Brave DevTools MCP

Fork of chrome-devtools-mcp — adapted to work with Brave Browser. All credit for the original project goes to the Chrome DevTools team at Google.

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

Tool reference | Changelog | Contributing | Troubleshooting | Design Principles

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 browser console messages (with source-mapped stack traces).
• Reliable automation. Uses puppeteer to automate actions in Brave and automatically wait for action results.

Disclaimers

brave-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.

brave-devtools-mcp officially supports Brave Browser only. Other Chromium-based browsers may work, but this is not guaranteed, and you may encounter unexpected behavior. Use at your own discretion.

Performance tools may send trace URLs to the Google CrUX API to fetch real-user experience data. This helps provide a holistic performance picture by presenting field data alongside lab data. This data is collected by the Chrome User Experience Report (CrUX). To disable this, run with the --no-performance-crux flag.

Update checks

By default, the server periodically checks the npm registry for updates and logs a notification when a newer version is available. You can disable these update checks by setting the BRAVE_DEVTOOLS_MCP_NO_UPDATE_CHECKS environment variable.

Requirements

• Node.js v20.19 or a newer latest maintenance LTS version.
• Brave current stable version or newer.
• npm

Getting started

Add the following config to your MCP client:

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

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

If you are interested in doing only basic browser tasks, use the --slim mode:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "brave-devtools-mcp@latest", "--slim", "--headless"]
    }
  }
}

See Slim tool reference.

MCP Client configuration

amp mcp add brave-devtools -- npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

To use the Brave DevTools MCP server follow the instructions from Antigravity's docs to install a custom MCP server. Add the following config to the MCP servers config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "brave-devtools-mcp@latest",
        "--browser-url=http://127.0.0.1:9222",
        "-y"
      ]
    }
  }
}

This will make the Brave DevTools MCP server automatically connect to the browser that Antigravity is using. If you are not using port 9222, make sure to adjust accordingly.

Brave DevTools MCP will not start the browser instance automatically using this approach because the Brave DevTools MCP server connects to Antigravity's built-in browser. If the browser is not already running, you have to start it first by clicking the Brave icon at the top right corner.

Install via CLI (MCP only)

Use the Claude Code CLI to add the Brave DevTools MCP server (guide):

claude mcp add brave-devtools --scope user npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Install as a Plugin (MCP + Skills)

[!NOTE] If you already had Brave DevTools MCP installed previously for Claude Code, make sure to remove it first from your installation and configuration files.

To install Brave DevTools MCP with skills, add the marketplace registry in Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add neolivz/brave-devtools-mcp

Then, install the plugin:

/plugin install brave-devtools-mcp

Restart Claude Code to have the MCP server and skills load (check with /skills).

[!TIP] If the plugin installation fails with a Failed to clone repository error (e.g., HTTPS connectivity issues behind a corporate firewall), see the troubleshooting guide for workarounds, or use the CLI installation method above instead.

codex mcp add brave-devtools -- npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

On Windows 11

Configure the Brave install location and increase the startup timeout by updating .codex/config.toml and adding the following env and startup_timeout_ms parameters:

[mcp_servers.brave-devtools]
command = "cmd"
args = [
    "/c",
    "npx",
    "-y",
    "brave-devtools-mcp@latest",
]
env = { SystemRoot="C:\\Windows", PROGRAMFILES="C:\\Program Files" }
startup_timeout_ms = 20_000

Use the Command Code CLI to add the Brave DevTools MCP server (MCP guide):

cmd mcp add brave-devtools --scope user npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Start Copilot CLI:

copilot

Start the dialog to add a new MCP server by running:

/mcp add

Configure the following fields and press CTRL+S to save the configuration:

• Server name: brave-devtools
• Server Type: [1] Local
• Command: npx -y brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Install as a Plugin (Recommended)

The easiest way to get up and running is to install brave-devtools-mcp as an agent plugin. This bundles the MCP server and all skills together, so your agent gets both the tools and the expert guidance it needs to use them effectively.

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux).
2. Search for and run the Chat: Install Plugin From Source command.
3. Paste in our repository URL: https://github.com/neolivz/brave-devtools-mcp

That's it! Your agent is now supercharged with Brave DevTools capabilities.

Install as an MCP Server (MCP only)

Click the button to install:

Or install manually:

Follow the VS Code MCP configuration guide using the standard config from above, or use the CLI:

For macOS and Linux:

code --add-mcp '{"name":"io.github.neolivz/brave-devtools-mcp","command":"npx","args":["-y","brave-devtools-mcp"],"env":{}}'

For Windows (PowerShell):

code --add-mcp '{"""name""":"""io.github.neolivz/brave-devtools-mcp""","""command""":"""npx""","""args""":["""-y""","""brave-devtools-mcp"""]}'

Click the button to install:

Or install manually:

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

droid mcp add brave-devtools "npx -y brave-devtools-mcp@latest"

Project wide:

# Either MCP only:
gemini mcp add brave-devtools npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest
# Or as a Gemini extension (MCP+Skills):
gemini extensions install --auto-update https://github.com/neolivz/brave-devtools-mcp

Globally:

gemini mcp add -s user brave-devtools npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Alternatively, follow the MCP guide and use the standard config from above.

Go to Settings | Tools | AI Assistant | Model Context Protocol (MCP) -> Add. Use the config provided above. The same way brave-devtools-mcp can be configured for JetBrains Junie in Settings | Tools | Junie | MCP Settings -> Add. Use the config provided above.

In Kiro Settings, go to Configure MCP > Open Workspace or User MCP Config > Use the configuration snippet provided above.

Or, from the IDE Activity Bar > Kiro > MCP Servers > Click Open MCP Config. Use the configuration snippet provided above.

The Brave DevTools MCP server can be used with Katalon StudioAssist via an MCP proxy.

Step 1: Install the MCP proxy by following the MCP proxy setup guide.

Step 2: Start the Brave DevTools MCP server with the proxy:

mcp-proxy --transport streamablehttp --port 8080 -- npx -y brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Note: You may need to pick another port if 8080 is already in use.

Step 3: In Katalon Studio, add the server to StudioAssist with the following settings:

• Connection URL: http://127.0.0.1:8080/mcp
• Transport type: HTTP

Once connected, the Brave DevTools MCP tools will be available in StudioAssist.

Add the following configuration to your opencode.json file. If you don't have one, create it at ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json (guide):

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "brave-devtools": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["npx", "-y", "brave-devtools-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

In Qoder Settings, go to MCP Server > + Add > Use the configuration snippet provided above.

Alternatively, follow the MCP guide and use the standard config from above.

Install the Brave DevTools MCP server using the Qoder CLI (guide):

Project wide:

qodercli mcp add brave-devtools -- npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Globally:

qodercli mcp add -s user brave-devtools -- npx brave-devtools-mcp@latest

Click the button to install:

Go to Settings | AI | Manage MCP Servers -> + Add to add an 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 Brave DevTools MCP server on its own will not automatically start the browser.

Tools

If you run into any issues, checkout our troubleshooting guide.

• Input automation (9 tools)
  • click
  • drag
  • fill
  • fill_form
  • handle_dialog
  • hover
  • press_key
  • type_text
  • upload_file
• Navigation automation (6 tools)
  • close_page
  • list_pages
  • navigate_page
  • new_page
  • select_page
  • wait_for
• Emulation (2 tools)
  • emulate
  • resize_page
• Performance (4 tools)
  • performance_analyze_insight
  • performance_start_trace
  • performance_stop_trace
  • take_memory_snapshot
• Network (2 tools)
  • get_network_request
  • list_network_requests
• Debugging (6 tools)
  • evaluate_script
  • get_console_message
  • lighthouse_audit
  • list_console_messages
  • take_screenshot
  • take_snapshot

Configuration

The Brave DevTools MCP server supports the following configuration option:

• --autoConnect/ --auto-connect If specified, automatically connects to a Brave browser running locally from the user data directory. Requires the remote debugging server to be started in the Brave instance via brave://inspect/#remote-debugging.

  • Type: boolean
  • Default: false

• --browserUrl/ --browser-url, -u Connect to a running, debuggable Brave instance (e.g. http://127.0.0.1:9222). For more details see: https://github.com/neolivz/brave-devtools-mcp#connecting-to-a-running-brave-instance.

  • Type: string

• --wsEndpoint/ --ws-endpoint, -w WebSocket endpoint to connect to a running Brave instance (e.g., ws://127.0.0.1:9222/devtools/browser/). Alternative to --browserUrl.

  • Type: string

• --wsHeaders/ --ws-headers Custom headers for WebSocket connection in JSON format (e.g., '{"Authorization":"Bearer token"}'). Only works with --wsEndpoint.

  • Type: string

• --headless Whether to run in headless (no UI) mode.

  • Type: boolean
  • Default: false

• --executablePath/ --executable-path, -e Path to custom Brave executable.

  • Type: string

• --isolated If specified, creates a temporary user-data-dir that is automatically cleaned up after the browser is closed. Defaults to false.

  • Type: boolean

• --userDataDir/ --user-data-dir Path to the user data directory for Brave. Default is $HOME/.cache/brave-devtools-mcp/brave-profile

  • Type: string

• --logFile/ --log-file Path to a file to write debug logs to. Set the env variable DEBUG to * to enable verbose logs. Useful for submitting bug reports.

  • Type: string

• --viewport Initial viewport size for the Brave instances started by the server. For example, 1280x720. In headless mode, max size is 3840x2160px.

  • Type: string

• --proxyServer/ --proxy-server Proxy server configuration for Brave passed as --proxy-server when launching the browser. See https://www.chromium.org/developers/design-documents/network-settings/ for details.

  • Type: string

• --acceptInsecureCerts/ --accept-insecure-certs If enabled, ignores errors relative to self-signed and expired certificates. Use with caution.

  • Type: boolean

• --experimentalVision/ --experimental-vision Whether to enable coordinate-based tools such as click_at(x,y). Usually requires a computer-use model able to produce accurate coordinates by looking at screenshots.

  • Type: boolean

• --experimentalScreencast/ --experimental-screencast Exposes experimental screencast tools (requires ffmpeg). Install ffmpeg https://www.ffmpeg.org/download.html and ensure it is available in the MCP server PATH.

  • Type: boolean

• --braveArg/ --brave-arg Additional arguments for Brave. Only applies when Brave is launched by brave-devtools-mcp.

  • Type: array

• --ignoreDefaultBraveArg/ --ignore-default-brave-arg Explicitly disable default arguments for Brave. Only applies when Brave is launched by brave-devtools-mcp.

  • Type: array

• --categoryEmulation/ --category-emulation Set to false to exclude tools related to emulation.

  • Type: boolean
  • Default: true

• --categoryPerformance/ --category-performance Set to false to exclude tools related to performance.

  • Type: boolean
  • Default: true

• --categoryNetwork/ --category-network Set to false to exclude tools related to network.

  • Type: boolean
  • Default: true

• --performanceCrux/ --performance-crux Set to false to disable sending URLs from performance traces to CrUX API to get field performance data.

  • Type: boolean
  • Default: true

• --slim Exposes a "slim" set of 3 tools covering navigation, script execution and screenshots only. Useful for basic browser tasks.

  • Type: boolean

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

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

Connecting via WebSocket with custom headers

You can connect directly to a Brave WebSocket endpoint and include custom headers (e.g., for authentication):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "brave-devtools-mcp@latest",
        "--wsEndpoint=ws://127.0.0.1:9222/devtools/browser/<id>",
        "--wsHeaders={\"Authorization\":\"Bearer YOUR_TOKEN\"}"
      ]
    }
  }
}

To get the WebSocket endpoint from a running Brave instance, visit http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/version and look for the webSocketDebuggerUrl field.

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

Concepts

User data directory

brave-devtools-mcp starts a Brave stable instance using the following user data directory:

• Linux / macOS: $HOME/.cache/brave-devtools-mcp/brave-profile
• Windows: %HOMEPATH%/.cache/brave-devtools-mcp/brave-profile

The user data directory is not cleared between runs and shared across all instances of brave-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.

Connecting to a running Brave instance

By default, the Brave DevTools MCP server will start a new Brave instance with a dedicated profile. This might not be ideal in all situations:

• If you would like to maintain the same application state when alternating between manual site testing and agent-driven testing.
• When the MCP needs to sign into a website. Some accounts may prevent sign-in when the browser is controlled via WebDriver (the default launch mechanism for the Brave DevTools MCP server).
• If you're running your LLM inside a sandboxed environment, but you would like to connect to a Brave instance that runs outside the sandbox.

In these cases, start Brave first and let the Brave DevTools MCP server connect to it. There are two ways to do so:

• Automatic connection: best for sharing state between manual and agent-driven testing.
• Manual connection via remote debugging port: best when running inside a sandboxed environment.

Automatically connecting to a running Brave instance

Step 1: Set up remote debugging in Brave

In Brave, do the following to set up remote debugging:

1. Navigate to brave://inspect/#remote-debugging to enable remote debugging.
2. Follow the dialog UI to allow or disallow incoming debugging connections.

Step 2: Configure Brave DevTools MCP server to automatically connect to a running Brave Instance

To connect the brave-devtools-mcp server to the running Brave instance, use --autoConnect command line argument for the MCP server.

The following code snippet is an example configuration for gemini-cli:

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

Step 3: Test your setup

Make sure your browser is running. Open gemini-cli and run the following prompt:

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

[!NOTE] The autoConnect option requires the user to start Brave. If the user has multiple active profiles, the MCP server will connect to the default profile (as determined by Brave). The MCP server has access to all open windows for the selected profile.

The Brave DevTools MCP server will try to connect to your running Brave instance. It shows a dialog asking for user permission.

Clicking Allow results in the Brave DevTools MCP server opening developers.chrome.com and taking a performance trace.

Manual connection using port forwarding

You can connect to a running Brave instance by using the --browser-url option. This is useful if you are running the MCP server in a sandboxed environment that does not allow starting a new Brave instance.

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to connect to a running Brave instance:

Step 1: Configure the MCP client

Add the --browser-url option to your MCP client configuration. The value of this option should be the URL of the running Brave instance. http://127.0.0.1:9222 is a common default.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "brave-devtools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "brave-devtools-mcp@latest",
        "--browser-url=http://127.0.0.1:9222"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Step 2: Start the Brave browser

[!WARNING] Enabling the remote debugging port opens up a debugging port on the running browser instance. Any application on your machine can connect to this port and control the browser. Make sure that you are not browsing any sensitive websites while the debugging port is open.

Start the Brave browser with the remote debugging port enabled. Make sure to close any running Brave instances before starting a new one with the debugging port enabled. The port number you choose must be the same as the one you specified in the --browser-url option in your MCP client configuration.

For security reasons, Brave requires you to use a non-default user data directory when enabling the remote debugging port. You can specify a custom directory using the --user-data-dir flag. This ensures that your regular browsing profile and data are not exposed to the debugging session.

macOS

/Applications/Brave\ Browser.app/Contents/MacOS/Brave\ Browser --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/brave-profile-stable

Linux

/usr/bin/brave-browser --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=/tmp/brave-profile-stable

Windows

"C:\Program Files\BraveSoftware\Brave-Browser\Application\brave.exe" --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir="%TEMP%\brave-profile-stable"

Step 3: Test your setup

After configuring the MCP client and starting the Brave browser, you can test your setup by running a simple prompt in your MCP client:

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

Your MCP client should connect to the running Brave instance and receive a performance report.

If you hit VM-to-host port forwarding issues, see the "Remote debugging between virtual machine (VM) and host fails" section in docs/troubleshooting.md.

For more details on remote debugging, see the Chrome DevTools documentation.

Debugging Brave on Android

Please consult these instructions.

Known limitations

See Troubleshooting.