apex-browser-mcp

Stealth browser automation MCP server for Claude. Replaces both @playwright/mcp and chrome-devtools-mcp with a single package — one Chrome instance, one config, one tool surface.

Why this over @playwright/mcp:

• Engine-level stealth via rebrowser-playwright — passes Cloudflare/DataDome detection
• Named tab management with per-tab mutex (concurrent-safe)
• Full CDP access alongside high-level Playwright API
• browser_snapshot_optimized returns only interactive elements (~80% fewer tokens)
• Element-level screenshots with browser_inspect_element

Install

npm install -g @apexradius/apex-browser-mcp
npx playwright install chromium

Claude Code Config

Add to your ~/.mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "apex-browser": {
      "command": "apex-browser-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Options

| Flag | Default | Description | |------|---------|-------------| | --headless | false | Run headless (disables GPU fingerprint) | | --user-data-dir | ~/.apex-browser-data | Chrome profile directory | | --viewport | 1280x720 | Viewport size (WxH) | | --timeout | 15000 | Action timeout (ms) | | --nav-timeout | 120000 | Navigation timeout (ms) | | --attach | — | Attach to running Chrome (ws://... or localhost:9222) |

Env var overrides: APEX_BROWSER_HEADLESS, APEX_BROWSER_VIEWPORT, APEX_BROWSER_TIMEOUT, APEX_BROWSER_USER_DATA_DIR

Tools

All tools accept optional tab_id (default: "default").

Navigation

| Tool | Parameters | Description | |------|-----------|-------------| | browser_navigate | url, tab_id? | Navigate to URL | | browser_navigate_back | tab_id? | Go back | | browser_navigate_forward | tab_id? | Go forward | | browser_reload | tab_id? | Reload | | browser_wait_for | condition, value?, tab_id? | Wait for selector/url/networkIdle/load |

Interaction

| Tool | Parameters | Description | |------|-----------|-------------| | browser_click | selector, tab_id? | Click element | | browser_type | selector, text, tab_id? | Type into element | | browser_fill_form | fields[], tab_id? | Fill multiple fields at once | | browser_select_option | selector, value, tab_id? | Select dropdown | | browser_press_key | key, tab_id? | Press keyboard key | | browser_hover | selector, tab_id? | Hover over element | | browser_drag | sourceSelector, targetSelector, tab_id? | Drag and drop | | browser_file_upload | selector, filePath, tab_id? | Upload file | | browser_handle_dialog | action, promptText?, tab_id? | Accept/dismiss dialog |

Capture

| Tool | Parameters | Description | |------|-----------|-------------| | browser_snapshot | tab_id? | Full accessibility tree | | browser_snapshot_optimized | tab_id? | Interactive elements only (~80% fewer tokens) | | browser_take_screenshot | fullPage?, tab_id? | Screenshot (base64 PNG) | | browser_inspect_element | selector, tab_id? | Screenshot of specific element | | browser_console_messages | tab_id? | Console log/error messages | | browser_network_requests | tab_id? | Intercepted network requests |

Scripting

| Tool | Parameters | Description | |------|-----------|-------------| | browser_evaluate | script, tab_id? | Execute JavaScript | | browser_trace_start | outputPath, tab_id? | Start Playwright trace | | browser_trace_stop | tab_id? | Stop and save trace |

Tab Management

| Tool | Parameters | Description | |------|-----------|-------------| | browser_tabs | — | List all named tabs | | browser_new_tab | tab_id, url? | Create named tab | | browser_close_tab | tab_id | Close tab | | browser_resize | width, height, tab_id? | Resize viewport | | browser_attach | endpoint | Attach to running Chrome | | browser_set_stealth_profile | profile | standard/aggressive/camoufox |

CDP / Advanced

| Tool | Parameters | Description | |------|-----------|-------------| | cdp_send | method, params?, tab_id? | Raw CDP command | | browser_performance | tab_id? | Performance metrics | | browser_intercept_network | patterns[], tab_id? | Network request interception | | browser_mouse_move | x, y, tab_id? | Move mouse | | browser_mouse_click | x, y, button?, tab_id? | Click at coordinates | | browser_mouse_wheel | deltaX, deltaY, tab_id? | Scroll | | browser_mouse_drag | startX, startY, endX, endY, tab_id? | Low-level drag |

Examples

Multi-tab research:

browser_new_tab(tab_id="docs", url="https://docs.example.com")
browser_new_tab(tab_id="app", url="https://app.example.com")
browser_snapshot_optimized(tab_id="docs")   # lightweight read
browser_click(selector="#submit", tab_id="app")

Network interception + CDP performance:

browser_intercept_network(patterns=["**/*.js"], tab_id="default")
browser_navigate(url="https://example.com")
browser_performance()   # CPU time, layout, scripting metrics

Element-level screenshot for vision:

browser_inspect_element(selector=".error-message")

License

MIT — Apex Radius Labs