Provides moderate support for debugging Angular applications with 5/8 component intelligence tools working at 70% success rate
Offers partial support for esbuild projects with limited source map resolution capabilities
Supports Firefox browser automation for frontend debugging and testing via Playwright integration
Requires Node.js 16+ runtime environment for server execution and browser automation
Distributed as an npm package for easy installation and dependency management
Provides full support for React applications with all 8 component intelligence tools working at 100% success rate when React DevTools are available
Offers basic support for Svelte applications with 4/8 component intelligence tools working at 50% success rate
Built with TypeScript 5.0 providing type-safe frontend debugging and component inspection capabilities
Provides full support for Vite 2/3/4 projects with complete source map resolution and build artifact analysis via manifest.json
Offers full support for Webpack 4/5 projects with complete source map resolution and build analysis via stats.json artifacts
WebSee Source Intelligence - MCP Server
Production-ready frontend debugging intelligence for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and AI assistants
Overview
WebSee Source Intelligence is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides powerful frontend debugging capabilities to Claude Desktop and other AI assistants. It transforms browser automation debugging from cryptic minified errors to crystal-clear source code insights.
Key Features
Source Map Resolution - Resolve minified errors to original TypeScript/JavaScript source code
Component Inspection - Inspect React/Vue/Angular component state, props, and hierarchy
Network Tracing - Trace network requests to the components that triggered them
Bundle Analysis - Analyze JavaScript bundle size and identify optimization opportunities
Performance Metrics - Measure frontend performance and identify bottlenecks
Error Intelligence - Get comprehensive error context with source code, components, and network activity
Quick Start
Installation
MCP Server Setup
Choose your preferred AI development environment:
Option A: Claude Code (2025 Method)
Build the MCP server:
Add to Claude Code using the CLI (recommended for STDIO transport):
Alternative: Project-Level Configuration (for team sharing):
Create .mcp.json in your project root:
Verify:
Configuration Scopes:
--scope local(default): Private to you--scope project: Team sharing via.mcp.json--scope user: Available across all projects
Option B: Cursor IDE (2025 Method)
Build the MCP server:
Configure Cursor:
Create .cursor/mcp.json in your project root:
Access Settings: Open Cursor settings (
Ctrl+Shift+P→ "Cursor Settings") and check the MCP section
Note: Cursor supports up to 40 tools simultaneously. WebSee provides 36 tools optimized for frontend debugging.
Option C: Claude Desktop (Traditional)
Build the MCP server:
Configure Claude Desktop:
macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Windows: %APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
Restart Claude Desktop and verify with the hammer icon
Example Usage with Claude
Once configured, you can ask Claude:
Claude will automatically use the WebSee MCP tools to investigate and provide detailed insights!
What is WebSee Source Intelligence?
WebSee transforms browser automation debugging from cryptic minified errors to crystal-clear source code insights.
Before WebSee:
With WebSee:
📊 Playwright vs WebSee: Capability Comparison
WebSee builds on top of Playwright to add source-level debugging intelligence. Here's how they compare:
Capability | Playwright | WebSee Source Intelligence |
Browser Automation | ✅ Full support for Chrome, Firefox, Safari | ✅ Same browser support via Playwright |
Page Navigation | ✅ Navigate, click, type, screenshot | ✅ All Playwright capabilities included |
Network Monitoring | ✅ Capture requests/responses | ✅ + Trace requests to source code |
Console Logs | ✅ Capture console messages | ✅ + Link errors to original source files |
Error Detection | ✅ Detect page errors | ✅ + Resolve minified stack traces |
Source Maps | ❌ Not supported | ✅ Automatic source map resolution |
Component Inspection | ❌ Only DOM elements | ✅ React/Vue/Angular state & props |
Bundle Analysis | ❌ Not available | ✅ Webpack/Vite bundle analysis |
Request Attribution | ❌ No source tracking | ✅ See which component triggered each request |
Error Context | ❌ Basic stack trace | ✅ Component state + network + source location |
Performance Insights | ⚠️ Basic metrics only | ✅ Component-level performance tracking |
Production Debugging | ⚠️ Minified code only | ✅ Full source code visibility |
MCP Integration | ❌ Not available | ✅ Native Claude Desktop integration |
AI Assistant Ready | ❌ Requires manual scripting | ✅ Natural language debugging with Claude |
Real-World Example Comparison
Debugging a Production Error
With Playwright only:
With WebSee:
When to Use Each
Use Playwright when:
Writing basic browser automation tests
Taking screenshots or generating PDFs
Testing visual regression
Scraping web content
Basic E2E testing
Use WebSee when:
Debugging production errors in minified code
Need to understand component state during errors
Tracing which code triggered network requests
Analyzing bundle size and performance
Working with React/Vue/Angular applications
Using Claude or AI assistants for debugging
Need source-level insights in production
Use Both together: WebSee extends Playwright, so you get all of Playwright's capabilities plus source intelligence on top. Perfect for comprehensive frontend debugging and AI-assisted development.
Installation
Prerequisites
Node.js 18+
Claude Desktop (for MCP server usage)
Git
Setup Steps
Available MCP Tools
WebSee provides six powerful MCP tools for frontend debugging:
debug_frontend_issue - Debug frontend issues by analyzing components, network, and errors
analyze_performance - Analyze frontend performance metrics (network, components, bundle, memory)
inspect_component_state - Inspect component state, props, and structure
trace_network_requests - Trace network requests and identify what triggered them
analyze_bundle_size - Analyze JavaScript bundle size and identify large modules
resolve_minified_error - Resolve minified error stack traces to original source code
For detailed parameter documentation, use /mcp in Claude Code or ask Claude to describe each tool
Configuration
Environment Variables
The MCP server supports the following environment variables:
BROWSER- Browser to use (chromium, firefox, webkit). Default: chromiumHEADLESS- Run browser in headless mode (true/false). Default: true
Example configuration:
Browser Support
WebSee supports all Playwright browsers:
Chromium - Chrome, Edge, Brave
Firefox - Firefox stable and nightly
WebKit - Safari on macOS
Usage Examples
Using as MCP Server with Claude Desktop
Simply ask Claude natural language questions:
Example 1: Debug an Error
Example 2: Performance Analysis
Example 3: Component Inspection
Programmatic Usage
You can also use WebSee as a library in your own code:
🐳 Docker Support
For complete portability, use our Docker image:
Build and run:
🧪 Testing
📁 Project Structure
🛠️ API Reference
SourceIntelligenceLayer
Main class that coordinates all intelligence agents.
Constructor Options
Methods
initialize(page: Page): Promise<void>- Initialize with Playwright pageresolveSourceLocation(url, line, column): Promise<SourceLocation>- Resolve minified locationgetComponentAtElement(selector): Promise<ComponentInfo>- Get component at elementgetComponentTree(): Promise<ComponentTree[]>- Get all componentsgetNetworkTraces(): NetworkTrace[]- Get all network tracesgetNetworkTracesForUrl(pattern): NetworkTrace[]- Filter network tracesfindBuildModule(filePath): BuildModule- Find module in buildgetErrorIntelligence(error): Promise<ErrorContext>- Get comprehensive error contextdestroy(): Promise<void>- Cleanup resources
🤝 Integration Examples
With Jest/Vitest
With Playwright Test
With CI/CD
📊 Performance
WebSee is designed for minimal overhead:
Source map resolution: <100ms per lookup
Component tracking: <50ms per update
Network tracing: <10ms per request
Memory usage: <50MB typical
Build analysis: One-time cost at startup
Troubleshooting
MCP Server Issues
MCP server not appearing in Claude Desktop
Verify the path in
claude_desktop_config.jsonis absoluteMake sure you ran
npm run buildto compile TypeScriptRestart Claude Desktop completely
Check the MCP logs in Claude Desktop settings
MCP tools not working
Browser fails to launch
Source maps not found
Ensure your application generates source maps (check webpack/vite config)
Source maps must be accessible from the same origin or via CORS
Check browser DevTools to verify source maps are loading
Component tracking not working
React: Application must be in development mode for component inspection
Vue: Requires Vue DevTools extension concepts
Angular: Requires Angular development mode
Ensure the selector targets an actual component root element
Getting Help
If you encounter issues:
Check the troubleshooting section above
Verify your configuration with
claude mcp listorclaude mcp get webseeOpen an issue on GitHub with:
Your MCP configuration
MCP server logs
Browser console errors
Steps to reproduce
Documentation
What You Can Do with WebSee
Debug production errors - See original source code instead of minified JavaScript
Track components - Inspect React/Vue/Angular component state and props in real-time
Trace network requests - Identify which component triggered each API call
Analyze bundle sizes - Find what's bloating your JavaScript bundle
Measure performance - Identify slow network requests and rendering issues
Resolve errors - Transform cryptic minified errors into readable stack traces
External Resources
Model Context Protocol Documentation - Official MCP specification
Anthropic MCP Guide - Building MCP servers for Claude
Playwright Documentation - Browser automation framework
Source Maps Specification - Understanding source maps
Contributing
We welcome contributions! To contribute:
Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make your changes with tests
Run
npm testto verifySubmit a pull request
Please ensure:
All tests pass
Code follows TypeScript best practices
New tools include comprehensive tests
Documentation is updated
License
MIT - See LICENSE for details.
Acknowledgments
Built with:
Model Context Protocol - Anthropic's protocol for AI tool integration
Playwright - Browser automation framework
Source Map - Source map parsing library
TypeScript - Type-safe development
Questions? Open an issue or check our documentation.
Ready to enhance your frontend debugging? Install WebSee and connect it to Claude Desktop!