Set up the local BrowserStack MCP server

The following steps use GitHub Copilot as the AI assistant:

1. Click the Install in VS Code link.
2. The plugin page opens in VS Code. Click Install.
3. In the input field that appears at the top of the IDE, enter your credentials as follows:
   • First, enter your BrowserStack username and press Enter.
   • Next, enter your access key and press Enter.
4. Click the gear icon on the plugin page and select Start Server.

Video: Install and run the MCP server in VS Code with GitHub Copilot

The following steps use Cursor as the IDE:

1. Click the Install in Cursor link. The MCP server plugin page opens in Cursor.
2. In the input fields that appear, enter your BrowserStack username and access key.
3. Click Install.

Start the server after one-click setup

After you save your BrowserStack credentials, the BrowserStack MCP server starts automatically.

Video: Install and run the MCP server in Cursor

VS Code supports AI assistants such as GitHub Copilot and Cline. Follow these steps to set up the MCP server configuration file in your user-level VS Code configuration.

Follow these steps to set up the MCP server configuration file in your user-level Cursor configuration:

1. Create the file: In your user root directory, create a file at the following path: .cursor/mcp.json. Cursor creates the .cursor folder if it doesn’t exist. For example, on macOS the full path is /Users/username/.cursor/mcp.json.
2. Add the configuration: Paste the following content into the new mcp.json file:

Start the server in Cursor

After you save your BrowserStack credentials, the BrowserStack MCP server starts automatically.

Video: Install the MCP server in Cursor

Or install the BrowserStack plugin for Cursor

The plugin adds the local MCP server along with BrowserStack testing skills. It reads your credentials from the BROWSERSTACK_USERNAME and BROWSERSTACK_ACCESS_KEY environment variables, so set both before you start Cursor.

Then open the BrowserStack plugin on Cursor Marketplace and select Add to Cursor, or run /add-plugin browserstack in Cursor chat. The server starts with the credentials from your environment.

The following steps use Claude Desktop:

1. Create the file: Create a file named claude_desktop_config.json in the Claude Desktop configuration folder. On macOS, the folder is ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/. On Windows, it is %APPDATA%\Claude\.

   You can also go to Settings > Developer in Claude Desktop and click Edit Config. This opens claude_desktop_config.json and creates it if it doesn’t exist, so you don’t need to find the folder.

2. Add the configuration: Paste the following JSON into the file and update it with your credentials:

After you save the file, quit Claude Desktop fully and reopen it. BrowserStack appears under + > Connectors in a chat.

Video: Install the MCP server in Claude Desktop

Claude Code

Run the following command to add the server for your user account:

GitHub Copilot works in several editors. For VS Code, follow the VS Code > GitHub Copilot tab.

GitHub Copilot CLI

In a copilot session, run /mcp add, enter browserstack as the name, and select Local with the command npx -y @browserstack/mcp-server@latest and your two credential environment variables.

Or add the server to ~/.copilot/mcp-config.json:

JetBrains IDEs

Open Copilot Chat, switch to Agent mode, click the tools icon, and select Add More Tools. This opens mcp.json.

Add the server:

Visual Studio

Create %USERPROFILE%\.mcp.json for all solutions, or .mcp.json in the solution folder for one solution. Add the same servers JSON as JetBrains, and then open Copilot Chat in Agent mode.