Steel MCP

How to Install and Use Steel MCP

Steel MCP is a special tool that helps language models like Claude explore the web using a browser controlled by Puppeteer and Steel. It lets you do easy actions like clicking, typing, scrolling, and taking screenshots. Here’s a simple guide on how to get Steel MCP running and how to configure it for different setups.

Preparing Your Environment

Before installing Steel MCP, you need a few things ready. Make sure you have the latest versions of Git and Node.js installed on your computer. Also, download and install Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download.

If you want to run Steel MCP on your own computer without using the Steel Cloud, you will also want to have the Steel Docker image running locally. If you plan to use the Steel Cloud service, you will need an API key, which you can get from your Steel dashboard at app.steel.dev/settings/api-keys.

Installing Steel MCP

Once your environment is ready, the next step is to get the Steel MCP server running. You start by cloning the project and installing the needed software. Here are the exact commands you will run in your terminal:

git clone https://github.com/steel-dev/steel-mcp-server.git
cd steel-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

This command downloads the Steel MCP project, moves into its folder, installs required Node.js packages, and builds the project so it’s ready to use.

Configuring Claude Desktop with Steel MCP

After installing, you need to link Steel MCP with Claude Desktop by adding a server setting to Claude’s configuration file. There are two ways to run Steel MCP: using Steel Cloud (online) or using a local self-hosted Steel service.

Quick Setup for Steel Cloud

If you want to use Steel Cloud, you will set Steel MCP to cloud mode. Open the Claude configuration file usually found at:

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add this server entry, making sure to put your own Steel API key in:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "steel-puppeteer": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/steel-voyager/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "STEEL_LOCAL": "false",
        "STEEL_API_KEY": "YOUR_STEEL_API_KEY_HERE",
        "GLOBAL_WAIT_SECONDS": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Make sure that "STEEL_LOCAL" is "false" so it knows to connect to the cloud.

Quick Setup for Local or Self-Hosted Steel

If you want to run Steel MCP with a local or self-hosted Steel service, you need to keep Steel MCP in local mode. Edit the configuration file like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "steel-puppeteer": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["path/to/steel-voyager/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "STEEL_LOCAL": "true",
        "STEEL_BASE_URL": "http://localhost:3000",
        "GLOBAL_WAIT_SECONDS": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Here, "STEEL_LOCAL" must be "true". If your Steel server uses a custom address, change "STEEL_BASE_URL" to match it.

Starting Steel MCP

After setting up Claude Desktop, start Claude Desktop as usual. It will automatically launch Steel MCP in the mode you configured (cloud or local). If you use local mode, make sure your Steel service is running before this.

Basic Example Usage

Now that Steel MCP is running, you can ask Claude to do simple web tasks through it, such as:

• Search for a recipe and save the ingredients list
• Track a package delivery status
• Find and compare product prices
• Fill out an online job application

These actions use built-in tools in Steel MCP like navigate, search, click, type, scroll_down, and save_unmarked_screenshot commands. Each tool takes specific inputs to control the browser efficiently.

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Following these steps will get Steel MCP installed and ready for use with Claude Desktop. It’s a powerful way to automate web tasks directly from your AI assistant with easy setup and flexible cloud or local options.