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troubleshooting.md

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Troubleshooting

General tips

  • Run npx chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --help to test if the MCP server runs on your machine.
  • Make sure that your MCP client uses the same npm and node version as your terminal.
  • When configuring your MCP client, try using the --yes argument to npx to auto-accept installation prompt.
  • Find a specific error in the output of the chrome-devtools-mcp server. Usually, if your client is an IDE, logs would be in the Output pane.
  • Search the GitHub repository issues and discussions for help or existing similar problems.

Debugging

Start the MCP server with debugging enabled and a log file:

  • DEBUG=* npx chrome-devtools-mcp@latest --log-file=/path/to/chrome-devtools-mcp.log

Using .mcp.json to debug while using a client:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "chrome-devtools-mcp@latest",
        "--log-file",
        "/path/to/chrome-devtools-mcp.log"
      ],
      "env": {
        "DEBUG": "*"
      }
    }
  }
}

Specific problems

Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find module ...

This usually indicates either a non-supported Node version is in use or that the npm/npx cache is corrupted. Try clearing the cache, uninstalling chrome-devtools-mcp and installing it again. Clear the cache by running:

rm -rf ~/.npm/_npx # NOTE: this might remove other installed npx executables.
npm cache clean --force

Target closed error

This indicates that the browser could not be started. Make sure that no Chrome instances are running or close them. Make sure you have the latest stable Chrome installed and that your system is able to run Chrome.

Chrome crashes on macOS when using Web Bluetooth

On macOS, Chrome launched by an MCP client application (such as Claude Desktop) may crash when a Web Bluetooth prompt appears. This is caused by a macOS privacy permission violation (TCC).

To resolve this, grant Bluetooth permission to the MCP client application in System Settings > Privacy & Security > Bluetooth. After granting permission, restart the client application and start a new MCP session.

Remote debugging between virtual machine (VM) and host fails

When attempting to connect to Chrome running on a host machine from within a virtual machine (VM), Chrome may reject the connection due to 'Host' header validation. You can bypass this restriction by creating an SSH tunnel from the VM to the host. In the VM, run:

ssh -N -L 127.0.0.1:9222:127.0.0.1:9222 <user>@<host-ip>

Point the MCP connection inside the VM to http://127.0.0.1:9222. This allows DevTools to reach the host browser without triggering the Host validation error.

Operating system sandboxes

Some MCP clients allow sandboxing the MCP server using macOS Seatbelt or Linux containers. If sandboxes are enabled, chrome-devtools-mcp is not able to start Chrome that requires permissions to create its own sandboxes. As a workaround, either disable sandboxing for chrome-devtools-mcp in your MCP client or use --browser-url to connect to a Chrome instance that you start manually outside of the MCP client sandbox.

WSL

By default, chrome-devtools-mcp in WSL requires Chrome to be installed within the Linux environment. While it normally attempts to launch Chrome on the Windows side, this currently fails due to a known WSL issue. Ensure you are using a Linux distribution compatible with Chrome.

Possible workarounds include:

  • Install Google Chrome in WSL:

    • wget https://dl.google.com/linux/direct/google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb
    • sudo dpkg -i google-chrome-stable_current_amd64.deb

  • Use Mirrored networking:

    1. Configure Mirrored networking for WSL.
    2. Start Chrome on the Windows side with: chrome.exe --remote-debugging-port=9222 --user-data-dir=C:\path\to\dir
    3. Start chrome-devtools-mcp with: npx chrome-devtools-mcp --browser-url http://127.0.0.1:9222

  • Use Powershell or Git Bash instead of WSL.

Windows 10: Error during discovery for MCP server 'chrome-devtools': MCP error -32000: Connection closed

  • Solution 1 Call using cmd (For more info modelcontextprotocol/servers#1082 (comment))

    "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "command": "cmd",
      "args": ["/c", "npx", "-y", "chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }

    The Key Change: On Windows, running a Node.js package via npx often requires the cmd /c prefix to be executed correctly from within another process like VSCode's extension host. Therefore, "command": "npx" was replaced with "command": "cmd", and the actual npx command was moved into the "args" array, preceded by "/c". This fix allows Windows to interpret the command correctly and launch the server.

  • Solution 2 Instead of another layer of shell you can write the absolute path to npx:

    Note: The path below is an example. You must adjust it to match the actual location of npx on your machine. Depending on your setup, the file extension might be .cmd, .bat, or .exe rather than .ps1. Also, ensure you use double backslashes (\\) as path delimiters, as required by the JSON format.

    "mcpServers": {
    "chrome-devtools": {
      "command": "C:\\nvm4w\\nodejs\\npx.ps1",
      "args": ["-y", "chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }

Connection timeouts with --autoConnect

If you are using the --autoConnect flag and tools like list_pages, new_page, or navigate_page fail with a timeout (e.g., ProtocolError: Network.enable timed out or The socket connection was closed unexpectedly), this usually means the MCP server cannot handshake with the running Chrome instance correctly. Ensure:

  1. Chrome 144+ is already running.
  2. Remote debugging is enabled in Chrome via chrome://inspect/#remote-debugging.
  3. You have allowed the remote debugging connection prompt in the browser.
  4. There is no other MCP server or tool trying to connect to the same debugging port.