Browser Use
Lets AI do web tasks for you, such as filling forms, searching and extracting data, in the maker’s cloud browsers or on your computer.
Computer or cloud✓ service owner · browser-use.com
Substrate Browser
What it does
Token-first headless browser for AIs. Extracts a tiny semantic graph, cutting HTML bloat by 95%.
- Connects Runs on your computer
- Account or key No key needed
- Category Web & browsers
Install
Pick the AI app you use, then copy the settings.
Passed 3/3 checks · Runs on your computer
First: which AI do you use?
Pick your app and the steps appear below.
Works with Claude, with some setup first
You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time) · Only the Claude desktop app (Windows or Mac), not the web or phone
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Sign up and create a Substrate Browser key
Open the maker’s site, sign up and create an API key for the next step. Check the maker’s site for pricing and free plans.
How to get a key is in the maker’s README below
Open the Claude desktop app’s settings file
SettingsDeveloperEdit Config
Paste these settings and save the file
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Paste the key only into the app’s field, never into a chat or to anyone
Quit Claude and open it again
Try it
Use Substrate Browser and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If Claude says it is using Substrate Browser or shows a Substrate Browser tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against Anthropic’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
ChatGPT cannot connect Substrate Browser yet
Substrate Browser runs on your computer, but ChatGPT can only connect servers that run on the web
What you can do instead
A · Use an app that can connect Substrate Browser
- You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time) · Only the Claude desktop app (Windows or Mac), not the web or phone
- You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
- You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
- You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
B · Others in Web & browsers that work with ChatGPT
Picked from the most used in the same category, only ones that connect by address with no key
- Firecrawl MCP Server✓ ChatGPT
- webclaw✓ ChatGPT
- Oxylabs MCP✓ ChatGPT
Works with Claude Code, with some setup first
You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Sign up and create a Substrate Browser key
Open the maker’s site, sign up and create an API key for the next step. Check the maker’s site for pricing and free plans.
How to get a key is in the maker’s README below
Open Terminal
Mac: press Command+Space and type Terminal · Windows: open PowerShell
Paste this command and press Enter
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Replace “your-value” with your key before pressing Enter
Paste the key only into the app’s field, never into a chat or to anyone
Type /mcp in Claude Code
You should see Substrate Browser listed as connected
Try it
Use Substrate Browser and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If Claude Code says it is using Substrate Browser or shows a Substrate Browser tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against Anthropic’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
Works with Cursor, with some setup first
You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Sign up and create a Substrate Browser key
Open the maker’s site, sign up and create an API key for the next step. Check the maker’s site for pricing and free plans.
How to get a key is in the maker’s README below
Click this button to open Cursor
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Fill in your key
In the Substrate Browser settings, SUBSTRATE_PROXY, SUBSTRATE_VIEWPORT_WIDTH, SUBSTRATE_VIEWPORT_HEIGHT is empty; add your key and save
Paste the key only into the app’s field, never into a chat or to anyone
Open the AI chat in Cursor in Agent mode
Try it
Use Substrate Browser and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If Cursor says it is using Substrate Browser or shows a Substrate Browser tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against Cursor’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
Works with VS Code, with some setup first
You need a Substrate Browser key (create it on the maker’s site) · Install Node.js on your computer first (one time)
Install Node.js
One time only; it works for every server that needs Node.js
Sign up and create a Substrate Browser key
Open the maker’s site, sign up and create an API key for the next step. Check the maker’s site for pricing and free plans.
How to get a key is in the maker’s README below
Click this button to open VS Code
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Fill in your key
In the Substrate Browser settings, SUBSTRATE_PROXY, SUBSTRATE_VIEWPORT_WIDTH, SUBSTRATE_VIEWPORT_HEIGHT is empty; add your key and save
Paste the key only into the app’s field, never into a chat or to anyone
Open the AI chat in VS Code in Agent mode
Try it
Use Substrate Browser and tell me what you can do for me, then show me one thing✓ If VS Code says it is using Substrate Browser or shows a Substrate Browser tool in the answer, you are connected
Menu names checked against VS Code’s help page on Nov 11, 2026 · your screen may differ slightly by app version
For developers: Terminal commands and JSON settings
Installed on your computer
Claude Code
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json)
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Cursor (~/.cursor/mcp.json)
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
VS Code (mcp.json)
Checking the commands · copy buttons appear once they pass
Values you fill in
SUBSTRATE_PROXYenvOptional egress proxy URL (http/socks) to route all Chromium traffic through, mitigating SSRF and DNS rebinding risks.SUBSTRATE_VIEWPORT_WIDTHenvBrowser viewport width in pixels (Default: 1280)SUBSTRATE_VIEWPORT_HEIGHTenvBrowser viewport height in pixels (Default: 800)
These settings are generated from the maker’s registry entry. If the README says otherwise, follow the README.
At a glance
Which apps can use it
Based on how this server connects and on each app’s own docs, checked Nov 10, 2026.
Run on your computer in
ClaudeGooseLM StudioMsty StudioCherry StudioCursorVS Code + GitHub CopilotVisual StudioWindsurf (Devin Desktop)ZedKiroClineContinueJetBrains AI AssistantClaude CodeCodex CLIGemini CLIOpenCodenodecodeWarpLibreChatRaycast
Related guides
Guide 7Let AI browse the web for youLet AI find current information, read and summarise web pages, and on paid plans click and fill in websites for you.5 min readGuide 85 checks before you install an MCPAbout 2 minutes each: check its page on our site and the permission request in your AI app before you say yes.4 min read
What it can do
Runs on your computer; the tool list appears in your AI app after you install it.
Basic checksi
We check information anyone can see; we have not read the code. Checks that do not apply are left out of the count. · Checked Nov 13, 2026
- ✓ Pass
Maker matches the repo
The registry name was verified with the GitHub account manuelinuxkr, which owns the repo
- ✓ Pass
Still maintained
Code last changed 2 months ago
- ✓ Pass
Has a licence
Uses MIT
- – Not applicable
Endpoint responds
This one runs on your computer; there is no internet endpoint
- – Not applicable
Sign-in with OAuth
Runs on your computer and uses local settings instead
- … Not checked yet
No hidden instructions in tool descriptions
Runs on your computer; we can only read tool lists from internet endpoints
Discussion
Ask, share a tip or report that it does not work. Sorted by what people marked helpful.
No posts yet. Be the first to ask or share.
Posts here are written by users, not the PopNx team.
User reviews
No reviews yet
Compared with others in Web & browsersi
- More stars than 78% of the other 1497 servers in this category
- Published to the registry more recently than 25% of the other 1497 servers in this category
- Basic checks equal to or better than 100% of the other 1497 servers in this category
Compared with every active server in this category in the registry. Stars count only when the publisher owns the repo.
Common questions
Is Substrate Browser safe?
It passed 3 of 3 applicable basic checks. We have not read the code. Before adding a key or token, see what access the server asks for and use a key with only the permissions you need.
What keys or codes does it need?
The registry does not list a required key, though some servers ask you to sign in on first use.
Does it run on my computer or in the cloud?
It runs on your computer. Your AI app starts it when needed, and data does not pass through the maker’s servers (unless it calls an online service itself).
Is it still maintained?
The GitHub repo last changed 2 months ago, and the latest version (2.0.2) reached the registry 2 months ago.
Which apps can use it?
Apps that support MCP, such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor and VS Code. You also need Node.js on your computer.
What can I use instead?
In the same category: Browser Use, Scrapling MCP Server, Chrome DevTools MCP
Others in the same category
Servers in the same category from other makers, sorted by stars.
Reading a card:↓ Downloads per weeki★ GitHub starsiThree pillars: reviews · checks · usageiUpdated = latest version published to the registryi
Scrapling MCP Server
Web scraping with stealth HTTP, real browsers, and Cloudflare bypass. CSS selectors supported.
Runs on your computer
Chrome DevTools MCP
Lets AI use Chrome’s developer tools to inspect pages, find what makes them slow and spot errors. Made by the Chrome DevTools team.
Runs on your computer
README from the maker
Open the README
Copied from the maker’s repo as written. PopNx MCP has not reviewed or endorsed it. HTML, images and scripts are removed. Links lead off this site.
Substrate
Stop wasting 48K tokens to read a webpage. Substrate compresses a typical content page into roughly 1–4K tokens your LLM can actually use — vs. ~48K of raw HTML.
Substrate is an MCP server that gives your AI agent eyes and hands on the web. It extracts a compressed semantic graph of any webpage — buttons, inputs, links, dropdowns, checkboxes — with precise pixel coordinates, and handles clicking, typing, and selection via spatial coordinates. No CSS selectors. No xpaths. No hallucination.
Why It Matters
Every other browser automation approach burns tokens on noise:
| Approach | Tokens | Extraction | What Your LLM Gets |
|---|---|---|---|
Raw HTML (page.content()) | ~48,000 | 5ms | Full DOM tree — scripts, styles, hidden elements, ad markup. LLM drowns in noise and hallucinates clicks on invisible elements. |
| Vision (screenshot + OCR) | ~8,000 | ~800ms | A pixel blob. LLM can "see" the page but can't target anything precisely. Clicks land 20px off. Forms fail. |
| Substrate | ~1,000–4,000 | ~10–30ms | Structured JSON: what each element is, where it is, what state it's in. LLM clicks the right thing on the first try. |
The math: a ~110-element content page (say, Wikipedia) compresses to roughly ~2,300 tokens — about 1.8% of a typical 128K context window. You can fit roughly ~55 page extractions before the LLM runs out of room. With raw HTML, you get 2.
*Token figures are order-of-magnitude, measured live on representative pages (example.com ~84 tok, Wikipedia ~3.5K, Hacker News front page ~4.4K, extraction 8–58ms). They scale with page density; the extractor caps output at MAX_ELEMENTS=400, so very dense pages are truncated rather than emitted in full. The math is arithmetic: on a ~2.3K-token page, ⌊128K/2.3K⌋ ≈ 55 extractions.*
The real win — shorter action loops:
Without Substrate: With Substrate:navigate → screenshot navigate → "I see a button" → click (wrong) → {btn id=3 "Submit" [640,400]} → screenshot → "ah, more right" → click(3) → done. → click → "not that either" → screenshot → ... 2 tool calls. Task complete. 8-12 tool calls. Task complete.
That's not a marginal improvement. That's 5-6x fewer API calls, 5-6x less latency, and 5-6x lower cost per web task.
How It Works
Substrate runs as a headless Chromium browser via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Your LLM agent talks to it through 10 simple tools:
| Tool | What It Does |
|---|---|
navigate | Load a URL, get back the page graph (capped at 400 elements) |
click | Click any element by its numeric ID |
type_text | Type into an input field (auto-clears first) |
select_option | Pick a dropdown option by value |
press_key | Press a keyboard key (Escape, Enter, Tab, arrows, modifiers) |
scroll | Scroll up/down by 80% of viewport |
screenshot | Get a visual snapshot + the graph together |
go_back / go_forward | Browser history navigation |
get_current_url | Check where you are |
Every navigation and interaction tool returns the same compressed graph (get_current_url returns just the URL; screenshot returns the image plus the graph). Your LLM reads the graph, picks an element ID, and calls the next tool. No image interpretation. No HTML parsing. Just IDs and coordinates.
Installation & Setup
Substrate is a standalone Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. You do not need to write code to use it — you just plug it into your AI assistant.
Option 1: Claude Desktop (Recommended)
- Open your Claude Desktop configuration file:
- macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json - Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
- Add the
substrate-browserserver to themcpServersblock:
{"mcpServers": { "substrate-browser": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "substrate-browser"] } } }
3. Restart Claude Desktop. You will now see the 10 browser tools available (a small hammer icon) and you can ask Claude to "Go to example.com and tell me what you see".*(Note: Playwright will automatically download the Chromium binary on the very first run. This requires Node.js 20+ installed on your system).*
Option 2: Running from Source (For Developers)
If you want to modify the extraction logic or add your own tools:
git clone https://github.com/manuelinuxkr/substrate-b.gitcd substrate-b npm install npx playwright install chromium npm run build npm start
License
MIT