Perplexity Comet MCP
A production-grade MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that bridges Claude Code with Perplexity's Comet browser for autonomous web browsing, research, and multi-tab workflow management.
Why Perplexity Comet MCP?
This is a significantly enhanced fork of hanzili/comet-mcp with Windows support, smart completion detection, robust connection handling, and full tab management.
Features
Core Capabilities
- Autonomous Web Browsing - Comet navigates, clicks, types, and extracts data while Claude focuses on coding
- Deep Research Mode - Leverage Perplexity's research capabilities for comprehensive analysis
- Login Wall Handling - Access authenticated content through real browser sessions
- Dynamic Content - Full JavaScript rendering and interaction support
Enhanced Features (New in This Fork)
Comparison with Original
Installation
Prerequisites
- Node.js 18 or higher
- Perplexity Comet Browser installed
- Claude Code or compatible MCP client
Install via npm
npm install -g perplexity-comet-mcp
Install from Source
git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/perplexity-comet-mcp.git
cd perplexity-comet-mcp
npm install
npm run build
Configure Claude Code
Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.claude/settings.json or VS Code settings):
{
"mcpServers": {
"comet-bridge": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["/path/to/perplexity-comet-mcp/dist/index.js"]
}
}
}
Windows Users: Use the full Windows path:
{
"mcpServers": {
"comet-bridge": {
"command": "node",
"args": ["C:\\Users\\YourName\\perplexity-comet-mcp\\dist\\index.js"]
}
}
}
Tools Reference
comet_connect
Establish connection to Comet browser. Auto-launches if not running.
Parameters: None
Returns: Connection status message
Example:
> comet_connect
Comet started with debug port 9223
Connected to Perplexity (cleaned 2 old tabs)
comet_ask
Send a prompt to Comet and wait for the complete response. Automatically triggers agentic browsing for URLs and action-oriented requests.
Parameters:
- prompt (required): Question or task for Comet
- newChat (optional): Start fresh conversation (default: false)
- timeout (optional): Max wait time in ms (default: 120000)
Returns: Complete response text
Examples:
# Simple research query
> comet_ask "What are the latest features in Python 3.12?"
# Agentic browsing (auto-triggered)
> comet_ask "Go to github.com/trending and list top Python repos"
# Site-specific data extraction
> comet_ask "Check the price of iPhone 15 on amazon.com"
comet_poll
Check status and progress of ongoing tasks. Returns the response if completed.
Parameters: None
Returns: Status (IDLE/WORKING/COMPLETED), steps taken, or final response
Example:
> comet_poll
Status: WORKING
Browsing: https://github.com/trending
Current: Scrolling page
Steps:
- Preparing to assist you
- Navigating to github.com
- Clicking on Trending
- Scrolling page
comet_stop
Halt the current agentic task if it goes off track.
Parameters: None
Returns: Confirmation message
comet_screenshot
Capture a screenshot of the current browser view.
Parameters: None
Returns: PNG image data
comet_tabs
View and manage browser tabs. Essential for multi-tab workflows.
Parameters:
- action (optional): "list" (default), "switch", or "close"
- domain (optional): Domain to match (e.g., "github.com")
- tabId (optional): Specific tab ID
Returns: Tab listing or action confirmation
Examples:
# List all external tabs
> comet_tabs
2 browsing tab(s) open:
- AGENT-BROWSING: github.com [ACTIVE]
URL: https://github.com/trending
- AGENT-BROWSING: stackoverflow.com
URL: https://stackoverflow.com/questions
# Switch to a tab
> comet_tabs action="switch" domain="stackoverflow.com"
Switched to stackoverflow.com (https://stackoverflow.com/questions)
# Close a tab (protected if last tab)
> comet_tabs action="close" domain="github.com"
Closed github.com
Tab Protection:
- Cannot close the last external browsing tab (prevents Comet crash)
- Internal tabs (chrome://, Perplexity UI) are automatically filtered
comet_mode
Switch Perplexity search modes for different use cases.
Parameters:
- mode (optional): "search", "research", "labs", or "learn"
Returns: Current mode or confirmation of switch
comet_upload
Upload files to file input elements on web pages. Essential for posting images to social media, attaching files to forms, or uploading documents.
Parameters:
- filePath (required): Absolute path to the file to upload
- selector (optional): CSS selector for specific file input
- checkOnly (optional): If true, only checks what file inputs exist
Returns: Success message or error with available inputs
Examples:
# Upload an image to the first file input found
> comet_upload filePath="/home/user/screenshot.png"
File uploaded successfully: /home/user/screenshot.png
# Check what file inputs exist on the page
> comet_upload filePath="dummy" checkOnly=true
Found 2 file input(s) on the page:
1. #image-upload
2. input[name="attachment"]
# Upload to a specific input
> comet_upload filePath="/home/user/doc.pdf" selector="#attachment-input"
File uploaded successfully: /home/user/doc.pdf
Workflow for posting images:
- Navigate to the post creation page (e.g., Reddit, Twitter)
- Use
comet_upload checkOnly=trueto find file inputs - Use
comet_upload filePath="..." selector="..."to attach the file - Continue with form submission
Architecture
┌─────────────────┐ MCP Protocol ┌──────────────────┐
│ Claude Code │ ◄──────────────────► │ Perplexity │
│ (Your IDE) │ │ Comet MCP │
└─────────────────┘ └────────┬─────────┘
│
Chrome DevTools
Protocol
│
┌────────▼─────────┐
│ Comet Browser │
│ (Perplexity) │
└──────────────────┘
│
┌────────▼─────────┐
│ External │
│ Websites │
└──────────────────┘
Key Components
Configuration
Environment Variables
Custom Comet Path
# Windows
set COMET_PATH=C:\Custom\Path\comet.exe
# macOS/Linux
export COMET_PATH=/custom/path/to/Comet.app/Contents/MacOS/Comet
Troubleshooting
Connection Issues
Problem: Error: Failed to list targets: ECONNREFUSED
Solutions:
- Ensure Comet browser is installed
- Close any existing Comet instances
- Run
comet_connectto auto-start with correct flags
Problem: WebSocket connection closed during long tasks
Solution: This version handles reconnection automatically. If persistent, increase timeout:
comet_ask prompt="..." timeout=180000
Windows-Specific Issues
Problem: ECONNRESET errors on Windows
Solution: This version includes PowerShell-based fetch workarounds. Ensure:
- PowerShell is available in PATH
- No firewall blocking localhost:9223
Problem: Comet not found on Windows
Solution: Set custom path:
set COMET_PATH=%LOCALAPPDATA%\Perplexity\Comet\Application\comet.exe
WSL-Specific Issues
Problem: WSL cannot connect to Windows localhost:9223
Explanation: WSL2 uses a separate network namespace by default. The MCP uses Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) which requires WebSocket connections to Windows localhost.
Solution: Enable WSL mirrored networking:
- Create or edit
%USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig(e.g.,C:\Users\YourName\.wslconfig):
[wsl2]
networkingMode=mirrored
- Restart WSL:
wsl --shutdown
- Open a new WSL terminal and try again.
Alternative: Run Claude Code from Windows PowerShell instead of WSL.
Problem: UNC paths are not supported warnings
Explanation: This is a benign warning from PowerShell when launched from WSL. The MCP handles this automatically.
Tab Management Issues
Problem: Cannot close - this is the only browsing tab
Explanation: This is intentional protection. Comet requires at least one external tab. Open another tab first, then close the unwanted one.
Development
Build from Source
git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/perplexity-comet-mcp.git
cd perplexity-comet-mcp
npm install
npm run build
Run in Development
npm run dev
Run Tests
npm test
Project Structure
perplexity-comet-mcp/
├── src/
│ ├── index.ts # MCP server entry point
│ ├── cdp-client.ts # CDP connection management
│ ├── comet-ai.ts # AI interaction logic
│ └── types.ts # TypeScript definitions
├── dist/ # Compiled JavaScript
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md
Contributing
Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.
Development Guidelines
- Maintain TypeScript strict mode compliance
- Add tests for new features
- Update documentation for API changes
- Follow existing code style
Attribution
This project is an enhanced fork of comet-mcp by hanzili.
Key Enhancements by RapierCraft
- Windows and WSL platform support
- Tab management system (comet_tabs tool)
- Smart completion detection
- Auto-reconnect with exponential backoff
- Health check caching
- Agentic prompt auto-transformation
- Last tab protection
- Internal tab filtering
License
MIT License - see LICENSE for details.
Links
Built with precision by RapierCraft
