OpenTabs

Name: OpenTabs
Author: opentabs-dev

Local bridge that turns your logged-in Chrome tabs into MCP tools for web apps and the browser

By opentabs-dev (individual) JavaScript Local · stdio, Streamable HTTP Browser automation

GitHub npm Website

48 popularity score ★ 1.0k ↓ 281/wk

Connect your client

Local (once it is running)

Add in one click

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio Add to Goose

Opens the app, which asks before it adds the server.

Or add it by command or config

Claude CodeTerminal

claude mcp add --transport http opentabs http://127.0.0.1:9515/mcp

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opentabs": {
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:9515/mcp"
    }
  }
}

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "opentabs": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "http://127.0.0.1:9515/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.opentabs]
url = "http://127.0.0.1:9515/mcp"

Gemini CLITerminal

gemini mcp add --scope user --transport http opentabs http://127.0.0.1:9515/mcp

Local (npm)

Add in one click

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio

Opens the app, which asks before it adds the server.

Or add it by command or config

FirstTerminal

npm install -g @opentabs-dev/cli
opentabs start

Claude CodeTerminal

claude mcp add opentabs -- opentabs start --stdio

Claude Desktopclaude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opentabs": {
      "command": "opentabs",
      "args": [
        "start",
        "--stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "opentabs": {
      "command": "opentabs",
      "args": [
        "start",
        "--stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "opentabs": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "opentabs",
      "args": [
        "start",
        "--stdio"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.opentabs]
command = "opentabs"
args = ["start", "--stdio"]

Gemini CLITerminal

gemini mcp add --scope user opentabs opentabs -- start --stdio

Settings 4

`PORT`	Optional: Port the local server listens on; 9515 by default (also --port).
`OPENTABS_CONFIG_DIR`	Optional: Moves the config directory away from ~/.opentabs.
`OPENTABS_TELEMETRY_DISABLED`	Optional: Set to 1 to turn off anonymous telemetry (DO_NOT_TRACK=1 also works).
`OPENTABS_DANGEROUSLY_SKIP_PERMISSIONS`	Optional: Set to 1 to bypass all per-tool permission checks.

What it does

OpenTabs runs a small HTTP server on your own machine (port 9515 by default) and pairs it with a Chrome extension. An MCP client connects to the server, the extension connects to the same server over a WebSocket, and tool calls are carried out inside the browser tabs you already have open, using the sessions you are already signed in with. Instead of clicking through pages, plugins call each site's own web APIs from inside the tab.

Two kinds of tools come out of it. Built-in browser tools work on any tab with no plugin: 76 of them at version 0.0.115 (counted in platform/mcp-server/src/browser-tools/index.ts, which matches the docs' count), covering tabs, windows and tab groups, clicking and typing, screenshots, page HTML, cookies and storage, console logs, network capture and request interception, history, bookmarks, downloads and device emulation. Plugins add site-specific tools; the project says it has more than 100 plugins (Slack, Discord, GitHub, Jira, Notion, Stripe and others), installed one at a time with `opentabs plugin install <name>`, and you can write and publish your own.

There are several ways to connect. The default /mcp endpoint loads every enabled tool into the client. A gateway endpoint at /mcp/gateway exposes only two tools, `opentabs_list_tools` and `opentabs_call`, for clients with little room for tool schemas. `opentabs start --stdio` lets a client launch a stdio bridge, and agents with shell access can skip MCP and use `opentabs tool call`. Every tool starts off disabled and is set per plugin or per tool to Off, Ask or Auto. The settings file ~/.opentabs/config.json is written with 0600 permissions, and it holds `updateCheckIntervalMinutes`, which makes the server check npm for updates every 30 minutes by default (0 turns it off) (platform/mcp-server/src/config.ts at v0.0.115).

What it needs

Runtime	Node.js 22+

Node.js 22 or newer and Google Chrome. Install the CLI globally with `npm install -g @opentabs-dev/cli`, run `opentabs start` once, then load the unpacked extension from ~/.opentabs/extension in chrome://extensions with Developer mode turned on. You must already be signed in to each site you want a plugin to use, and each site needs its plugin installed with `opentabs plugin install <name>`.

Limits

Chrome only; the extension is loaded unpacked by hand (not in the Chrome Web Store). The HTTP server has to be running: the docs say `opentabs start --stdio` is a bridge to that server and does not start one itself, even though they also present it as a way to skip a manual `opentabs start`. Site tools exist only for sites that have a plugin; the rest go through the generic browser tools. The default /mcp endpoint loads every enabled tool schema; the docs suggest /mcp/gateway when many plugins are on. The audit endpoint keeps the last 500 tool calls. Anonymous telemetry is on by default. The project states it is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of the services its plugins reach.

Who it suits

Suits a developer who wants an assistant to act in web apps they already use in Chrome (chat, issue trackers, docs, dashboards) without setting up API keys or OAuth apps for each one, and who is comfortable with tools acting as their signed-in self. Because plugins run with your live sessions, it fits people willing to read plugin code before enabling it, as the docs themselves advise. Pick something else if you use a browser other than Chrome, need a headless or server-side setup, or want a service's official API server with its own scoped tokens instead of your full browser session.

Tools 60 of 76

browser_list_tabs: Lists open tabs with id, title and URL
browser_open_tab: Opens a new tab at a URL
browser_close_tab: Closes a tab by id
browser_navigate_tab: Sends an existing tab to another URL
browser_focus_tab: Brings a tab and its window to the front
browser_get_tab_info: Returns a tab's load state, URL, title and incognito flag
browser_list_windows: Lists browser windows
browser_create_window: Opens a new browser window
browser_update_window: Changes a window's state or size
browser_close_window: Closes a window
browser_list_tab_groups: Lists tab groups
browser_create_tab_group: Groups tabs together
browser_update_tab_group: Renames or recolours a tab group
browser_add_tabs_to_group: Moves tabs into a group
browser_remove_tabs_from_group: Takes tabs out of their group
browser_list_tabs_in_group: Lists the tabs in one group
browser_get_recently_closed: Lists recently closed tabs and windows
browser_restore_session: Reopens a recently closed tab or window
browser_click_element: Clicks an element matched by a selector
browser_type_text: Types text into a field
browser_press_key: Sends a key press to the page
browser_hover_element: Hovers the pointer over an element
browser_select_option: Picks an option in a select box
browser_scroll: Scrolls the page or an element
browser_wait_for_element: Waits until an element appears
browser_query_elements: Finds elements matching a selector
browser_handle_dialog: Accepts or dismisses a page dialog
browser_get_tab_content: Extracts a page's readable text
browser_get_page_html: Returns a page's HTML
browser_screenshot_tab: Takes a screenshot of a tab
browser_execute_script: Runs arbitrary JavaScript in the page, outside its content security policy
browser_get_element_styles: Returns computed styles of an element
browser_get_cookies: Reads cookies for a URL
browser_set_cookie: Sets a cookie
browser_delete_cookies: Deletes cookies
browser_get_storage: Reads a page's local or session storage
browser_clear_site_data: Clears stored data for a site
browser_get_console_logs: Returns console messages captured from a tab
browser_clear_console_logs: Empties the captured console buffer
browser_enable_network_capture: Starts recording a tab's network traffic
browser_get_network_requests: Returns captured network requests
browser_disable_network_capture: Stops recording and clears the buffer
browser_export_har: Exports captured traffic as a HAR file
browser_get_websocket_frames: Returns captured WebSocket frames
browser_intercept_requests: Pauses matching requests for inspection
browser_fulfill_request: Answers a paused request with a custom response
browser_fail_request: Fails a paused request with a network error
browser_stop_intercepting: Ends request interception
browser_throttle_network: Simulates a slow network
browser_emulate_device: Emulates a device's screen and user agent
browser_search_history: Searches browsing history
browser_search_bookmarks: Searches bookmarks
browser_create_bookmark: Adds a bookmark
browser_download_file: Downloads a file by URL
browser_list_downloads: Lists downloads
browser_notify: Shows a Chrome desktop notification
plugin_list_tabs: Lists tabs matching a plugin's URL patterns and whether each is ready
plugin_analyze_site: Inspects a web page to help build a new plugin for it
extension_get_state: Reports the extension's connection and plugin state
extension_reload: Reloads the Chrome extension

Popularity

48 popularity score, on our list (the bar is 36)

★ 1.0k ↓ 281/wk

GitHub stars, whole repository	1,015	19.6 points
Stars in 30 days	+48	8.5 points
npm downloads, last week	281	19.6 points

It lives in the folder platform/cli of opentabs-dev/opentabs, which holds more than this server. Its stars are the whole repository's, so in the score they never count for more than its own downloads.

Measured 2026-11-07. How the score works.

Where it is published

Code	opentabs-dev/opentabs/platform/cli ★ 1.0k, the whole repository
npm	@opentabs-dev/cli 0.0.115, 2026-07-27

What it can reach

Runs	On your machine
Reaches	Drives a browser, Your account at a service, The internet, Sends messages
Changes things	Yes: it can write, send, create or delete
Sign-in	Account credentials
Licence	MIT (npm)
Last code change	2026-07-27 (a release)

Runs on your machine: an HTTP server on port 9515 and a Chrome extension. Tools act inside your open Chrome tabs with the sessions you are signed in with, so a plugin can read and change whatever your account can on that site, including sending messages and creating or deleting content. Built-in tools can run arbitrary JavaScript in a page outside its content security policy, read and set cookies and storage, and capture or rewrite network traffic. HTTP endpoints take a bearer secret from ~/.opentabs/extension/auth.json, generated on first run; when no secret is configured, the checks are skipped. Requests with a browser Origin other than chrome-extension:// are refused. Tools start disabled; OPENTABS_DANGEROUSLY_SKIP_PERMISSIONS=1 turns every check off.

Over time

GitHub stars, whole repository 1.0k +48 (+5 %)

1.0k967

8 Oct 20267 Nov 2026

npm downloads a week 281 +268 (+2062 %)

3.7k6

23 Feb 20267 Nov 2026

Before the site measured it, read from npm's daily download counts.

Popularity score 48 −5 (−9 %)

5330

8 Oct 20267 Nov 2026

What is rising across the directory

Sources

Page checked 2026-10-15.

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Connect your client

Add in one click

Or add it by command or config

Add in one click

Or add it by command or config

Settings 4

What it does

What it needs

Limits

Who it suits

Tools 60 of 76

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