tv-cdp-launch

name	tv-cdp-launch
description	Launch TradingView Desktop with Chrome DevTools Protocol so the tradingview-desktop MCP can drive the UI. Handles the WindowsApps install path (which the MCP's tv_launch can't auto-find), the non-default-port problem (MCP defaults to 9222 but TV is often bound to 9223), and the loopback-only listen behavior. Aliases — tv-launch, tv-up, tv-cdp.

tv-cdp-launch

MCP server: tradesdontlie/tradingview-mcp — the mcp__tradingview-desktop__* tool family.

Bring TradingView Desktop up with --remote-debugging-port and make sure the mcp__tradingview-desktop__* tool family can reach it.

When to use

• Any other tv-* skill returns cdp_connected: false or CDP connection failed after 5 attempts.
• User says "launch TV", "TV is down", "MCP can't see TradingView", "open tradingview with debug".
• First step of every paper-trading or position-management workflow.

Constraints (read before launching)

1. WindowsApps install is invisible to mcp__tradingview-desktop__tv_launch. The MCP only searches %LOCALAPPDATA%\TradingView\…, Program Files\TradingView\…, and Program Files (x86)\TradingView\…. Store-installed TV lives at C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\TradingView.Desktop_<ver>_x64__<hash>\TradingView.exe and must be launched manually.
2. MCP CDP port is hard-coded to 9222. tv_health_check and friends take no port argument. If TV is bound to a different port (9223, 9224, …) you must proxy 9222 → real_port.
3. CDP binds to 127.0.0.1 only. Don't probe via localhost only — explicit 127.0.0.1.
4. netsh interface portproxy needs admin. If you don't have elevation, use the userland Python TCP forwarder pattern below.

Step 1 — Find the exe

Get-ChildItem "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\TradingView.Desktop_*\TradingView.exe" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty FullName

If the WindowsApps folder is ACL-locked, try AppX:

(Get-AppxPackage -Name "*TradingView*").InstallLocation

Step 2 — Kill stale instances + launch

Get-Process -Name TradingView -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue | Stop-Process -Force
Start-Sleep -Seconds 2
Start-Process "C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\TradingView.Desktop_<ver>_x64__<hash>\TradingView.exe" `
  -ArgumentList "--remote-debugging-port=9222","--remote-allow-origins=*"
Start-Sleep -Seconds 8

Prefer port 9222 so the MCP works out of the box. If user already launched on 9223, jump to Step 4.

Step 3 — Verify port listen + CDP responds

Get-NetTCPConnection -State Listen |
  Where-Object { $_.LocalPort -in 9222,9223,9224 } |
  Select-Object LocalAddress, LocalPort, OwningProcess
try {
  (Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/version" -TimeoutSec 5 -UseBasicParsing).Content
} catch { "fail: $_" }

A successful response includes "Browser": "Chrome/…" and a webSocketDebuggerUrl. Now call:

mcp__tradingview-desktop__tv_health_check

Expect cdp_connected: true and a target_url of https://www.tradingview.com/chart/....

Step 4 — Port bridge (TV on 9223, MCP wants 9222)

Two options. Use whichever you have permissions for.

4a. netsh portproxy (needs admin)

netsh interface portproxy add v4tov4 listenaddress=127.0.0.1 listenport=9222 connectaddress=127.0.0.1 connectport=9223
# verify
netsh interface portproxy show v4tov4
# teardown when done
# netsh interface portproxy delete v4tov4 listenaddress=127.0.0.1 listenport=9222

If netsh returns The requested operation requires elevation, fall through to 4b.

4b. Userland Python TCP forwarder (no admin)

Save once, run in background:

# tools/tv_cdp_proxy.py
import socket, threading
def pipe(a, b):
    try:
        while True:
            d = a.recv(65536)
            if not d:
                break
            b.sendall(d)
    except Exception:
        pass
    finally:
        for s in (a, b):
            try: s.close()
            except: pass

def handle(client, target_port):
    upstream = socket.socket()
    upstream.connect(("127.0.0.1", target_port))
    threading.Thread(target=pipe, args=(client, upstream), daemon=True).start()
    pipe(upstream, client)

def main(listen=9222, forward=9223):
    s = socket.socket()
    s.setsockopt(socket.SOL_SOCKET, socket.SO_REUSEADDR, 1)
    s.bind(("127.0.0.1", listen))
    s.listen(50)
    print(f"LISTEN {listen} -> {forward}", flush=True)
    while True:
        c, _ = s.accept()
        threading.Thread(target=handle, args=(c, forward), daemon=True).start()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    import sys
    main(int(sys.argv[1]) if len(sys.argv) > 1 else 9222,
         int(sys.argv[2]) if len(sys.argv) > 2 else 9223)

Launch the forwarder in the background (Bash tool, run_in_background: true):

python tools/tv_cdp_proxy.py 9222 9223 &
sleep 2
curl -s -m 3 http://127.0.0.1:9222/json/version | head -c 200

The forwarder is socket-level. CDP works over WebSocket, which tunnels fine through this. The MCP will see 9222 normally.

Step 5 — Confirm MCP can drive the page

mcp__tradingview-desktop__tv_health_check

Returned success: true + cdp_connected: true = ready. If cdp_connected: false:

• Re-check Step 3 (CDP responds on the listen port)
• Re-check Step 4 (forwarder alive — Get-Process python should show your forwarder PID)
• Re-check no other process has stolen 9222 (Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 9222)

Cleanup

If you started the Python forwarder in background, leave it running for the session. To stop:

# find pid
ss -ltnp 2>/dev/null | grep ':9222'    # WSL
# or via PowerShell
Get-NetTCPConnection -LocalPort 9222 | Select-Object OwningProcess
Stop-Process -Id <pid>

Known failure modes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
tv_launch returns "TradingView not found on win32"	WindowsApps path not searched	Manual launch via Step 2
tv_health_check returns cdp_connected: false after manual launch	TV launched without --remote-debugging-port	Re-launch with the flag; kill all TV procs first
CDP responds on 9223 but MCP says fail	Port mismatch	Step 4 bridge
netsh portproxy says "requires elevation"	No admin	Use 4b (Python forwarder)
Invoke-WebRequest 9222 says "actively refused" but port is in Get-NetTCPConnection	TV CDP still booting	Wait 5–10s and retry
Multiple TradingView.exe processes (8+) but no listener	Renderer subprocesses only — main proc crashed	Stop-Process -Name TradingView -Force, relaunch
--remote-allow-origins=* rejected	TV >= 3.x sometimes requires this for MCP WS handshake	Keep the flag; do not drop it

Companion skills

• tv-account-switch — once CDP is up, switch between paper accounts
• tv-positions-read — read open positions table
• tv-paper-trade — place trades with TP/SL (existing skill)
• tv-debug — debugging matrix for everything else