A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for taking screenshots of web pages using Playwright. This tool allows AI agents to automatically capture and analyze screenshots for UI verification or other tasks.

NOTE: Almost all of the code in this repository has been auto-generated. That means you should probably not trust it too much. That being said, it does work and I'm using it myself.

NOTE: If the documentation is incorrect, please let me know or send a PR. If you too want to use a code generation tool to update the code for this project, PROJECT_CONTEXT.md has been used as context to give a good overview of the various parts of the project. It might be a bit messy now but it's a good starting point and you're welcome to update it.

Features

📸 High-quality screenshot capture using Playwright
🌐 Support for localhost and remote URLs
🍪 Cookie-based authentication for protected pages
🐳 Docker containerization for consistent environments
⚡ PNG, JPEG, and WebP format support with configurable quality
🛡️ Secure non-root container execution
🤖 Full MCP protocol integration with AI development tools
🔧 Configurable viewport sizes and capture options
📱 Full page and element-specific screenshot capture
⚡ TypeScript with Biome for fast development
🧪 Comprehensive testing with Node.js built-in test runner

Quick Start

📦 NPX Usage (Recommended)

The easiest way to get started - no installation required!

# Install Chromium browser (one-time setup)
npx playwright install chromium

# Test that BrowserLoop works
npx browserloop@latest --version

That's it! The latest version of BrowserLoop will be downloaded and executed automatically. Perfect for MCP users who want zero-maintenance screenshots.

MCP Configuration

Add BrowserLoop to your MCP configuration file (e.g. ~/.cursor/mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserloop": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "browserloop@latest"],
      "description": "Screenshot capture server for web pages using Playwright"
    }
  }
}

💡 Using @latest ensures you always get the newest features and bug fixes automatically.

Browser Installation Requirements

🚨 Critical: BrowserLoop requires Chromium to be installed via Playwright before it can take screenshots.

First-Time Setup (All Users)

Install Chromium browser:

npx playwright install chromium

Verify installation:

# Check Playwright installation
npx playwright --version

# Test BrowserLoop (if using NPX)
npx browserloop@latest --version

🐳 Docker Alternative

For containerized environments:

# Pull and run with Docker
docker run --rm --network host browserloop

# Or use docker-compose for development
git clone <repository-url>
cd browserloop
docker-compose -f docker/docker-compose.yml up

💻 Development Installation

For contributors or advanced users who want to build from source:

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd browserloop

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Install Playwright browsers (required for screenshots)
npx playwright install chromium
# OR use the convenient script:
npm run install-browsers

# Build the project
npm run build

MCP Configuration for Development

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserloop": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": [
        "/absolute/path/to/browserloop/dist/src/index.js"
      ],
      "description": "Screenshot capture server for web pages using Playwright"
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/browserloop/ with your actual project path.

Basic Usage

Once configured, you can use natural language commands in your AI tool:

Take a screenshot of https://example.com
Take a screenshot of https://example.com with width 1920 and height 1080
Take a screenshot of https://example.com in JPEG format with 95% quality
Take a full page screenshot of https://example.com
Take a screenshot of http://localhost:3000 to verify the UI changes

🔐 Cookie Authentication

BrowserLoop supports cookie-based authentication for capturing screenshots of login-protected pages during development:

Take a screenshot of http://localhost:3000/admin/dashboard using these cookies: [{"name":"connect.sid","value":"s:session-id.signature","domain":"localhost"}]

📖 For cookie extraction methods and development workflows, see:

📖 Cookie Authentication Guide

Common development use cases:

Local development servers with authentication
Staging environment testing
API documentation tools (Swagger, GraphQL Playground)
Custom web applications during development
Admin panels and protected routes

Documentation

🔐 Cookie Authentication Guide - Complete guide for authenticated screenshots
📚 Complete API Reference - Detailed parameter documentation, examples, and response formats

Key API Parameters

Parameter	Type	Description	Default
`url`	string	Target URL to capture (required)	-
`width`	number	Viewport width (200-4000)	1280
`height`	number	Viewport height (200-4000)	720
`format`	string	Image format (webp, png, jpeg)	webp
`quality`	number	Image quality (1-100)	80
`fullPage`	boolean	Capture full page	false
`selector`	string	CSS selector for element capture	-

📖 See docs/API.md for complete parameter details, usage examples, and configuration options.

Configuration

BrowserLoop can be configured using environment variables:

Basic Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
`BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_WIDTH`	`1280`	Default viewport width (200-4000)
`BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_HEIGHT`	`720`	Default viewport height (200-4000)
`BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_FORMAT`	`webp`	Default image format (`webp`, `png`, `jpeg`)
`BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_QUALITY`	`80`	Default image quality (0-100)
`BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_TIMEOUT`	`30000`	Default timeout in milliseconds
`BROWSERLOOP_USER_AGENT`	-	Custom user agent string

Authentication Configuration

Variable	Default	Description
`BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_COOKIES`	-	Default cookies as file path or JSON string (see Cookie Authentication Guide)

Performance & Reliability

Variable	Default	Description
`BROWSERLOOP_RETRY_COUNT`	`3`	Number of retry attempts for failed operations
`BROWSERLOOP_RETRY_DELAY`	`1000`	Delay between retries in milliseconds

Logging & Debugging

Variable	Default	Description
`BROWSERLOOP_DEBUG`	`false`	Enable debug logging to `/tmp/browserloop.log`
`BROWSERLOOP_ENABLE_METRICS`	`true`	Enable error metrics collection
`BROWSERLOOP_DISABLE_FILE_WATCHING`	`false`	Disable automatic cookie file monitoring

Debug Logging

When BROWSERLOOP_DEBUG=true, detailed logs are written to /tmp/browserloop.log including:

Cookie file loading and automatic refresh events
File watching status and recreation events
Screenshot operation details
Configuration changes and errors

Monitor logs in real-time:

tail -f /tmp/browserloop.log

Note: Logs are written to a file (not console) to maintain compatibility with MCP's stdio protocol.

Example MCP Configuration with Default Cookies

Method 1: JSON File (Recommended)

Create a cookies file:

// ~/.config/browserloop/cookies.json
[
  {
    "name": "connect.sid",
    "value": "s:your-dev-session.signature",
    "domain": "localhost"
  }
]

Reference in MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserloop": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/src/mcp-server.js"],
      "env": {
        "BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_COOKIES": "/home/username/.config/browserloop/cookies.json",
        "BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_FORMAT": "webp",
        "BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_QUALITY": "85"
      }
    }
  }
}

Method 2: JSON String (Legacy)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browserloop": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["dist/src/mcp-server.js"],
      "env": {
        "BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_COOKIES": "[{\"name\":\"session_id\",\"value\":\"your_session_value\",\"domain\":\"example.com\"},{\"name\":\"auth_token\",\"value\":\"your_auth_token\"}]",
        "BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_FORMAT": "webp",
        "BROWSERLOOP_DEFAULT_QUALITY": "85"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Executable doesn't exist" Error

# Install Chromium browser (most common fix)
npx playwright install chromium

MCP Server Not Starting

Test manually: npx browserloop@latest --version
Verify requirements:
- Node.js 20+: node --version
- npm: npm --version
- npx: npx --version
Check MCP config JSON syntax

Screenshots Show Login Pages

Use cookie authentication (see Cookie Authentication Guide)
Check cookie expiration and domain settings

Network/Connection Issues

Test with external URLs first: https://example.com
For localhost: ensure your dev server is running
Check firewall settings

Updating BrowserLoop

NPX: Automatically uses latest version with @latest - no manual updates needed!
Check current version: npx browserloop@latest --version

Quick Diagnosis

# Test complete setup
node --version && npm --version
npx playwright --version

# Test BrowserLoop
npx browserloop@latest --version

Enable debug logging: Set BROWSERLOOP_DEBUG=true in your MCP config and monitor /tmp/browserloop.log

📖 See docs/API.md#error-handling for detailed troubleshooting.

License

BrowserLoop is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0 or later (AGPL-3.0-or-later).

What this means:

✅ Free to use - Personal and commercial use allowed
✅ Free to modify - You can adapt the code to your needs
✅ Free to distribute - Share copies with others
✅ Patent protection - Contributors provide patent grants
⚠️ Copyleft - Derivative works must also be open source under AGPL-3.0
⚠️ Network clause - If you run a modified version on a server, you must provide source code to users

For Network Services

Important: If you modify BrowserLoop and run it as a network service (e.g., web app, API server, or cloud service), the AGPL requires you to:

Offer the complete source code to all users of your service
Include a prominent notice about how users can access the source
Use a compatible license for the entire service

License Files

LICENSE - Full license text

Commercial Use

Organizations can use BrowserLoop under the AGPL for commercial purposes, but must comply with the copyleft requirements. If you need to keep modifications private, consider:

Using BrowserLoop without modifications
Contributing improvements back to the community
Contacting the maintainers about potential alternative licensing arrangements

For questions about licensing, please open an issue or contact the maintainers.

BrowserLoop