Glance

AI-powered browser automation for Claude Code
by DebugBase

Navigate, click, screenshot, test — all from your terminal.

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What is Glance?

Glance is an MCP server that gives Claude Code a real browser. Instead of guessing what your web app looks like, Claude can actually see it, interact with it, and test it.

You: "Test the login flow on localhost:3000"

Claude: *opens browser* *navigates* *fills form* *clicks submit*
        *takes screenshot* *verifies redirect* *checks for errors*
        "Login flow works. Found 1 console warning about..."

Features

• 30 MCP tools for complete browser control
• Inline screenshots — Claude sees what the browser sees
• Accessibility snapshots — full page structure as text
• Test scenario runner — define multi-step tests in JSON
• 12 assertion types — exists, textContains, urlEquals, and more
• Session recording — record and replay browser sessions
• Visual regression — pixel-level screenshot comparison
• Network & console monitoring — catch errors and failed requests
• Security controls — URL allowlist/denylist, rate limiting, JS execution policies
• Headed mode — watch the browser in real-time

Quick Start

1. Install

npm install -g glance-mcp

Or add directly to Claude Code:

claude mcp add glance -- npx glance-mcp

2. Configure

Add to your .mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "glance": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["glance-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "BROWSER_HEADLESS": "false"
      }
    }
  }
}

3. Use

Just ask Claude to interact with your web app:

"Open localhost:3000 and take a screenshot"
"Test the signup flow with invalid email"
"Check if the pricing page has all three tiers"
"Run a visual regression test on the dashboard"

Tools Reference

Browser Control (19 tools)

Tool	Description
browser_navigate	Navigate to a URL
browser_click	Click an element (CSS selector or text)
browser_type	Type into an input field
browser_hover	Hover over an element
browser_drag	Drag and drop between elements
browser_select_option	Select from a dropdown
browser_press_key	Press a keyboard key
browser_scroll	Scroll the page or to an element
browser_screenshot	Capture a screenshot (returned inline to Claude)
browser_snapshot	Get the accessibility tree as text
browser_evaluate	Execute JavaScript in the page
browser_console_messages	Read console logs and errors
browser_network_requests	Monitor network activity
browser_go_back	Navigate back
browser_go_forward	Navigate forward
browser_tab_new	Open a new tab
browser_tab_list	List all open tabs
browser_tab_select	Switch to a tab
browser_close	Close the browser

Test Automation (7 tools)

Tool	Description
test_scenario_run	Run a multi-step test scenario
test_scenario_status	Check running scenario status
test_assert	Run a single assertion
test_fill_form	Auto-fill a form
test_auth_flow	Test a login/signup flow
test_watch_events	Watch for DOM/network events
test_stop_watch	Stop watching events

Session & Visual (4 tools)

Tool	Description
session_start	Start recording a session
session_end	End and save a session
session_list	List recorded sessions
visual_baseline	Save a visual baseline
visual_compare	Compare against baseline

Test Scenarios

Define multi-step test scenarios in JSON:

{
  "name": "Login Flow",
  "steps": [
    { "name": "Go to login", "action": "navigate", "url": "http://localhost:3000/login" },
    { "name": "Enter email", "action": "type", "selector": "input[type='email']", "value": "user@test.com" },
    { "name": "Enter password", "action": "type", "selector": "input[type='password']", "value": "password123" },
    { "name": "Click submit", "action": "click", "selector": "button[type='submit']" },
    { "name": "Wait for redirect", "action": "sleep", "ms": 2000 },
    { "name": "Verify dashboard", "action": "assert", "type": "urlContains", "expected": "/dashboard" },
    { "name": "Screenshot result", "action": "screenshot", "screenshotName": "post-login" }
  ]
}

Assertion Types

Type	Description
exists	Element exists in DOM
notExists	Element does not exist
textContains	Element text contains value
textEquals	Element text equals value
hasAttribute	Element has attribute with value
hasClass	Element has CSS class
isVisible	Element is visible
isEnabled	Element is enabled
urlContains	Current URL contains value
urlEquals	Current URL equals value
countEquals	Number of matching elements
consoleNoErrors	No console errors

Configuration

All configuration is via environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
BROWSER_HEADLESS	true	Run browser in headed mode
BROWSER_SESSIONS_DIR	.browser-sessions	Directory for screenshots and sessions
BROWSER_SECURITY_PROFILE	local-dev	Security profile (local-dev, restricted, open)
BROWSER_VIEWPORT_WIDTH	1280	Browser viewport width
BROWSER_VIEWPORT_HEIGHT	720	Browser viewport height
BROWSER_TIMEOUT	30000	Default timeout in ms
BROWSER_CHANNEL	—	Browser channel (e.g., chrome, msedge)

Security Profiles

Profile	URL Access	JS Execution	Rate Limit
local-dev	All HTTP/HTTPS	Always	60/min
restricted	localhost only	Disabled	30/min
open	Everything	Always	120/min

How It Works

graph LR
    A["Claude Code<br/>(Agent)"] -- "MCP stdio<br/>tools & results" --> B["Glance<br/>(MCP Server)"]
    B -- "Playwright<br/>automation API" --> C["Browser<br/>(Chromium)"]
    C -- "screenshots<br/>DOM snapshots" --> B
    B -- "inline images<br/>a11y trees" --> A

1. Claude Code connects to Glance via MCP (stdio transport)
2. Claude calls tools like browser_navigate, browser_screenshot
3. Glance translates these into Playwright commands
4. Screenshots are returned as base64 images — Claude literally sees the page
5. Accessibility snapshots give Claude the full DOM structure as text

Real-World Usage

Glance has been battle-tested on production apps:

• DebugBase (debugbase.io) — 12 scenarios, 104 test steps, 97% pass rate
• GitScribe AI — 16 scenarios, 196 test steps, 96% pass rate

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• Playwright-compatible browser (auto-installed)

Development

git clone https://github.com/DebugBase/glance.git
cd glance
npm install
npx playwright install chromium
npm run build
npm start

Claude Code Integration

Agent: e2e-tester

Glance ships with a Claude Code agent definition for comprehensive browser testing. The agent knows all 30 tools and follows a structured test workflow: navigate, screenshot, assert, report.

You: "Test the entire login flow on localhost:3000"
Agent: Opens browser → navigates → fills forms → clicks → screenshots → asserts → reports

Skill: /glance-test

Quick E2E test runner. Just provide a URL:

/glance-test https://myapp.com

The skill will:

1. Navigate to the URL
2. Screenshot and snapshot the page
3. Discover all navigation links
4. Test each page with assertions
5. Check console for JS errors
6. Generate a pass/fail report

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

License

MIT — built by DebugBase