Kapture - Browser Automation via Chrome DevTools

Kapture is a Chrome DevTools Extension that enables browser automation through the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows AI applications like Claude to control web browsers via a three-layer architecture.

✨ Key Feature: Multiple AI clients can connect to the same server! Claude Desktop, Cline, and other MCP clients can all control browser tabs through a single server instance.

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Overview

Kapture bridges AI assistants with web browsers through:

• MCP Server: Handles MCP protocol communication
• Chrome Extension: DevTools panel for browser automation
• WebSocket Bridge: Real-time communication between server and extensions
• Multi-Client Support: Multiple AI clients can connect simultaneously via WebSocket

Architecture

Quick Start

1. Install Dependencies

# Server
cd server
npm install
npm run build

# Test App (optional)
cd test-app
npm install

2. Install Chrome Extension

Option A: Install from Chrome Web Store (Recommended)

1. Visit the Kapture Chrome Web Store page
2. Click "Add to Chrome"
3. Confirm the installation

Option B: Load Unpacked (Developer Mode)

1. Open Chrome and navigate to chrome://extensions/
2. Enable "Developer mode"
3. Click "Load unpacked"
4. Select the extension folder

3. Start MCP Server

Configure your AI client and open it. It will start the MCP server automatically.

OR

Run the Test App:

cd test-app
npm run dev

The server starts on port 61822.

# Server
cd server
npm start

# Test App
cd test-app
npm start

4. Connect via DevTools

1. Open any website in Chrome
2. Open Chrome/Brave Developer Tools (F12 on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Option+I on macOS)
3. Navigate to "Kapture" panel
4. The extension will automatically connect to the server on port 61822
5. Select a server from the dropdown to connect automatically

Using with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop config:

Option 1: Using the bridge command (Recommended)

This single command starts the server and handles stdio-to-WebSocket translation:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kapture": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kapture-mcp@latest", "bridge"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Direct WebSocket connection (Advanced)

For advanced use cases where you need manual server control:

1. Start the server manually:

npx kapture-mcp

2. Configure Claude Desktop to connect via WebSocket:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kapture": {
      "transport": "websocket",
      "url": "ws://localhost:61822/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: This approach requires manually managing the server lifecycle. Use Option 1 (bridge command) for most use cases.

🚀 Run Multiple AI Assistants Simultaneously

Kapture supports multiple MCP clients connecting to the same server! You can run Claude Desktop, Cline, and other MCP clients simultaneously through a single server instance.

How It Works

• All MCP clients connect via WebSocket to ws://localhost:61822/mcp
• All MCP clients share access to the same browser tabs
• Notifications are broadcast to all connected clients

Smart Server Detection

When running npx kapture-mcp, the command automatically detects if a server is already running:

• No existing server: Starts a new server on port 61822
• Server already running: Shows connection information and exits gracefully

This prevents errors and confusion when multiple clients try to start servers.

Setting Up Multiple Clients

Each client should use the same bridge command configuration:

Claude Desktop:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "kapture": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kapture-mcp@latest", "bridge"]
    }
  }
}

Cline/VS Code:

{
  "cline.mcpServers": {
    "kapture": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "kapture-mcp@latest", "bridge"]
    }
  }
}

Other MCP Clients: Use the same configuration pattern with "command": "npx" and "args": ["-y", "kapture-mcp@latest", "bridge"].

See the complete multi-assistant guide →

Benefits of Multiple AI Assistants:

• Parallel Workflows: Have Claude Desktop research while Cline develops code
• Specialized Tasks: Use different AI clients for different types of automation
• Team Collaboration: Multiple team members can use their preferred AI tools simultaneously
• Testing & Development: Test automation scripts with one AI while developing with another

Then ask Claude to interact with web pages:

• "Navigate to example.com and take a screenshot"
• "Click the search button"
• "Fill in the email field with test@example.com"

Available MCP Tools

• navigate - Navigate to URL
• back - Browser back button
• forward - Browser forward button
• reload - Reload the current page (similar to pressing F5)
• click - Click elements (uses first matching element, returns unique selector)
• hover - Hover over elements (uses first matching element, returns unique selector)
• fill - Fill input fields (uses first matching element, returns unique selector)
• select - Select dropdown options (HTML <select> only, uses first matching element, returns unique selector)
• keypress - Send keyboard events to the page or specific elements (supports modifier keys)
• elements - Query all elements matching a CSS selector or XPath with optional visibility filtering

Note on Selectors: Tools that accept a selector parameter (click, hover, fill, select, keypress, screenshot, dom) will only operate on the first element that matches the CSS selector. The tool response includes the unique selector of the actual element that was used, which may include an auto-generated ID if the element didn't have one.

XPath Support: All tools that accept a selector parameter also accept an xpath parameter as an alternative. This is particularly useful for:

• Finding elements by text content: xpath: "//button[contains(text(), 'Submit')]"
• Complex element relationships: xpath: "//div[@class='container']//span[2]"
• When CSS selectors are insufficient

Use either selector OR xpath, not both. If both are provided, selector takes precedence.

Keypress Tool

The keypress tool simulates keyboard events. It accepts:

• key (required): The key combination to press. Can be:
  • Single key: "a", "Enter", "Tab", "Escape", " " (space), "Shift", "Control"
  • With modifiers: "Control+a", "Shift+Tab", "Alt+F4", "Meta+Shift+p"
  • Modifier names: Control (or Ctrl), Shift, Alt, Meta (or Cmd/Command)
  • Note: When sending just a modifier key (e.g., "Shift"), it's treated as pressing that key alone
  • Duplicate modifiers are ignored (e.g., "Shift+Shift+a" is same as "Shift+a")
• selector or xpath (optional): Target a specific element. If not provided, sends to document.body

Examples:

// Press Enter
{ "key": "Enter", "selector": "#login-form" }

// Select all text (Ctrl+A)
{ "key": "Control+a", "selector": "#username" }

// Zoom in (Ctrl+Plus)
{ "key": "Control++", "selector": "body" }

// Zoom out (Ctrl+Minus)
{ "key": "Control+-", "selector": "body" }

// New tab (Ctrl+T)
{ "key": "Control+t" }

// Close tab (Ctrl+W or Cmd+W on Mac)
{ "key": "Meta+w" }

MCP Resources

• kapture://tabs - List all connected browser tabs
• kapture://tab/{tabId} - Get detailed information about a specific tab
• kapture://tab/{tabId}/console - Get console logs from a specific tab (with pagination support)
• kapture://tab/{tabId}/screenshot - Capture screenshots of a tab or element
• kapture://tab/{tabId}/dom - Get HTML content of a tab or element
• kapture://tab/{tabId}/elementsFromPoint - Get elements at specific coordinates
• kapture://tab/{tabId}/elements?selector={selector}&visible={true|false|all} - Query all elements matching a CSS selector or XPath with optional visibility filtering

Development

Server Development

cd server
npm run dev    # Development with hot-reload

Test App

cd test-app
npm run dev    # Run Electron test app

Extension Development

After making changes:

1. Go to chrome://extensions/
2. Click refresh on Kapture extension

Key Components

Server (/server):

• mcp-handler.ts - MCP protocol implementation
• websocket-manager.ts - WebSocket server
• tab-registry.ts - Tab tracking
• tools/*.ts - MCP tool implementations

Extension (/extension):

• panel/command-executor.js - Command execution
• panel/command-queue.js - Sequential execution
• background.js - Screenshot service worker

DevTools Panel Features

• Automatic Connection - Connects to server on port 61822
• Server Selection - Dropdown to choose between multiple running servers
• Connection Status - Real-time server connection indicator
• Tab Info - Current tab ID and URL display
• Command Testing - Manual command execution interface
• Console Viewer - Live console log capture
• History - Command history
• Dark Theme - Toggle between light/dark modes

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

• The extension will automatically connect to the server on port 61822
• If no servers are found, verify the server is running
• Check the server dropdown to see which servers were discovered
• Check browser console for errors
• Check server logs in the terminal

Extension Not Showing

• Ensure extension is loaded and enabled
• Close and reopen DevTools
• Reload extension in chrome://extensions/

Command Timeouts

• Default timeout is 5 seconds
• Some commands accept custom timeout parameter
• Check element selectors are correct

Performance Considerations

Important: The click and hover tools may experience performance issues when the Kapture DevTools panel is not the active/selected tab in Chrome DevTools. For optimal performance:

• Keep the Kapture panel selected during automation
• If experiencing delays with click/hover operations, switch to the Kapture panel
• This is due to Chrome's optimization of inactive DevTools panels

Security

• Commands execute within Chrome's DevTools sandbox
• Each tab has unique ID preventing cross-tab interference
• No direct file system access from extension
• Tab registry enforces command isolation

License

MIT