browser-use

This MCP server provides browser automation capabilities inside a container with two modes: headless and VNC-enabled. The VNC mode runs the browser with a visible desktop via VNC for debugging or interactive demonstrations, while the headless mode runs without a visual interface for production automation. Both modes launch a Playwright-based Chromium instance inside the container and communicate with the MCP client via stdin/stdout over the container process. To use either mode, start the corresponding Docker command (or configure it in your MCP client) and supply your Google API key via GOOGLE_API_KEY if required by the server. The VNC option exposes port 5900 for VNC clients, while the headless option keeps the container headless with no GUI exposed.

Prerequisites:

• Docker installed and running on your host
• Access to the internet to pull the MCP server image

Installation steps:

1. Verify Docker is working: docker --version docker run --rm hello-world

2. Run the VNC-enabled server (for debugging/visual verification): docker run -i --rm -p 5900:5900 -e GOOGLE_API_KEY=your_google_api_key_here ghcr.io/andrewjdawes/browser-use-mcp-server:latest-vnc // Then connect a VNC client to vnc://localhost:5900 with password browseruse

3. Run the headless server (production-ready): docker run -i --rm -e GOOGLE_API_KEY=YOUR_API_KEY ghcr.io/andrewjdawes/browser-use-mcp-server:latest-headless

4. If you want to integrate with MCP tooling, configure the mcp_config as shown in the JSON example and reference the appropriate image tag (latest-vnc for VNC, latest-headless for headless).

Environment variables:

• GOOGLE_API_KEY: Required by the server for certain browser automation features (provide a key or placeholder). Other tips:
• In VNC mode, ensure your VNC client is configured to connect to port 5900 (default) and use the password 'browseruse'.
• The MCP communication channel is stdin/stdout from the container; from your MCP client, ensure you route messages accordingly.
• If you encounter issues starting the browser, check docker ps and docker logs for the container to view error messages and verify that the Playwright/Chromium components are launching correctly.
• For production, prefer the headless image to minimize resource usage, unless visual verification is required.