AIPex is an open-source, MIT-licensed browser extension that turns the browser you already use into an AI automation agent, aimed at developers and power users who want natural-language and scripted browser control without installing a separate browser or sending their browsing data to a remote service.

What it is

AIPex is a TypeScript Chrome and Edge extension paired with a local daemon, an MCP bridge (aipex-mcp-bridge), a terminal tool (browser-cli), and a packaged agent skill (aipex-browser). Together these give you natural-language and programmatic control over your existing browser: agents connect to a local daemon over WebSocket at ws://localhost:9223/extension, and the extension executes actions directly through browser APIs rather than streaming a remote browser or launching a separate automation profile. The project sits in the browser-automation and web-extraction space and is MIT licensed, with a Bring Your Own Key model so requests go out under your own API key.

The concrete problem it addresses is the migration cost that most browser automation tools impose. Those tools typically require you to install a separate browser such as Dia or Comet, pay a monthly subscription as with ChatGPT Atlas, or hand over your browsing data. AIPex instead runs where your logged-in sessions, cookies, tabs, history, and extensions already are, so there is no new browser to install and no new workflow to learn, and your data never leaves your machine.

Key capabilities

• Exposes 30+ browser automation tools to AI coding agents over the Model Context Protocol: aipex-mcp-bridge runs over stdio and talks to the extension over WebSocket, configured with "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "aipex-mcp-bridge"] in Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, or VS Code Copilot, or added in Claude Code with claude mcp add aipex-browser -- npx -y aipex-mcp-bridge.
• Provides the browser-cli command-line interface, merged into AIPex and shipped with aipex-mcp-bridge, with command groups for tab, page, interact, download, intervention, and skill, for example browser-cli page search "button*" --tab 123 and browser-cli interact click btn-42 --tab 123.
• Keeps a lower-level aipex-cli available for raw tool calls when you need them directly.
• Takes a DOM snapshot before vision: agents search structured page snapshots with glob/grep patterns and act by stable element UIDs, which avoids screenshot loops for most tasks and reduces token and latency overhead compared with repeatedly sending full-page images.
• Ships the aipex-browser skill package for agents that support the skill protocol, such as Claude Code and OpenClaw-compatible runtimes, bundling tool usage strategy and complete parameter schemas for all 30+ browser tools.
• Runs entirely on your machine through a local daemon and browser APIs, so no separate browser instance or remote session is involved.

Who uses it and how

• Developers who wire Cursor, Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, or VS Code Copilot to their own logged-in browser by pointing the MCP server at the extension's WebSocket endpoint.
• People who script browser work from the terminal or from CI jobs, using browser-cli for tab, page, interaction, and download operations against the same local runtime.
• Users of skill-protocol agents who install the aipex-browser skill and call its documented tool schemas directly.
• Anyone already doing tab management, accessibility testing, or web extraction who wants automation layered onto their current session rather than a fresh automation profile.

Getting started

Install the extension from the Chrome Web Store or Edge Add-ons, press the AIPex icon, and type or speak what you want in natural language; for agent and CLI access, run npm install -g aipex-mcp-bridge and connect the extension at ws://localhost:9223/extension from its Options page.

How it compares

AIPex replaces the likes of Manus Browser Operator, Claude Chrome, Agent Browser, and ChatGPT Atlas on the axes of licence and control: it is MIT licensed rather than subscription-priced, it runs as a self-hosted local daemon against the browser you already have instead of a separate product, and your browsing data stays on your machine with your own API key rather than being handled by a third-party service. Where those tools ask you to install a new browser or pay monthly, AIPex asks only for an extension install and a key you bring.

When to use it — and when not

You are operating a local daemon, an MCP bridge, and an extension in parallel, and you must supply your own API key for any model access, so it suits people comfortable wiring configuration files such as .cursor/mcp.json and debugging a WebSocket connection. It is a poorer fit if you want a managed, no-setup hosted browser service or have no key to bring, and the 17 open issues suggest some rough edges are still being worked through despite an otherwise transparent, auditable MIT codebase.

AI Agent ──stdio──▶ aipex-mcp-bridge ──WebSocket──▶ AIPex Extension ──▶ Browser

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aipex-browser": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "aipex-mcp-bridge"]
    }
  }
}

claude mcp add aipex-browser -- npx -y aipex-mcp-bridge

{
  "servers": {
    "aipex-browser": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "aipex-mcp-bridge"]
    }
  }
}

npm install -g aipex-mcp-bridge

browser-cli status
browser-cli tab list
browser-cli tab new https://example.com
browser-cli page search "button*" --tab 123
browser-cli interact click btn-42 --tab 123