dev-browser MCP — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

CDP browser as a skill — no separate MCP setup
Screenshots between steps for visual grounding
DOM snapshots tuned for LLM consumption (size-aware)
Works with Chromium; local or containerized
MIT licensed

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

ready

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dev-browser-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser",
        "~/.claude/skills/dev-browser"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dev-browser-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser",
        "~/.claude/skills/dev-browser"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dev-browser-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser",
        "~/.claude/skills/dev-browser"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "dev-browser-skill": {
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser",
        "~/.claude/skills/dev-browser"
      ],
      "_inferred": true
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "dev-browser-skill",
      "command": "git",
      "args": [
        "clone",
        "https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser",
        "~/.claude/skills/dev-browser"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "dev-browser-skill": {
      "command": {
        "path": "git",
        "args": [
          "clone",
          "https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser",
          "~/.claude/skills/dev-browser"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add dev-browser-skill -- git clone https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser ~/.claude/skills/dev-browser

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use dev-browser

Do quick web research without setting up an MCP

👤 Devs who don't want Playwright in their MCP config ⏱ ~15 min beginner

When to use: You want your Claude Code session to browse something once without committing to a persistent browser server.

Prerequisites

Skill installed — git clone https://github.com/SawyerHood/dev-browser ~/.claude/skills/dev-browser
Chromium available — npx playwright install chromium fetches the binary

Flow

Spin up

Use dev-browser. Open https://vercel.com/docs/functions. List the sidebar sections.✓ Copied

→ Headings extracted with anchor URLs
Drill in

Navigate to "Runtime" — read the page and summarize the three runtime options in one paragraph each.✓ Copied

→ Three paragraphs with citations to URL fragments
Capture

Screenshot the pricing section for my notes.✓ Copied

→ Screenshot saved locally

Outcome: Research done with a browser when you needed one, without ongoing infrastructure.

Pitfalls

Chromium binary missing — Run npx playwright install chromium once

Combine with: filesystem

Sanity check a login flow on a staging env

👤 QA-minded devs pre-deploy ⏱ ~5 min beginner

When to use: Before deploying, you want to click through the critical happy path once.

Flow

Open

Use dev-browser. Open https://staging.myapp.com, take a screenshot.✓ Copied

→ Landing page screenshot
Sign in

Click "Sign in", enter [email protected] / Test1234, submit.✓ Copied

→ Post-login dashboard captured
Confirm

Is the "Welcome, qa" string visible on the page?✓ Copied

→ Yes/no + screenshot

Outcome: A 60-second smoke test before clicking Deploy.

Pitfalls

CAPTCHA on login — Add a test-only bypass in staging; dev-browser is not a captcha breaker

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

dev-browser-skill + filesystem

Save screenshots alongside notes

After every step, screenshot into /notes/web-research/.✓ Copied

dev-browser-skill + chrome-devtools

When you need devtools-level depth, escalate to chrome-devtools MCP

dev-browser gave me the page — now use chrome-devtools to check the network waterfall.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call
open_url	url	Navigate
click	selector\|text	Interact
type	selector, text	Enter text
snapshot	none	Ground in current state

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: N/A
Tokens per call: DOM snapshots size-gated; screenshots base64
Monetary: Free
Tip: Skip snapshots when not needed — the screenshot alone is often enough

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: None

Data egress: Direct to sites you navigate to

Don't enter real credentials on sites in agent-driven sessions — use test accounts

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

Error: Executable doesn't exist at chromium path

npx playwright install chromium — the skill assumes Playwright's binaries

Selector not found

Run snapshot first; pick selector from real DOM, not guessed

Page blocks automation

Site detected headless — try running with headless=false in skill config

Alternatives

dev-browser vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
playwright MCP	You want a persistent, MCP-registered browser	More setup; skill is lighter
mcp-chrome	You need your real logged-in Chrome	Not a headless test browser

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills