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Install Browser MCP for Trae

Give Trae's agent control of your real, already-logged-in Chrome. Your cookies, your sessions, your 2FA, instead of a blank browser that hits every login wall as a stranger.

One click

Paste this into your browser's address bar and press Enter. Trae opens, shows you the configuration, and you confirm:

trae://trae.ai-ide/mcp-import?type=stdio&name=browser-mcp&config=eyJjb21tYW5kIjoibnB4IiwiYXJncyI6WyIteSIsIkBhZ2VudDM2MC9icm93c2VyLW1jcEBsYXRlc3QiXX0%3D

That is Trae's own install-link format. The unreadable part is the base64 of exactly the config shown below - nothing hidden, and you can decode it yourself before you run it.

Then install the Chrome extension - the server is only half of it.

Or four steps, by hand

1 - Install the Chrome extension. One click from the Chrome Web Store.

2 - Open the MCP window. Settings icon (top right) → MCP. In SOLO mode the same icon sits at the top right of the chat panel.

3 - Add > Add Manually, and paste:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "browser-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@agent360/browser-mcp@latest"]
    }
  }
}

4 - Say this, to check it worked. In the agent panel:

Take a screenshot of my current Chrome tab.

You get an image back instead of "I don't have browser access". That's it - you're running.

What it looks like

You:     Open the admin dashboard and tell me yesterday's orders.

Trae:    [browser_navigate]
         [browser_get_page_content]
         41 orders yesterday. No login step - you were already signed in.

Three things that fail silently in Trae

The project-level file needs a switch. You can put mcp.json in .trae/ in the project root, but Trae ignores it until Settings → MCP → Enable Project MCP is toggled on and confirmed. A config file that is simply never read looks exactly like a broken server.

No spaces in command. Trae's own wording: "The command must not contain spaces, otherwise parsing errors will occur." npx is fine. A Windows path with Program Files in it is not - use a path without spaces, or let npx resolve it.

The startup timeout is yours to set. Browser MCP takes its port the first time the browser is actually used, not at startup, so a slow first call is normal rather than a hang. If your machine is slow to fetch the package, raise it:

"env": {
  "START_MCP_TIMEOUT_MS": "60000",
  "RUN_MCP_TIMEOUT_MS": "60000"
}

Things worth knowing before you hit them

The marketplace is a shortcut, not a requirement. Trae has an MCP marketplace in the same window. Adding the JSON by hand does exactly the same thing.

${workspaceFolder} exists if you need it. Trae resolves it to the project root inside args. Browser MCP does not need it - it is only useful when you point at a script in your own repo.

Trae is called TraeCode now. The docs use both names, and TraeWork is a separate product. The MCP configuration above is TraeCode's.

Frequently asked questions

Why does the extension badge stay grey after step 3? The server only takes a port the first time real work arrives. Ask for a screenshot and the badge appears.

Can I decode the install link before using it? Yes, and you should. Base64-decode the config parameter and you get the same four lines of JSON shown above.

Does the project-level .trae/mcp.json work without the switch? No. Toggle Enable Project MCP first - that is the single most common "it does nothing" report.

Is there a Windows difference? Only the space rule above. The config is identical.

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