How to add browser-use-mcp-server to Claude Desktop
Let AI agents control a real web browser to browse, navigate, and extract data via browser-use + Playwright. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.
Last updated June 14, 2026 · 822★ · sse · apikey
Claude Desktop config for browser-use-mcp-server
uv tool install browser-use-mcp-server{
"mcpServers": {
"browser-use-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"mcp-remote",
"http://localhost:8000/sse"
]
}
}
}Claude Desktop connects to remote servers through the `mcp-remote` proxy (installed on first run via npx). Restart Claude Desktop after saving.
Setup steps
- 1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
- 2Paste the browser-use-mcp-server config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
- 3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
- 4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
- 5Open a chat and confirm browser-use-mcp-server's tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.
Before you start
- uv (Python package manager)
- Playwright with a Chromium install (uv run playwright install --with-deps --no-shell chromium)
- mcp-proxy (required for stdio mode)
- An OpenAI API key (OPENAI_API_KEY)
What browser-use-mcp-server can do in Claude Desktop
browser task (natural language)Accepts a natural-language instruction and drives a real Chromium browser to carry it out — for example, 'open https://news.ycombinator.com and return the top ranked article'. Browser operations execute asynchronously; set PATIENT=true if the API call should wait for the task to complete before returning. (The README documents the capability and example usage but does not enumerate individual tool names.)
Security
Requires an OPENAI_API_KEY supplied via a .env file or the client's env block. The Docker image exposes a VNC server (port 5900) with a default password of `browser-use`; override it by mounting a custom password file as a secret. The server drives a real browser that can visit arbitrary URLs, so treat tasks and target sites as untrusted.
browser-use-mcp-server + Claude Desktop FAQ
Where is the Claude Desktop config file?
Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the browser-use-mcp-server config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.
Is browser-use-mcp-server safe to use with Claude Desktop?
Requires an OPENAI_API_KEY supplied via a .env file or the client's env block. The Docker image exposes a VNC server (port 5900) with a default password of `browser-use`; override it by mounting a custom password file as a secret. The server drives a real browser that can visit arbitrary URLs, so treat tasks and target sites as untrusted.
Which transports are supported?
Both SSE and stdio. SSE runs the server directly (`uv run server --port 8000`) and clients connect to `http://localhost:8000/sse`. stdio mode requires mcp-proxy and runs `browser-use-mcp-server run server --port 8000 --stdio --proxy-port 9000`.
What API key do I need?
An OPENAI_API_KEY, provided either in a .env file or via the client config's env block. Optionally set CHROME_PATH and PATIENT (true to wait for task completion).
Can I watch the browser while it works?
Yes. The server supports VNC streaming. The Docker image exposes VNC on port 5900 (default password `browser-use`), which you can view with a VNC client or noVNC.