mcp-android-chrome

README

MCP Android Chrome

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for transferring Chrome tabs between mobile devices and computers using developer tools.

Overview

This is a Go port of the original tab-transfer tool by machinateur, reimplemented as an MCP server to integrate with AI assistants like Claude Desktop.

Original tool by machinateur, Go port by kazuph.

What's New in v0.9.0

• ✅ Full MCP Server Implementation: Complete integration with Claude Desktop
• ✅ Environment Variable Configuration: Clean ADB_PATH and IOS_WEBKIT_DEBUG_PROXY_PATH support
• ✅ Improved Error Handling: Better diagnostics and path detection
• ✅ No stdout Contamination: Clean JSON-RPC communication
• ✅ Cross-platform Support: Windows, macOS, and Linux compatibility

Features

• MCP Server: Integrates with Claude Desktop and other MCP-compatible AI assistants
• Android Support: Copy and restore Chrome tabs via ADB (Android Debug Bridge)
• iOS Support: Copy and restore Chrome/Safari tabs via iOS WebKit Debug Proxy
• Cross-platform: Works on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Standalone CLI: Can be used independently without MCP integration

MCP Integration

Claude Desktop Setup

Add this configuration to your Claude Desktop config file (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on macOS):

Option 1: Direct Path Configuration (Recommended)

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "android-chrome": {
      "command": "/path/to/mcp-android-chrome",
      "args": ["mcp"],
      "env": {
        "ADB_PATH": "/Users/yourusername/Library/Android/sdk/platform-tools/adb",
        "IOS_WEBKIT_DEBUG_PROXY_PATH": "/opt/homebrew/bin/ios_webkit_debug_proxy"
      }
    }
  }
}

To find your tool paths:

• ADB: which adb
• iOS WebKit Debug Proxy: which ios_webkit_debug_proxy

Option 2: Auto-detection

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "android-chrome": {
      "command": "/path/to/mcp-android-chrome",
      "args": ["mcp"]
    }
  }
}

The application will automatically detect common installation paths for ADB and iOS WebKit Debug Proxy.

Available MCP Tools

• copy_tabs_android: Copy Chrome tabs from Android device via ADB
• copy_tabs_ios: Copy Chrome/Safari tabs from iOS device via WebKit Debug Proxy
• reopen_tabs: Restore saved tabs to mobile devices
• check_environment: Verify system dependencies

Available MCP Resources

• tabs://current: Access to currently loaded tabs (JSON format)

Requirements

For Android Support

• Android Debug Bridge (ADB)
• Android device with USB debugging enabled
• Chrome browser running on Android device

For iOS Support

• iOS WebKit Debug Proxy
• iOS device with Web Inspector enabled in Safari settings
• Chrome with Web Inspector enabled (iOS 16.4+) or Safari

Installation

macOS (via Homebrew)

brew install --cask android-platform-tools
brew install ios-webkit-debug-proxy

Linux

sudo apt install android-tools-adb
# For iOS WebKit Debug Proxy, see: https://github.com/google/ios-webkit-debug-proxy

Windows

• Download Android Platform Tools from developer.android.com
• iOS WebKit Debug Proxy is not officially supported on Windows

Usage

MCP Server Mode

# Start MCP server (for use with Claude Desktop)
mcp-android-chrome mcp

Standalone CLI Mode

Copy tabs from Android

mcp-android-chrome android --port 9222 --debug

Copy tabs from iOS

mcp-android-chrome ios --port 9222 --debug

Restore tabs to device

# Save tabs to file first (copy output from android/ios commands)
echo '[{"id":"1","title":"Example","url":"https://example.com"}]' > tabs.json

# Restore to Android
mcp-android-chrome reopen --platform android tabs.json

# Restore to iOS
mcp-android-chrome reopen --platform ios tabs.json

Check system dependencies

# Check all platforms
mcp-android-chrome check

# Check specific platform
mcp-android-chrome check android
mcp-android-chrome check ios

Device Setup

Android Setup

1. Enable Developer Options in Android Settings
2. Enable USB Debugging option
3. Connect device via USB
4. Allow USB debugging when prompted
5. Start Chrome browser on device

iOS Setup

1. Enable Safari Web Inspector in Settings > Safari > Advanced
2. For Chrome: Enable Web Inspector in Chrome Settings > Privacy and Security > Site Settings
3. Connect device via USB
4. Trust the computer when prompted
5. Start Chrome or Safari on device

Development

Building from Source

go mod tidy
go build -o mcp-android-chrome .

Project Structure

mcp-android-chrome/
├── cmd/                 # CLI commands
├── internal/
│   ├── driver/         # Device drivers (Android/iOS)
│   ├── loader/         # HTTP/WebSocket communication
│   ├── mcp/           # MCP server implementation
│   ├── platform/      # OS utilities and dependency checking
│   └── template/      # HTML template generation
├── main.go
└── go.mod

Technical Details

How it works

Android

• Uses ADB to create port forwarding: adb forward tcp:PORT localabstract:chrome_devtools_remote
• Communicates with Chrome via Chrome DevTools Protocol
• Retrieves tabs via HTTP GET to /json/list
• Restores tabs via HTTP PUT to /json/new?URL

iOS

• Runs ios_webkit_debug_proxy as background process
• Communicates via WebKit Inspector Protocol
• Retrieves tabs via HTTP GET to /json
• Restores tabs via WebSocket connection with JavaScript injection

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Credits

• Original tool: tab-transfer by machinateur
• Go port and MCP integration: kazuph
• MCP (Model Context Protocol): Anthropic

Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests if applicable
5. Submit a pull request

Support

For issues related to:

• Original PHP implementation: See machinateur/tab-transfer
• Go port and MCP features: Open an issue in this repository
• MCP protocol: See Anthropic MCP documentation