Domshell MCP Server

A Chrome Extension that turns the DOM into a filesystem — navigate the web with ls, cd, cat, and grep.

Local serverstdioGo

What is the Domshell MCP server?

Connect Domshell to Claude, Cursor or any other MCP client and it stops being a tab you switch to. A Chrome Extension that turns the DOM into a filesystem — navigate the web with ls, cd, cat, and grep. The domshell mcp server is what makes that connection.

What the server does

DOMShell maps the browser into a virtual filesystem. Windows and tabs become top-level directories (~). Each tab's Accessibility Tree becomes a nested filesystem where container elements are directories and buttons, links, and inputs are files. Navigate Chrome the same way you'd navigate /usr/local/bin.

  • Browse — tabs with ls ~/tabs/ and switch with cd ~/tabs/123 instead of guessing which tab is active
  • Explore — a page with ls and tree instead of parsing screenshots
  • Navigate — into sections with cd navigation/ instead of guessing coordinates
  • Act — on elements with click submit_btn instead of fragile DOM queries
  • Read — content with cat or bulk-extract with text instead of scraping innerHTML
  • Search — for elements with find --type combobox instead of writing selectors

Installation

npm on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

Available tools

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

  • Searching — The Searching tool exposed by this server
  • Automation — The Automation tool exposed by this server
  • System — The System tool exposed by this server

Credentials and setup notes

Configuration is passed through the environment: API_KEY. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

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.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Where it fits

Among the search and retrieval 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. Domshell's toolset — Searching, Automation, System — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by apireno; 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.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
SearchingThe Searching tool exposed by this server.
AutomationThe Automation tool exposed by this server.
SystemThe System tool exposed by this server.

How to install the Domshell MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "domshell": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "npm"],
      "env": {
        "API_KEY": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
API_KEYCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Domshell to Searching.
  • Use Domshell to Automation.
  • Use Domshell to System.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Domshell to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 3 tools (Searching, Automation, System) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Domshell directly.