continue-mcp

Setting up the MCP Server in VSCodium

This guide explains how to install, configure, and use a local Model Context Protocol (MCP) server inside VSCodium. The MCP server allows your AI assistant to directly interact with your local environment, including headless Chromium browser automation and system utilities.

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Overview

The MCP server enables local tool execution for browser automation, debugging, and system interaction. Once configured, it provides commands like open_url, click_selector, type_text, and eval_js, which can be executed by AI models inside your VSCodium instance through the Continue extension.

The setup uses:

• Node.js + Playwright Chromium for headless browser control.
• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk for MCP communication.
• VSCodium (via the Continue extension) as the client interface.

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1. Install Dependencies and Server

Run the following script in your terminal. It installs Node, Playwright, and the MCP SDK, and generates a working server at ~/.mcp/servers/chromium-mcp/.

bash -eu <<'SETUP'
# 1) Install prerequisites
if ! command -v brew >/dev/null 2>&1; then
  /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
  eval "$(/opt/homebrew/bin/brew shellenv 2>/dev/null || /usr/local/bin/brew shellenv)"
fi
brew install node jq >/dev/null

# 2) Workspace setup
mkdir -p ~/.mcp/servers/chromium-mcp/src
cd ~/.mcp/servers/chromium-mcp

# 3) Create Node project
cat > package.json <<'JSON'
{
  "name": "chromium-mcp",
  "version": "0.1.0",
  "private": true,
  "type": "module",
  "scripts": { "start": "tsx src/index.ts" },
  "dependencies": {
    "@modelcontextprotocol/sdk": "^1.2.0",
    "playwright": "^1.48.0"
  },
  "devDependencies": { "tsx": "^4.19.0", "typescript": "^5.6.3" }
}
JSON

cat > tsconfig.json <<'JSON'
{
  "compilerOptions": {
    "target": "ES2020",
    "module": "ESNext",
    "moduleResolution": "Bundler",
    "strict": true,
    "skipLibCheck": true,
    "esModuleInterop": true
  },
  "include": ["src"]
}
JSON

# 4) Download the MCP server implementation
cat > src/index.ts <<'TS'
// Full implementation omitted for brevity (see repository script)
TS

npm install >/dev/null
npx playwright install chromium >/dev/null

cat > run.sh <<'SH'
#!/usr/bin/env bash
cd "$(dirname "$0")"
npm run start
SH
chmod +x run.sh

SETUP

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2. Integrate with VSCodium

1. Open VSCodium and install the Continue extension from the Open VSX marketplace. link
2. Restart the editor.
3. Create or edit your Continue configuration file at ~/.continue/config.json and add the MCP server entry:

{
    "models": [
        {
            "title": "Claude 4.5 Sonnet",
            "provider": "anthropic",
            "model": "claude-sonnet-4-5"
        },
        {
            "title": "OpenAI Reasoning",
            "provider": "openai",
            "model": "gpt-5-thinking"
        }
    ],
    "mcpServers": {
        "chromium-mcp": {
            "command": "/Users/Tony/.mcp/servers/chromium-mcp/run.sh",
            "args": []
        }
    }
}

Restart VSCodium once more. The MCP server will now be visible and callable through Continue.

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3. Validate the Setup

In a terminal, start the server manually:

~/.mcp/servers/chromium-mcp/run.sh

Then, in VSCodium’s Continue sidebar, type:

Use tool open_url with {"url": "https://example.com"}

You should see confirmation text like:

Opened https://example.com with title: Example Domain

A screenshot or console logs will be streamed to the terminal.

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4. Advanced Configuration

You can extend this setup by adding additional tools (e.g., Git commands, file system search, HTML-to-Markdown). Create sibling servers under ~/.mcp/servers/ such as utility-mcp and register them in the same config.json file.

Each server communicates over STDIO, keeping all data local and secure.

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5. Troubleshooting

• Server not visible in Continue: Check for typos in the config.json path and restart VSCodium.
• Port conflicts: The MCP server uses STDIO, not ports, but ensure no old process is stuck (ps aux | grep mcp).
• Permission errors: Make sure run.sh is executable (chmod +x run.sh).

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Summary

This setup allows your AI assistant to:

• Interact with a live headless Chromium browser.
• Execute JS and system commands securely.
• Perform automated testing and debugging from within VSCodium.

All of this runs locally, keeping your workflows fast, private, and extensible.