chrome-mcp-bootstrap

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.