Browser Control MCP
MCP server paired with a Firefox extension for tab management, history search, and reading webpage content.
Add to your client
Copy the config for your MCP client and paste it into its config file.
npm install && npm run buildPaste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
{
"mcpServers": {
"browser-control-mcp": {
"command": "node",
"args": [
"/path/to/repo/mcp-server/dist/server.js"
],
"env": {
"EXTENSION_SECRET": "<secret_on_firefox_extension_options_page>",
"EXTENSION_PORT": "8089"
}
}
}
}Step-by-step guides: Add to Claude Desktop · Add to Cursor · Add to Windsurf
Before you start
- Firefox browser with the Browser Control MCP extension installed (from addons.mozilla.org or as a temporary add-on)
- Node.js (to run the MCP server) or Docker
- The EXTENSION_SECRET shown on the extension's preferences page in Firefox
- An MCP client such as Claude Desktop
About Browser Control MCP
An MCP server paired with a Firefox browser extension that provides AI assistants with access to tab management, browsing history, and webpage text content. It is designed to be more secure than web automation MCP servers: it does not support page modification, interactions, or arbitrary scripting; reading webpage content requires explicit per-domain user consent; and it communicates over a local-only connection secured with a shared secret. The MCP server can be installed via a Claude Desktop DXT extension, built from source and run with Node, or run via Docker.
Tools & capabilities (7)
Open or close tabsOpen new browser tabs or close existing ones.
Get the list of opened tabsRetrieve the list of currently opened tabs in the browser.
Create tab groupsCreate tab groups with a specified name and color.
Reorder opened tabsRearrange the order of opened tabs in the browser.
Read and search browser historyRead and search the browser's browsing history.
Read a webpage's text content and linksRead the text content and links of a webpage. Requires explicit user consent per domain.
Find and highlight text in a tabFind and highlight text within a browser tab. Requires explicit user consent.
What this server can do
Browser Control MCP provides tools for these capabilities — tap one to see every MCP server that does the same:
When to use it
- Close all non-work-related tabs in the browser
- Group all development-related tabs into a new group called 'Development'
- Rearrange tabs into an order that makes sense, or close tabs not accessed in the past 24 hours
- Find an article in browser history and open related articles visited during the last week
- Open Hacker News, read the top story and its comments, and analyze whether the comments agree
- Search Google Scholar for recent papers, open the most cited ones, and summarize them
Security notes
Uses a local-only connection with a shared secret (EXTENSION_SECRET) between the MCP server and the Firefox extension. Reading webpage content requires explicit user consent per domain, enforced at the extension's manifest level. The extension does not support page modification, interactions, or arbitrary scripting, performs no remote data collection or tracking, provides an extension-side audit log for tool calls and per-tool enable/disable configuration, and has no runtime third-party dependencies. The project is still experimental; authorize and monitor tool calls carefully.
Browser Control MCP FAQ
Which browser is supported?
Firefox. The companion extension is available on addons.mozilla.org and can also be installed as a temporary add-on from a pre-built .xpi file.
How is it more secure than web automation MCP servers?
It does not support page modification, page interactions, or arbitrary scripting. Reading webpage content requires explicit per-domain user consent enforced at the extension's manifest level, it uses a local-only connection with a shared secret, performs no remote data collection, provides an audit log of tool calls, and has no runtime third-party dependencies.
How do I install it with Claude Desktop?
Install the Firefox extension, then download the Claude Desktop DXT file (linked from the extension's 'Manage extension' page or the GitHub releases) and open it or drag it into Claude Desktop's settings. Enable the DXT extension after installing. Alternatively, build the MCP server from source and add the mcpServers configuration manually.
Can I run the MCP server in Docker?
Yes. Build the mcp-server Docker image with 'docker build -t browser-control-mcp .' and use the Docker-based mcpServers configuration that runs the image with the EXTENSION_SECRET and CONTAINERIZED=true environment variables, mapping port 127.0.0.1:8089:8089.
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