Chrome DevTools MCP Skills - Setup Guide¶
Source: chromedevtools/chrome-devtools-mcp
GitHub: chromedevtools/chrome-devtools-mcp
Skills: chrome-devtools (5,934 installs) · chrome-devtools-cli (2,572 installs)
Category: Browser Automation & Debugging
First Seen: August 14, 2026 sweep
Quality Tier: 🟢 Production
The official Google Chrome DevTools skills let an agent drive a real Chrome browser through the Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) - navigate pages, click and fill forms via accessibility-tree snapshots, read console output and network requests, capture performance traces, and debug JavaScript. Because the transport is an MCP server (npx chrome-devtools-mcp), any MCP-capable agent can use it, including Hermes via its native MCP client. Two skills ship in the repo: chrome-devtools for agent-driven tool calling, and chrome-devtools-cli for browser automation from shell scripts.
Installation¶
Install both skills from skills.sh:
npx skills add chromedevtools/chrome-devtools-mcp
Register the MCP server in Hermes (~/.hermes/config.yaml under mcp_servers):
mcp_servers:
chrome-devtools:
command: npx
args: [chrome-devtools-mcp@latest]
Optional capability flags (add to args):
- --categoryExtensions - enable extension tooling (install/list/inspect extensions)
- --memoryDebugging - enable memory debugging tools
- --browserUrl http://127.0.0.1:9222 - attach to an existing Chrome instead of auto-launching
The server starts Chrome automatically on first tool call using a persistent profile. The skill does not apply in --slim mode (no MCP configuration).
Prerequisites¶
| Requirement | Details |
|---|---|
| Node.js 20.19+ / 22.12+ | Required by chrome-devtools-mcp (Node version check enforced) |
| Google Chrome | Stable or Canary - the server launches it automatically on first call |
| Hermes Agent | Any recent version with the native MCP client (see hermes mcp / config.yaml mcp_servers) |
| npx | Bundled with Node.js - used to run the MCP server |
What It Provides¶
chrome-devtools (MCP tools, agent-driven)¶
| Capability | Tools | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Page navigation | navigate_page, new_page, list_pages, select_page |
Tools operate on the currently selected page |
| Interaction | take_snapshot, click, fill, hover, press_key |
Snapshot returns uid refs - always re-snapshot before acting |
| Script evaluation | evaluate_script |
Run JS in the page, return JSON |
| Network inspection | list_network_requests, get_network_request |
Request/response headers and bodies |
| Console & errors | list_console_messages, get_console_message |
Catch client-side errors |
| Performance | performance_start_trace, performance_stop_trace |
Core Web Vitals + insight highlights |
| Extension tooling | install_extension, list_extensions (requires flag) |
For testing your own extensions |
chrome-devtools-cli (terminal automation)¶
chrome-devtools list_pages
chrome-devtools take_snapshot # uid-based element snapshot
chrome-devtools click --uid 1_3
chrome-devtools fill --uid 1_4 --value "hello@example.com"
chrome-devtools navigate_page --url https://www.corpusiq.io/docs/
chrome-devtools evaluate_script --function "() => document.title"
The CLI starts the background server implicitly - do not run start/status/stop before each use. State persists across commands.
Quick Start¶
npx skills add chromedevtools/chrome-devtools-mcp- Add the
mcp_servers.chrome-devtoolsblock to~/.hermes/config.yamland restart Hermes - In session: "list my open Chrome pages and take a snapshot of the active one"
- "Run an accessibility snapshot of https://www.corpusiq.io/docs/ and click the pricing link"
- For scripted work:
chrome-devtools take_snapshot | grep "Sign in"
CorpusIQ Use Cases¶
| Use Case | How |
|---|---|
| Docs site QA | Take snapshots and screenshots of docs.corpusiq.io pages after deploys to verify rendering, catch console errors |
| Frontend debugging | Inspect console messages and network requests on www.corpusiq.io to trace failed API calls |
| Form-flow testing | Automate signup/demo-request flows with click/fill to verify conversion paths end-to-end |
| Performance auditing | Run performance traces against landing pages to catch LCP/CLS regressions before launch |
| Competitor page teardown | Snapshot competitor pricing/dashboard flows headlessly for structured research notes |
Integration with CorpusIQ¶
CorpusIQ is the connector layer that lets AI assistants read the systems a business already runs on - accounting, payments, CRM, email, files and analytics - and answer with the source named. It is read-only by design: it retrieves data and never writes to, or acts in, a connected system, which is what makes it safe to point at live accounts.
This page is part of the CorpusIQ directory, the reference we maintain for the MCP server and agent-skill ecosystem. Run alongside CorpusIQ, a third-party server like this one can be combined with a company's own business data in a single answer.
Limitations / Verification¶
- File access is restricted to the OS temp dir by default; unrestricted paths need
--allowUnrestrictedPaths=true - Single browser instance per server - parallel page work must be serialized through the same server
- MCP tools require a full Hermes restart after config.yaml changes
# Verify the MCP server is registered
hermes mcp list | grep chrome-devtools
# Functional test via CLI
chrome-devtools navigate_page --url "https://example.com" && chrome-devtools take_snapshot
Security¶
- MCP security best practices - official guidance on MCP tool exposure
- chrome-devtools-mcp security policy - Google's vulnerability reporting
- MCP security best practices - server trust boundaries
Related¶
- MCP & API Integration catalog section
- Hermes browser automation skills -
agent-browser,browser-use-automation,playwright-social-media-automation - Chrome DevTools MCP repo
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