Arc Browser MCP

Arc Browser MCP is a local stdio MCP server for inspecting and controlling Arc Browser Spaces and tabs on macOS.

It gives MCP clients such as Codex, Claude Code, opencode, and Claude Desktop a structured way to read Arc's local sidebar/history data and perform explicit Arc actions like focusing Spaces, selecting tabs, creating tabs, navigating tabs, reloading tabs, closing tabs, and optionally executing JavaScript.

Why This Exists

I built this because my Arc setup had become a very specific kind of personal knowledge system: lots of tabs, spread across lots of Spaces, quietly standing in for bookmarks, reading lists, project context, and things I was definitely going to deal with later.

That works until it does not. Once the browser becomes both workspace and storage, it gets hard to tell what is still useful, what is duplicated, what belongs in a second brain, and what can finally be closed. Arc Browser MCP makes that state legible to local agents so they can help inspect, search, organize, summarize, save, and clean up tabs with explicit user-controlled actions.

Arc automation is useful for focused browser actions, but it is not the best source for a complete, background-safe inventory of Spaces, folders, pinned and unpinned tabs, and history. In local testing with my Arc profile, reading all tabs through Arc automation could take up to 30 seconds; reading the same state from Arc's local JSON files took less than 10 ms, over 3,000x faster. Mutations use Arc automation because those changes take effect immediately without requiring a browser restart.

Tools

The server exposes compact v2 tools grouped by behavior. Read tools inspect local Arc data and do not intentionally change visible browser state. Create, edit, and delete tools automate Arc and can change what is visible in the browser.

Read Tools

Tool	Description
arc_get_overview	Returns a compact inventory of Arc Spaces, tab counts, pinned/unpinned counts, folder counts, missing URL counts, duplicate counts, and source warnings.
arc_query_tabs	Lists, filters, and searches active Arc tabs using the local Arc index. Supports query, space_id, location, folder_id, domain, missing_url, duplicate_key, limit, and cursor.
arc_get_tab	Returns a full normalized tab record for an explicit tab_id, including source metadata and matching history entries. Set include_recovery to include recovery candidates for tabs with missing URLs.
arc_get_sidebar_tree	Returns the Space, pinned, unpinned, and folder hierarchy. Set include_tabs to include compact tab records inside the tree.
arc_search_history	Searches local Arc Chromium history snapshots across profiles. Supports query, domain, profile_id, include_hidden, limit, and cursor.
arc_analyze_tabs	Analyzes tabs for duplicates, missing_url, stale, junk, and missing_url_recovery. Results are informational and include explicit tab IDs for review.

Create Tools

Tool	Description
arc_create_tab	Creates a new tab in an explicit Arc Space. Requires space_id and url, accepts optional window_id, and returns the verified new tab_id. Set select to false to create without selecting when supported by the flow.

Edit And Navigation Tools

Tool	Description
arc_focus_space	Focuses an Arc Space by explicit space_id. This changes visible Arc state.
arc_select_tab	Selects an Arc tab by explicit tab_id. This changes visible Arc state.
arc_open_url	Navigates a specific tab when tab_id is provided, or the active tab when tab_id is intentionally omitted. Prefer passing tab_id for predictable behavior.
arc_reload_tabs	Reloads one or more tabs by explicit tab_ids.
arc_execute_javascript	Executes JavaScript in an explicit tab. Disabled by default and available only when ARC_MCP_ENABLE_JAVASCRIPT=1 is set.

Delete Tools

Tool	Description
arc_close_tabs	Closes one or more tabs by explicit tab_ids. This is marked destructive. Use dry_run: true to preview the close response without closing tabs.

<details> <summary>Example workflows</summary>

Find duplicate tabs:

{
  "analyses": ["duplicates"],
  "limit": 25,
  "include_evidence": true
}

Search tabs in a Space:

{
  "query": "docs",
  "space_id": "space-id",
  "limit": 20
}

Create a tab in a known Space:

{
  "space_id": "space-id",
  "url": "https://example.com",
  "select": true
}

Preview closing tabs:

{
  "tab_ids": ["tab-id-1", "tab-id-2"],
  "dry_run": true
}

Close tabs after review:

{
  "tab_ids": ["tab-id-1", "tab-id-2"],
  "dry_run": false
}

</details>

Quick Start

Requirements:

• macOS
• Arc installed at /Applications/Arc.app
• Python 3.12 or newer
• uv / uvx
• A local stdio MCP client
• macOS Automation permission for the MCP client or terminal app when using mutating tools

Run the server directly:

uvx arc-browser-mcp

Run a local prerequisite check:

uvx arc-browser-mcp doctor

Installation

<details> <summary>Codex</summary>

codex mcp add arc-browser -- uvx arc-browser-mcp

</details>

<details> <summary>Claude Code</summary>

claude mcp add --transport stdio --scope user arc-browser -- uvx arc-browser-mcp

</details>

<details> <summary>opencode</summary>

Add this server entry to ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json or a project opencode.json:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "arc_browser": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": ["uvx", "arc-browser-mcp"],
      "enabled": true,
      "timeout": 10000
    }
  }
}

</details>

<details> <summary>Claude Desktop</summary>

For local development, add this to the Claude Desktop MCP config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "arc-browser": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["arc-browser-mcp"],
      "env": {}
    }
  }
}

For end users, prefer a Claude Desktop Extension / DXT package. This repository includes MCPB packaging metadata for that workflow:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/mcpb
mcpb pack

</details>

<details> <summary>Local development install</summary>

From a checkout of this repository:

uv sync
uv run arc-browser-mcp doctor
uv run arc-browser-mcp serve

For a local MCP client config that runs from source, use:

uv run arc-browser-mcp

or:

uv run arc-browser-mcp serve

</details>

<details> <summary>Install command helper</summary>

You can also print client-specific install guidance:

uvx arc-browser-mcp install --client codex
uvx arc-browser-mcp install --client claude-code
uvx arc-browser-mcp install --client opencode
uvx arc-browser-mcp install --client claude-desktop

</details>

Safety And Privacy

• The server is local and communicates with MCP clients over stdio.
• Read tools may return private browser data to the connected MCP client, including titles, URLs, domains, Space names, folder names, profile IDs, history metadata, and local source paths.
• The server does not send browser data anywhere by itself. Your MCP client and its model provider receive whatever data they request through tool calls.
• Mutating tools change visible Arc state, including focused Spaces, selected tabs, newly created tabs, opened URLs, reloaded tabs, and closed tabs.
• Destructive actions require explicit tab IDs. arc_close_tabs also supports dry_run.
• arc_create_tab requires an explicit Space ID and verifies the created tab before returning its ID.
• arc_execute_javascript is disabled unless ARC_MCP_ENABLE_JAVASCRIPT=1 is set in the MCP server environment.
• The server does not directly edit Arc sidebar, archive, command ranking, or history files. Changes go through Arc automation instead.

Reference

Less common setup, debugging, and development details live here.

<details> <summary>CLI reference</summary>

arc-browser-mcp serve
arc-browser-mcp doctor
arc-browser-mcp smoke --read-only
arc-browser-mcp install --client codex
arc-browser-mcp install --client claude-code
arc-browser-mcp install --client opencode
arc-browser-mcp install --client claude-desktop

serve runs the MCP server over stdio. Running arc-browser-mcp without a subcommand also starts the server.

doctor checks macOS, osascript, uvx, and the expected Arc app location.

smoke --read-only runs live read-only checks against local Arc state. It does not call mutating tools.

install --client ... prints MCP configuration guidance for a supported client.

</details>

<details> <summary>Troubleshooting</summary>

Arc Is Not Running

Mutating tools and live Arc reads through AppleScript/JXA require Arc to be running. Open Arc and retry the tool call.

macOS Automation Permission Is Denied

If Arc actions fail with an automation or permissions error, open macOS System Settings and check the Automation and Privacy & Security permissions for the terminal or MCP client that launches this server.

uvx Is Missing

Install uv from the official installer or package manager you use, then rerun:

arc-browser-mcp doctor

JavaScript Execution Is Disabled

arc_execute_javascript intentionally fails unless enabled:

ARC_MCP_ENABLE_JAVASCRIPT=1 uvx arc-browser-mcp

Only enable this in a client configuration where you are comfortable allowing explicit JavaScript execution in browser tabs.

Multiple Arc Windows

Some tools accept window_id. Use arc_get_overview, arc_query_tabs, or a client-visible tab record to identify Space and tab IDs first. When creating a tab and more than one Arc window is open, pass window_id when you need the tab created in a specific window.

</details>

<details> <summary>Development and packaging</summary>

Set up the local environment:

uv sync

Run tests and linting:

uv run pytest
uv run ruff check .

Run local checks against Arc:

uv run arc-browser-mcp doctor
uv run arc-browser-mcp smoke --read-only

Run the server from source:

uv run arc-browser-mcp serve

Manual live verification steps are documented in docs/manual-verification.md.

The repository includes manifest.json and .mcpbignore for MCPB packaging:

npm install -g @anthropic-ai/mcpb
mcpb pack

</details>

License

MIT. See LICENSE.