BYOB
Lets AI assistants control your real Chrome browser to perform web tasks like reading pages, taking screenshots, clicking, and typing, using your existing logged-in sessions.
What is BYOB?
BYOB is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to lets ai assistants control your real chrome browser to perform web tasks like reading pages, taking screenshots, clicking, and typing, using your existing logged-in sessions.
Lets AI assistants control your real Chrome browser to perform web tasks like reading pages, taking screenshots, clicking, and typing, using your existing logged-in sessions.
This server falls under the Browser Automation category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Lets AI assistants control your real Chrome browser to perfo
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
Manual Installation
npx byobConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use BYOB
BYOB (Bring Your Own Browser) is an MCP server that gives AI assistants direct, real-time control over your actual Chrome browser via a Chrome extension and a native messaging bridge. Unlike headless browser automation, BYOB operates inside your existing Chrome session, so it can interact with pages where you are already logged in — reading content, taking screenshots, clicking elements, filling forms, and extracting data without requiring you to share passwords or re-authenticate. It exposes 28 browser control tools and is compatible with Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, and Cline.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 20 or higher and Bun runtime installed
- Google Chrome browser installed
- An MCP-compatible AI client (Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or Cline)
- Developer mode enabled in Chrome (chrome://extensions)
- Basic familiarity with loading unpacked Chrome extensions
Run the one-line installer
The install script clones the repository, installs dependencies, generates the Chrome extension key, and writes the MCP configuration automatically.
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/wxtsky/byob/main/install.sh | bashRun the setup script to generate the extension key
If you cloned manually, run the setup command inside the project directory. This step creates a unique extension ID and updates the MCP config with the correct paths.
bun run setupLoad the unpacked extension into Chrome
Open chrome://extensions in Chrome, enable Developer mode, click 'Load unpacked', and select the extension folder inside your byob installation directory (default: ~/byob/extension).
Fully restart Chrome
Quit Chrome completely (Cmd+Q on Mac, not just close window) and reopen it. The extension uses native messaging, which requires a full restart to activate the bridge.
Register the MCP server with your AI client
Add byob to Claude Code as a user-scoped MCP server, pointing to the MCP TypeScript entry point generated during setup.
claude mcp add byob -s user -- /path/to/tsx /path/to/byob-mcp.tsEnable optional browser_eval tool (if needed)
The browser_eval tool — which runs arbitrary JavaScript in the page — is disabled by default for safety. Enable it by setting the environment variable in your MCP config.
{
"mcpServers": {
"byob": {
"command": "/path/to/tsx",
"args": ["/path/to/byob-mcp.ts"],
"env": {
"BYOB_ALLOW_EVAL": "1"
}
}
}
}BYOB Examples
Client configuration
Example claude_desktop_config.json for BYOB, using paths generated by the setup script. Replace the paths with those output by 'bun run setup'.
{
"mcpServers": {
"byob": {
"command": "/home/user/.bun/bin/tsx",
"args": ["/home/user/byob/byob-mcp.ts"],
"env": {
"BYOB_INSTALL_DIR": "/home/user/byob"
}
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example prompts that leverage BYOB's 28 browser control tools against your live Chrome session.
- "Read my Twitter timeline and summarize the top 5 posts"
- "Navigate to github.com, search for 'mcp servers', and screenshot the results"
- "Extract the data table on the current page into a CSV"
- "Go to my email inbox, find emails from last week about invoices, and list the senders"
- "Take a screenshot of the active tab"Troubleshooting BYOB
Chrome extension shows 'Native messaging host not found' error
The native messaging host must be registered in Chrome's NativeMessagingHosts directory. Re-run 'bun run setup' which writes the host manifest to the correct OS location, then fully restart Chrome with Cmd+Q.
MCP tools return errors or the bridge shows as offline
Ensure Chrome was fully quit and restarted (not just the window closed) after loading the extension. The BYOB banner should appear on active tabs when the bridge is live. Check that the extension is enabled at chrome://extensions.
'browser_eval' tool is unavailable
This tool is disabled by default for safety. Set the environment variable BYOB_ALLOW_EVAL=1 in your MCP server configuration and restart the MCP server to enable JavaScript evaluation in pages.
Frequently Asked Questions about BYOB
What is BYOB?
BYOB is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that lets ai assistants control your real chrome browser to perform web tasks like reading pages, taking screenshots, clicking, and typing, using your existing logged-in sessions. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install BYOB?
Follow the installation instructions on the BYOB GitHub repository. Clone the repo, install dependencies, and add the server config to your AI client.
Which AI clients work with BYOB?
BYOB works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is BYOB free to use?
Yes, BYOB is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
BYOB Alternatives — Similar Browser Automation Servers
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Quick Config Preview
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