@pokutuna/mcp-chrome-tabs

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides direct access to your browser's open tabs content. No additional fetching or authentication required - simply access what you're already viewing.

Key Features

• Direct browser tab access - No web scraping needed, reads content from already open tabs
• Content optimized for AI - Automatic content extraction and markdown conversion to reduce token usage
• Active tab shortcut - Instant access to currently focused tab without specifying IDs
• MCP listChanged notifications - Follows MCP protocol to notify tab changes (set --check-interval to enable)

Requirements

Important

macOS only - This MCP server uses AppleScript and only works on macOS.

• Node.js 20 or newer
• MCP Client such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or any MCP-compatible client
• macOS only (uses AppleScript for browser automation)

Getting Started

First, enable "Allow JavaScript from Apple Events" in Chrome:

• (en) View > Developer > Allow JavaScript from Apple Events
• (ja) 表示 > 開発 / 管理 > Apple Events からのJavaScript を許可

Standard config works in most MCP clients (e.g., .claude.json, .mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-tabs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@pokutuna/mcp-chrome-tabs@latest"]
    }
  }
}

Or for Claude Code:

claude mcp add -s user chrome-tabs -- npx -y @pokutuna/mcp-chrome-tabs@latest

Command Line Options

The server accepts optional command line arguments for configuration:

Content Extraction Options

• --max-content-chars - Maximum content characters per single read (default: 20000)
• --extraction-timeout - Timeout for content extraction worker in milliseconds (default: 20000)
• --exclude-hosts - Comma-separated list of domains to exclude from tab listing and content access

Resource Options

• --check-interval - Interval in milliseconds to check for tab changes and send listChanged notifications (default: 0 disabled, set to 3000 for 3 seconds)

Browser Options

• --application-name - Application name to control (default: "Google Chrome")
• --experimental-browser - Browser implementation to use: "chrome", "safari", or "arc" (default: "chrome")

Other Options

• --help - Show help message with all available options

Resource Subscription (Optional)

Setting --check-interval to a value greater than 0 enables resource subscription. When enabled, the server monitors tab list changes and sends MCP listChanged notifications to prompt clients to refresh their resource lists. This also makes tab://{windowId}/{tabId} resources available for all open tabs.

In 2025-10, few MCP clients support resource subscriptions. Resource subscription is disabled by default (--check-interval=0). Most users only need the tab://current resource, which is always available.

To enable resource subscription:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-tabs": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@pokutuna/mcp-chrome-tabs@latest",
        "--check-interval=3000"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Other Browser Support (Experimental)

Safari

Note that Safari lacks unique tab IDs, making it sensitive to tab order changes during execution:

npx @pokutuna/mcp-chrome-tabs --application-name=Safari --experimental-browser=safari

Arc

npx @pokutuna/mcp-chrome-tabs --application-name=Arc --experimental-browser=arc

MCP Features

Tools

list_tabs

List all open tabs in the user's browser with their titles, URLs, and tab references.

• Returns: Markdown formatted list of tabs with tab IDs for reference

read_tab_content

Get readable content from a tab in the user's browser.

• id (optional): Tab reference from list_tabs output (e.g., ID:12345:67890)
• If id is omitted, uses the currently active tab
• Returns: Clean, readable content extracted using Mozilla Readability

open_in_new_tab

Open a URL in a new tab to present content or enable user interaction with webpages.

• url (required): URL to open in the browser
• Returns: Tab ID in format ID:windowId:tabId for immediate access to the new tab

Resources

tab://current

Resource representing the content of the currently active tab.

• URI: tab://current
• MIME type: text/markdown
• Content: Real-time content of the active browser tab
• Always available regardless of --check-interval setting

tab://{windowId}/{tabId}

Resource template for accessing specific tabs.

• URI pattern: tab://{windowId}/{tabId}
• MIME type: text/markdown
• Content: Content of the specified tab
• Availability: Only when --check-interval is set to a value greater than 0
• Resources are dynamically generated based on currently open tabs
• When enabled, the server monitors tab changes and sends MCP listChanged notifications