CloakBrowser MCP
Stealth browser automation for AI agents — a Model Context Protocol server combining CloakBrowser's anti-detection with Playwright MCP-inspired architecture.
CloakBrowser is a source-level patched Chromium that passes Cloudflare Turnstile, reCAPTCHA v3 (0.9 score), FingerprintJS, BrowserScan, and 30+ bot detection services.
Why CloakBrowser MCP?
Quick Start
Install
pip install cloakbrowsermcp
Use with Claude Desktop
Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"cloakbrowser": {
"command": "cloakbrowsermcp"
}
}
}
Use with VS Code / Cursor
Add to .vscode/mcp.json:
{
"servers": {
"cloakbrowser": {
"command": "cloakbrowsermcp",
"args": ["--caps", "all"]
}
}
}
Use with Hermes Agent
Add to ~/.hermes/config.yaml:
mcp_servers:
cloakbrowser:
command: cloakbrowsermcp
args: ["--caps", "all"]
timeout: 120
How It Works
Snapshot-First Architecture
CloakBrowser MCP uses accessibility tree snapshots as the primary way for AI models to understand web pages — not screenshots, not raw HTML.
1. cloak_launch() → Start stealth browser
2. cloak_navigate(pid, url) → Go to page (auto-waits for settle)
3. cloak_snapshot(pid) → Get interactive elements with [@eN] refs
4. cloak_click(pid, '@e5') → Click element by ref
5. cloak_type(pid, '@e3', 'hello') → Type into input
6. cloak_read_page(pid) → Get content as clean markdown
7. cloak_close() → Done
Each interactive element gets a [@eN] ref ID. All interaction tools use these refs — no CSS selectors needed.
Three Ways to See a Page
cloak_snapshot()— Accessibility tree with[@eN]refs. Fast, cheap, reliable. Use this.cloak_read_page()— Clean markdown extraction. For reading content, not interacting.cloak_screenshot()— Annotated screenshot with element indices. For visual context (images, charts, CAPTCHAs).
Stealth by Default
All anti-detection features are ON by default:
- Source-patched Chromium binary (not Playwright patches — actual Chromium source modifications)
- Human-like mouse curves, keyboard timing, and scroll patterns (
humanize=True) - Stealth fingerprint arguments (consistent canvas, WebGL, audio fingerprints)
- Proxy support with GeoIP-based timezone/locale detection
Tools
Core Tools (20 — always available)
Capability-Gated Tools (enabled via --caps)
Enable with cloakbrowsermcp --caps network,cookies,pdf,console or --caps all.
Configuration
CLI Options
cloakbrowsermcp [--caps CAPS] [--transport {stdio,sse}] [--port PORT]
--caps: Comma-separated capabilities:network,cookies,pdf,console,all--transport: MCP transport —stdio(default) orsse--port: Port for SSE transport (default: 8931)
Environment Variables
Launch Options
cloak_launch(
headless=True, # False for headed mode (some sites require it)
proxy="http://...", # Residential proxy recommended
humanize=True, # Human-like input (ON by default)
stealth_args=True, # Stealth fingerprints (ON by default)
timezone="America/New_York",
locale="en-US",
geoip=False, # Auto-detect from proxy IP
fingerprint_seed="my-identity", # Consistent fingerprint across sessions
user_data_dir="/path", # Persistent profile
)
Backend note:
SessionConfig.backendis deprecated. CloakBrowser 0.4.0 removed the patchright backend (it broke proxy auth andadd_init_scriptwithout improving stealth), so current versions ignore the setting and log a one-time warning. If you still need it,pip install "cloakbrowsermcp[patchright]"pinscloakbrowser<0.4, where the old backend still works, but it carries those upstream bugs.
Architecture
cloakbrowsermcp/
├── server.py # FastMCP server, tool registration, error handling
├── session.py # Browser lifecycle, page management, ref storage
├── snapshot.py # Accessibility tree JS, ref resolution
├── markdown.py # Readability-style HTML-to-markdown extraction
├── vision.py # Annotated screenshots with element indices
├── waiting.py # Smart wait, page settle, retry logic
├── stealth.py # Stealth config inspection
├── network.py # Network intercept, cookies (capability-gated)
├── __init__.py
└── __main__.py
Design Principles
- Snapshot-first — Tool descriptions steer models to use
cloak_snapshot()as the primary page understanding tool - Ref-based only — No CSS selector tools. All interaction via
[@eN]refs from snapshots - Stealth by default — Anti-detection, humanization, and stealth args all ON without configuration
- Auto-snapshot after actions — Click, type, navigate all return an updated snapshot
- Smart waiting — Auto-wait on navigation (networkidle + MutationObserver settle), auto-retry on failed clicks
- Capability gating — Advanced tools (network, cookies, PDF) off by default to keep tool count low
- Clean content extraction — Markdown for reading, snapshot for interaction, annotated screenshots for vision
Development
git clone https://github.com/overtimepog/CloakMCP
cd CloakMCP
pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest
License
Apache-2.0