MCP Bridge Quick Start - Agentic Browser Protocol

Get up and running with the ABP MCP Bridge to use ABP-compliant web applications from Claude Code or other MCP-compatible agents.

What is the MCP Bridge?

The ABP MCP Bridge is a generic MCP server that:

Connects to any ABP-compliant web application
Discovers and exposes its capabilities as MCP tools
Manages browser lifecycle automatically
Routes data efficiently (large outputs to files)
Handles all ABP protocol complexity

You don’t need to know ABP internals. The bridge translates ABP into familiar MCP tools.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ and npm
Claude Code or another MCP-compatible agent
Chrome/Chromium (installed automatically by Puppeteer if missing)

Installation

Clone and Build

# Clone the repository
cd /path/to/your/workspace
git clone https://github.com/nicholasguo/agenticbrowserprotocol.git
cd agenticbrowserprotocol/abp-mcp-bridge

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Build TypeScript
npm run build

After building, the compiled server is at build/index.js.

Verify Build

# Check that build succeeded
ls -la build/index.js

# Output should show the file exists
-rw-r--r--  1 user  staff  <size>  <date>  build/index.js

Configuration

Option 1: Per-Project Configuration (Recommended)

Create .mcp.json in your project root:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/abp-mcp-bridge/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Replace /absolute/path/to/abp-mcp-bridge with the actual path. Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/alice/projects/agenticbrowserprotocol/abp-mcp-bridge/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Option 2: Global Configuration

Edit ~/.claude/config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/abp-mcp-bridge/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Option 3: Environment-Specific Path

Use an environment variable:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["${ABP_BRIDGE_PATH}/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ABP_BRIDGE_PATH": "/Users/alice/projects/agenticbrowserprotocol/abp-mcp-bridge"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then set the environment variable:

export ABP_BRIDGE_PATH=/Users/alice/projects/agenticbrowserprotocol/abp-mcp-bridge

First Connection

Start Claude Code

# Start a new session
claude-code

Check Available Tools

The bridge starts with five static tools:

Available MCP tools:
- abp_connect(url: string)
- abp_disconnect()
- abp_status()
- abp_call(capability: string, params?: object)
- abp_render_to_pdf(html: string, options?: object)

Connect to an ABP App

You: Connect to https://markdown-converter.example.com using abp_connect

Claude Code will:

Discover the app’s ABP manifest
Launch a browser (headless by default — set ABP_HEADLESS=false to see the window)
Load the app
Initialize an ABP session
Expose the app’s capabilities as MCP tools

See New Tools

After connection, you’ll see dynamic tools:

New tools available:
- abp_convert_markdownToHtml(markdown: string, options?: object)
- abp_export_pdf(html: string, options?: object)
- abp_export_image(html: string, format?: string)

Naming convention:

ABP capability: convert.markdownToHtml
MCP tool: abp_convert_markdownToHtml

(Dots become underscores, prefixed with abp_)

Not all MCP clients support dynamic tool registration reliably. Claude Code, for instance, may not expose dynamically registered tools to the LLM. If dynamic tools don’t appear, use abp_call instead — it can invoke any capability and is always available. See Limitations and Known Issues for details.

Using ABP Capabilities

Using `abp_call` (Recommended)

abp_call is the primary tool for executing any capability. It works regardless of whether dynamic tools are available. Parameters:

Name	Type	Required	Description
`capability`	string	Yes	ABP capability name in dot notation exactly as listed by `abp_connect` or `abp_status` (e.g., `convert.markdownToHtml`)
`params`	object	No	Parameters for the capability. Defaults to `{}`. Check `abp_connect` or `abp_status` output for required params and types.

Example — convert markdown to HTML:

{
  "capability": "convert.markdownToHtml",
  "params": {
    "markdown": "# Hello World\n\nThis is **bold** text."
  }
}

Response format: All results are saved to a file and the file path is returned. Read the file if you need to inspect the output.

Example: Convert Markdown to HTML

You: Use abp_call to convert this markdown to HTML:
     capability: "convert.markdownToHtml"
     params: { "markdown": "# Hello World\n\nThis is **bold** and this is *italic*." }

What happens:

Claude Code calls abp_call
Bridge calls window.abp.call('convert.markdownToHtml', { markdown: "..." })
App processes the markdown
Bridge returns the HTML result
Claude Code sees the output

Example: Generate PDF

You: Use abp_call to generate a PDF from this HTML:
     capability: "export.pdf"
     params: { "html": "<h1>Invoice</h1><p>Total: $1,234.56</p>" }

What happens:

Bridge calls the PDF capability
App generates PDF (may take a few seconds)
Bridge saves PDF to a file (automatically, because it’s binary)
Claude Code receives a file path like /tmp/abp-mcp-bridge/export_pdf_1707234567890.pdf

Large outputs are automatically saved to files to avoid context bloat.

Example: Check Status

You: Use abp_status to check the current connection

Response:

{
  "connected": true,
  "url": "https://markdown-converter.example.com",
  "sessionId": "session-abc-123",
  "capabilities": [
    "convert.markdownToHtml",
    "export.pdf",
    "export.image"
  ]
}

Example: Disconnect

You: Use abp_disconnect to close the connection

What happens:

Bridge calls window.abp.shutdown()
Browser closes
Dynamic tools disappear
Back to static tools only

Configuration Options

Headful Mode

By default, the bridge uses headless mode. Set ABP_HEADLESS=false for headful (visible browser) when you need:

User sessions (needs user’s profile)
GPU/WebGL (requires hardware access)
Permission prompts (needs a user to click “Allow”)
Visual debugging

Most capabilities work fine in headless mode. PDF generation uses abp_render_to_pdf which works in both modes.

Environment Variables

The bridge supports these environment variables:

Variable	Default	Description
`ABP_OUTPUT_DIR`	`<os.tmpdir()>/abp-mcp-bridge`	Directory where output files (PDFs, images, JSON results) are saved. Created automatically.
`ABP_HEADLESS`	`true`	Set to `false` for headful (visible) mode. Headful is needed for capabilities requiring a visible browser window (authenticated sessions, GPU, permissions).
`ABP_BROWSER_TIMEOUT`	`30000`	Timeout in milliseconds for browser launch and page navigation.
`ABP_CALL_TIMEOUT`	`60000`	Default timeout in milliseconds for individual capability calls.
`ABP_DOWNLOAD_TIMEOUT`	`30000`	Maximum time in milliseconds to wait for browser-initiated downloads.
`ABP_LOG_LEVEL`	`info`	Minimum log level. One of: `debug`, `info`, `warn`, `error`. All logs go to stderr.

Example:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abp": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "ABP_OUTPUT_DIR": "/Users/alice/abp-outputs",
        "ABP_LOG_LEVEL": "debug"
      }
    }
  }
}

Troubleshooting

Browser Doesn’t Launch

Symptom: abp_connect fails with “Failed to launch browser” Solutions:

Check Chrome/Chromium is installed:
which google-chrome which chromium

Puppeteer should auto-install Chrome. If not:

cd abp-mcp-bridge
npx puppeteer browsers install chrome

Check permissions (macOS may block automated browsers):
- System Settings -> Privacy & Security -> Automation
- Allow Terminal/your IDE to control Chrome

Connection Fails

Symptom: abp_connect returns “No ABP manifest found” Cause: The app doesn’t support ABP or the manifest link is missing. Solutions:

Verify the URL is correct

Check the app’s HTML has:

<link rel="abp-manifest" href="/abp.json">

Manually fetch the manifest:
curl https://app.example.com/abp.json

Tools Don’t Appear After Connection

Symptom: abp_connect succeeds but no dynamic tools appear Cause: Session initialization failed or no capabilities are available. Solutions:

Check abp_status() — is connected: true?
Look at the terminal running Claude Code for error messages
Enable debug logging:
"env": { "ABP_LOG_LEVEL": "debug" }
Check browser console (in the visible Chrome window)

Large Outputs Not Saved

Symptom: Binary data returned inline instead of as a file Cause: Output routing rules may need adjustment. Solutions:

Check output directory exists and is writable:
ls -la /tmp

Set custom output directory:

"env": { "ABP_OUTPUT_DIR": "/Users/alice/abp-outputs" }

Check file was created:
ls -la /tmp/output-*.pdf

Capabilities Fail with Permission Errors

Symptom: A capability returns “Permission denied” Cause: Browser lacks necessary permissions (usually in headless mode). Solutions:

Use headful mode (default)
Ensure the browser window has focus
Check browser permissions:
- Chrome -> Settings -> Privacy and security -> Site Settings -> Permissions

Browser Crashes or Freezes

Symptom: Browser window becomes unresponsive Solutions:

Disconnect and reconnect:
abp_disconnect() abp_connect(url)
Restart Claude Code
Check system resources (RAM, CPU)
Reduce concurrent operations

Logs Not Visible

Symptom: Can’t see what the bridge is doing Solutions:

Check stderr (where MCP servers log):
- In Claude Code, logs appear in the debug console
Enable debug logging:
"env": { "ABP_LOG_LEVEL": "debug" }

Run the bridge manually for testing:

node build/index.js
# Type JSON-RPC requests manually

Next Steps

Building ABP Web Apps

Build your own ABP-compatible app

MCP Bridge Architecture

Understand the bridge internals

Data Flow

Understand the data routing logic

Protocol Overview

Full ABP specification

Additional Resources

Troubleshooting

​What is the MCP Bridge?

​Prerequisites

​Installation

​Configuration

​Option 1: Per-Project Configuration (Recommended)

​Option 2: Global Configuration

​Option 3: Environment-Specific Path

​First Connection

​Using ABP Capabilities

​Using abp_call (Recommended)

​Example: Convert Markdown to HTML

​Example: Generate PDF

​Example: Check Status

​Example: Disconnect

​Configuration Options

​Headful Mode

​Environment Variables

​Troubleshooting

​Browser Doesn’t Launch

​Connection Fails

​Tools Don’t Appear After Connection

​Large Outputs Not Saved

​Capabilities Fail with Permission Errors

​Browser Crashes or Freezes

​Logs Not Visible

​Next Steps

Building ABP Web Apps

MCP Bridge Architecture

Data Flow

Protocol Overview

​Additional Resources

What is the MCP Bridge?

Prerequisites

Installation

Configuration

Option 1: Per-Project Configuration (Recommended)

Option 2: Global Configuration

Option 3: Environment-Specific Path

First Connection

Using ABP Capabilities

Using `abp_call` (Recommended)

Example: Convert Markdown to HTML

Example: Generate PDF

Example: Check Status

Example: Disconnect

Configuration Options

Headful Mode

Environment Variables

Troubleshooting

Browser Doesn’t Launch

Connection Fails

Tools Don’t Appear After Connection

Large Outputs Not Saved

Capabilities Fail with Permission Errors

Browser Crashes or Freezes

Logs Not Visible

Next Steps

Additional Resources