| name | chrome-mcp-bootstrap |
| description | Recover or verify Chrome MCP before UI-flow testing.
Triggers when user mentions:
- "chrome mcp is broken"
- "chrome mcp bootstrap"
- "browser broker missing"
- "cannot connect to chrome mcp"
|
Quick Usage
Use this skill before any Chrome-driven verification when the browser connection is flaky or missing.
1) Check which browser path is available
- Try the browser plugin path first if the current session exposes it.
- If the plugin path is unavailable, use Chrome DevTools MCP directly.
2) Repair common local issues
Run these in order:
pkill -f "chrome-devtools-mcp" || true
pkill -f "/Users/$USER/.cache/chrome-devtools-mcp/chrome-profile" || true
npx @different-ai/opencode-browser install
open -a "Google Chrome"
If the extension path is still broken, prefer direct Chrome DevTools MCP:
npx -y chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --help
3) Minimal readiness check
- Browser plugin path: confirm
browser_status or browser_get_tabs succeeds.
- Direct Chrome DevTools MCP path: confirm
initialize and tools/list succeed, then open a page.
4) If recovery fails
- Document the exact blocker.
- Fall back to HTTP-level verification plus screenshots.
- Do not silently skip the UI verification requirement.
Common Gotchas
- The browser extension may be loaded but its native broker may still need a full Chrome restart.
- A stale
chrome-devtools-mcp process or profile can block new sessions.
- Remote-debugging URLs like
http://127.0.0.1:9222 only work if Chrome was started with remote debugging enabled.
- In headless mode, prefer screenshots and page text assertions over visual-only checks.
