chrome-devtools-mcp-skill

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Use Chrome DevTools MCP through UXC over local stdio for page navigation, DOM/a11y snapshots, network inspection, console inspection, and performance tooling, with a live-browser autoConnect default and optional browserUrl or isolated fallback modes.

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NPX Install

npx skill4agent add holon-run/uxc chrome-devtools-mcp-skill

Tags

Translated version includes tags in frontmatter

Chrome DevTools MCP Skill

Use this skill to run Chrome DevTools MCP operations through
uxc
using a fixed stdio endpoint.
Reuse the
uxc
skill for generic MCP discovery, daemon reuse, JSON envelope parsing, and error handling.

Prerequisites

  • uxc
    is installed and available in
    PATH
    .
  • npx
    is available in
    PATH
    (Node.js installed).
  • Chrome 144+ is running locally with remote debugging enabled from
    chrome://inspect/#remote-debugging
    if you use the default live-browser flow.
  • Network access is available for first-time
    chrome-devtools-mcp
    package fetch.

Core Workflow (Chrome DevTools MCP-Specific)

Endpoint candidate inputs before finalizing:
  • Raw package form from official docs:
    • npx chrome-devtools-mcp@latest
  • Reliable non-interactive form:
    • npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest
  • Default live-browser endpoint for this skill:
    • npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --autoConnect --no-usage-statistics
  • Explicit browser-url endpoint:
    • npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --browserUrl http://127.0.0.1:9222 --no-usage-statistics
  • Fallback isolated endpoint:
    • npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --headless --isolated --no-usage-statistics
  • Running local Chrome auto-connect mode:
    • npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --autoConnect --no-usage-statistics
  1. Verify protocol/path from official source and probe:
    • Official source:
      • https://github.com/ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp
    • probe candidate endpoints with:
      • uxc "npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --autoConnect --no-usage-statistics" -h
    • Confirm protocol is MCP stdio (
      protocol == "mcp"
      in envelope).
  2. Detect auth requirement explicitly:
    • Run host help or a minimal read call and inspect envelope.
    • Default local stdio flow requires no OAuth/API key.
    • Existing Chrome attachment requires remote debugging to be enabled separately, but not API auth.
  3. Use a fixed link command by default:
    • command -v chrome-devtools-mcp-cli
    • If missing, create it:
      • uxc link chrome-devtools-mcp-cli "npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --autoConnect --no-usage-statistics"
    • Optional explicit browser-url link:
      • command -v chrome-devtools-mcp-port
      • uxc link chrome-devtools-mcp-port "npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --browserUrl http://127.0.0.1:9222 --no-usage-statistics"
    • Optional isolated fallback link:
      • command -v chrome-devtools-mcp-isolated
      • uxc link chrome-devtools-mcp-isolated "npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --headless --isolated --no-usage-statistics"
    • chrome-devtools-mcp-cli -h
  4. Inspect operation schema before execution:
    • chrome-devtools-mcp-cli new_page -h
    • chrome-devtools-mcp-cli take_snapshot -h
    • chrome-devtools-mcp-cli list_network_requests -h
    • chrome-devtools-mcp-cli lighthouse_audit -h
  5. Prefer read-first interaction:
    • Start with
      new_page
      ,
      list_pages
      ,
      take_snapshot
      ,
      list_network_requests
      , or
      list_console_messages
      .
  6. Confirm before mutating page state:
    • click
    • fill
    • fill_form
    • press_key
    • upload_file
    • evaluate_script
    • handle_dialog

Guardrails

  • Keep automation on the JSON output envelope; do not rely on
    --text
    .
  • Use
    chrome-devtools-mcp-cli
    as the default command path.
  • Prefer the live-browser default endpoint when you need real logged-in state, current tabs, network diagnostics, console inspection, or performance analysis.
  • Prefer
    --autoConnect
    first when browser-side remote debugging is available.
  • Use
    chrome-devtools-mcp-port
    only when you intentionally run a Chrome instance with
    --remote-debugging-port=9222
    .
  • If no debuggable Chrome is available, fallback to
    chrome-devtools-mcp-isolated
    .
  • Prefer
    take_snapshot
    over screenshots for model-action loops.
  • Prefer
    list_network_requests
    /
    get_network_request
    over raw script evaluation when inspecting network behavior.
  • Treat
    lighthouse_audit
    ,
    performance_start_trace
    , and
    take_memory_snapshot
    as heavier operations; use them intentionally.
  • Use
    evaluate_script
    only when an existing higher-level DevTools tool cannot answer the question.

References

  • Invocation patterns:
    • references/usage-patterns.md