Charlotte MCP Server

Renders web pages into structured, agent-readable representations using headless Chromium.

Local serverstdioTypeScript

What is the Charlotte MCP server?

If you already use Charlotte, the charlotte mcp server is the piece that lets your assistant work with it directly. Renders web pages into structured, agent-readable representations using headless Chromium.

What the server does

Your AI agent burns ~60,000 characters of accessibility tree just to look at the Hacker News front page. Charlotte does it in 337.

Available tools

The toolset is worth reading before you wire it up, because it tells you what the integration is really for:

  • Benchmarks — A Charlotte navigate returns a usable orientation by default — landmarks, headings, and interactive element counts grouped by page region. To get the
  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Installation — The Installation tool exposed by this server
  • Cursor — The Cursor tool exposed by this server
  • Windsurf — The Windsurf tool exposed by this server
  • Cline — Add to Cline MCP settings (via the Cline sidebar > MCP Servers > Configure):
  • Full — Everything in summary, plus all visible text content on the page
  • Architecture — The Renderer Pipeline is the core — it calls extractors in order and assembles a PageRepresentation:

Credentials and setup notes

  • Node.js >= 20 - npm

Installation

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at tsx on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

Where it fits

Among the browser automation options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Charlotte's toolset — Benchmarks, Prerequisites, Installation and 5 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by TickTockBent; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.

Worth knowing first

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
BenchmarksA Charlotte navigate returns a usable orientation by default — landmarks, headings, and interactive element counts grouped by page region. To get the equivalent with Playwright MCP, an agent calls browser_snapshot, which
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
InstallationThe Installation tool exposed by this server.
CursorThe Cursor tool exposed by this server.
WindsurfThe Windsurf tool exposed by this server.
ClineAdd to Cline MCP settings (via the Cline sidebar > MCP Servers > Configure):
FullEverything in summary, plus all visible text content on the page.
ArchitectureThe **Renderer Pipeline** is the core — it calls extractors in order and assembles a PageRepresentation:

How to install the Charlotte MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "charlotte": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "tsx"]
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

  • Node.js >= 20 - npm

Example prompts to try

  • Use Charlotte to Benchmarks.
  • Use Charlotte to Prerequisites.
  • Use Charlotte to Installation.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Charlotte to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 8 tools (Benchmarks, Prerequisites, Installation, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Charlotte directly.