
Configurable Chrome launch – headless mode, custom executable path, isolated profile, channel selection, or attach to an existing Chrome via --browserUrl.

Use cases

Automated UI testing and regression checks.
Real‑time performance profiling of web pages.
Interactive debugging sessions driven by AI agents.
Data extraction from complex single‑page applications.
Secure, sandboxed browsing for code‑generation assistants.

FAQ

Q: Which Chrome version is required? A: Any current stable, beta, dev, or canary release. Use --channel to select a specific channel.

Q: Can the server run without a UI? A: Yes, add the --headless flag to run Chrome in headless mode.

Q: How do I connect to an already‑running Chrome instance? A: Use the --browserUrl (-u) option with the remote‑debugging URL.

Q: Will my browsing data persist between runs? A: By default the server reuses a shared profile located under ~/.cache/chrome-devtools-mcp. Enable --isolated for a temporary profile that is cleaned up on exit.

Q: Are there any sandboxing limitations? A: If the MCP client runs the server inside a sandbox, Chrome may fail to start. Disable sandboxing for this server or connect to an externally launched Chrome using --browserUrl.

chrome-devtools-mcp lets your coding agent (such as Gemini, Claude, Cursor or Copilot) control and inspect a live Chrome browser. It acts as a Model-Context-Protocol (MCP) server, giving your AI coding assistant access to the full power of Chrome DevTools for reliable automation, in-depth debugging, and performance analysis.

Key features

Get performance insights: Uses Chrome DevTools to record traces and extract actionable performance insights.
Advanced browser debugging: Analyze network requests, take screenshots and check the browser console.
Reliable automation. Uses puppeteer to automate actions in Chrome and automatically wait for action results.

Disclaimers

chrome-devtools-mcp exposes content of the browser instance to the MCP clients allowing them to inspect, debug, and modify any data in the browser or DevTools. Avoid sharing sensitive or personal information that you don't want to share with MCP clients.

Requirements

Node.js 22 or newer.
Chrome current stable version or newer.
npm.

Getting started

Add the following config to your MCP client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

[!NOTE]
Using chrome-devtools-mcp@latest ensures that your MCP client will always use the latest version of the Chrome DevTools MCP server.

MCP Client configuration

claude mcp add chrome-devtools npx chrome-devtools-mcp@latest

code --add-mcp '{"name":"chrome-devtools","command":"npx","args":["chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"]}'

Click the button to install:

Or install manually:

Go to Cursor Settings -> MCP -> New MCP Server. Use the config provided above.

Your first prompt

Enter the following prompt in your MCP Client to check if everything is working:

Check the performance of https://developers.chrome.com

Your MCP client should open the browser and record a performance trace.

[!NOTE]
The MCP server will start the browser automatically once the MCP client uses a tool that requires a running browser instance. Connecting to the Chrome DevTools MCP server on its own will not automatically start the browser.

Tools

Input automation (7 tools)
- click
- drag
- fill
- fill_form
- handle_dialog
- hover
- upload_file
Navigation automation (7 tools)
Emulation (3 tools)
Performance (3 tools)
Network (2 tools)
- get_network_request
- list_network_requests
Debugging (4 tools)

Configuration

The Chrome DevTools MCP server supports the following configuration option:

--browserUrl, -u Connect to a running Chrome instance using port forwarding. For more details see: https://developer.chrome.com/docs/devtools/remote-debugging/local-server.
- Type: string
--headless Whether to run in headless (no UI) mode.
- Type: boolean
- Default: false
--executablePath, -e Path to custom Chrome executable.
- Type: string
--isolated If specified, creates a temporary user-data-dir that is automatically cleaned up after the browser is closed.
- Type: boolean
- Default: false
--channel Specify a different Chrome channel that should be used. The default is the stable channel version.
- Type: string
- Choices: stable, canary, beta, dev

Pass them via the args property in the JSON configuration. For example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"
        "--channel=canary",
        "--headless=true",
        "--isolated=true",
      ]
    }
  }
}

You can also run npx chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --help to see all available configuration options.

Concepts

User data directory

chrome-devtools-mcp starts a Chrome's stable channel instance using the following user data directory:

Linux / MacOS: $HOME/.cache/chrome-devtools-mcp/chrome-profile-$CHANNEL
Window: %HOMEPATH%/.cache/chrome-devtools-mcp/chrome-profile-$CHANNEL

The user data directory is not cleared between runs and shared across all instances of chrome-devtools-mcp. Set the isolated option to true to use a temporary user data dir instead which will be cleared automatically after the browser is closed.

Known limitations

Operating system sandboxes

Some MCP clients allow sandboxing the MCP server using macOS Seatbelt or Linux containers. If sandboxes are enabled, chrome-devtools-mcp is not able to start Chrome that requires permissions to create its own sandboxes. As a workaround, either disable sandboxing for chrome-devtools-mcp in your MCP client or use --connect-url to connect to a Chrome instance that you start manually outside of the MCP client sandbox.

Chrome DevTools MCP