Vessel Browser
Built from the ground-up for agents, Vessel Browser is an open source AI browser for Linux/Windows that provides a durable state, MCP control, and BYOK with full autonomous browsing. Use with Hermes Agent, OpenClaw, or connect to your favorite API pr
What is Vessel Browser?
Vessel Browser is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to built from the ground-up for agents, vessel browser is an open source ai browser for linux/windows that provides a durable state, mcp control, and byok with full autonomous browsing. use with hermes a...
Built from the ground-up for agents, Vessel Browser is an open source AI browser for Linux/Windows that provides a durable state, MCP control, and BYOK with full autonomous browsing. Use with Hermes Agent, OpenClaw, or connect to your favorite API pr
This server falls under the Browser Automation category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- Built from the ground-up for agents, Vessel Browser is an op
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y @quanta-intellect/vessel-browserManual Installation
npx -y @quanta-intellect/vessel-browserConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Vessel Browser
Vessel Browser is an open-source Chromium-based browser built specifically for AI agent harnesses, providing durable named sessions, MCP control over navigation and interaction, and a human-visible supervisor UI so operators can audit and redirect agent activity in real time. It exposes an MCP server on port 3100 that agent frameworks such as Hermes Agent or OpenClaw connect to for full browser control, including pinned tabs, annotated checkpoints, action undo, page schema inference, and structured content extraction. Unlike headless automation tools, Vessel keeps a live rendered browser window visible, making long-running autonomous workflows observable and steerable by humans.
Prerequisites
- Linux (most mature target) or Windows; macOS requires building from source
- Node.js 22 (use fnm with the included .node-version for source installs)
- npm or npx available in your PATH
- An MCP-compatible agent harness (Hermes Agent, OpenClaw, Claude Desktop, etc.)
Install Vessel Browser
The fastest path on Linux is the AppImage from GitHub Releases. Alternatively, install via npm globally or run directly with npx.
# Option A: npm global install
npm install -g @quanta-intellect/vessel-browser
vessel-browser
# Option B: npx (no global install)
npx @quanta-intellect/vessel-browser
# Option C: Linux AppImage
# Download Vessel-<version>-x64.AppImage from GitHub Releases
chmod +x Vessel-*.AppImage && ./Vessel-*.AppImageConfirm the MCP endpoint
After launching Vessel, open Settings (Ctrl+,) and note the MCP endpoint. By default it listens at port 3100. The installer also writes MCP config snippets to ~/.config/vessel/.
cat ~/.config/vessel/mcp-stdio-snippet.jsonConnect your agent harness via MCP
Add Vessel to your MCP client configuration. Use the stdio proxy helper for stdio-mode clients, or connect directly to the HTTP endpoint on port 3100.
Configure the built-in Chat assistant (optional)
Open the Supervisor Sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+L) and select the Chat tab. Enter your API key and choose a provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Ollama, Mistral, Google Gemini, xAI, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint) in Settings.
Start an agent-driven workflow
Your connected harness can now navigate pages, extract structured content, save checkpoints, manage bookmarks with agent metadata, and use undo to roll back the last mutating action. Open the Supervisor tab (Ctrl+Shift+L) to follow along.
Vessel Browser Examples
Client configuration
MCP stdio configuration block for Claude Desktop or any stdio-based MCP client. The vessel-browser-mcp helper (installed by the source installer) acts as a stdio-to-HTTP proxy.
{
"mcpServers": {
"vessel-browser": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "@quanta-intellect/vessel-browser"]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Example instructions for an agent using the Vessel Browser MCP tools.
- "Navigate to https://news.ycombinator.com and extract the top 10 story titles and their point counts."
- "Save a checkpoint called 'before-checkout' before proceeding with the purchase flow."
- "Search my bookmarks for pages tagged with 'research' and open the most relevant one."
- "Undo the last action and restore the browser to the previous state."
- "Start a workflow called 'price-comparison' and track progress through its three steps."Troubleshooting Vessel Browser
Vessel fails to launch on Linux with a sandbox error
AppImages may require --no-sandbox on some Linux distributions. Run: ./Vessel-*.AppImage --no-sandbox. For snap installs, check that the snap confinement allows Chromium sandbox access.
Agent harness cannot connect to the MCP endpoint on port 3100
Confirm Vessel is running and check Settings (Ctrl+,) for the actual MCP port — it may differ from 3100 if there was a port conflict at startup. Vessel prints a startup warning if the MCP port is unavailable. Use the mcp-http-snippet.json in ~/.config/vessel/ for the exact address.
Premium features (Screenshot & Visual Analysis, Agent Credential Vault, Research Desk) are not available
These features require a Vessel Premium subscription ($5.99/mo). A 7-day free trial is available at vesselpremium.quantaintellect.com/checkout. Free features include all core MCP navigation tools, checkpoints, bookmarks, and the supervisor sidebar.
Frequently Asked Questions about Vessel Browser
What is Vessel Browser?
Vessel Browser is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that built from the ground-up for agents, vessel browser is an open source ai browser for linux/windows that provides a durable state, mcp control, and byok with full autonomous browsing. use with hermes agent, openclaw, or connect to your favorite api pr It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Vessel Browser?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y @quanta-intellect/vessel-browser. Then add the server configuration to your AI client's JSON config file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Which AI clients work with Vessel Browser?
Vessel Browser works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Vessel Browser free to use?
Yes, Vessel Browser is open source and available under the MIT license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
Vessel Browser Alternatives — Similar Browser Automation Servers
Looking for alternatives to Vessel Browser? Here are other popular browser automation servers you can use with Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
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LAMDA
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Browse More Browser Automation MCP Servers
Explore all browser automation servers available in the MCPgee directory. Each server includes setup guides for Claude, Cursor, and VS Code.
Set Up Vessel Browser in Your Editor
Choose your AI client for step-by-step setup instructions.
Quick Config Preview
Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json
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