Perplexity Comet MCP

A production-grade MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that bridges Claude Code with Perplexity's Comet browser for autonomous web browsing, research, and multi-tab workflow management.

Why Perplexity Comet MCP?

Approach	Limitation
Search APIs	Static text, no interaction, no login support
Browser Automation	Single-agent model overwhelms context, fragments focus
Perplexity Comet MCP	Claude codes while Comet handles browsing autonomously

This is a significantly enhanced fork of hanzili/comet-mcp with Windows support, smart completion detection, robust connection handling, and full tab management.

Features

Core Capabilities

Autonomous Web Browsing - Comet navigates, clicks, types, and extracts data while Claude focuses on coding
Deep Research Mode - Leverage Perplexity's research capabilities for comprehensive analysis
Login Wall Handling - Access authenticated content through real browser sessions
Dynamic Content - Full JavaScript rendering and interaction support

Enhanced Features (New in This Fork)

Feature	Description
Windows/WSL Support	Full compatibility with Windows and WSL environments
Tab Management	Track, switch, and close browser tabs with protection
Smart Completion	Detect response completion without fixed timeouts
Auto-Reconnect	Exponential backoff recovery from connection drops
One-Shot Reliability	Pre-operation health checks for consistent execution
Agentic Auto-Trigger	Automatically triggers browser actions from natural prompts

Comparison with Original

Capability	Original	Enhanced
Platform Support	macOS	Windows, WSL, macOS
Available Tools	6	8 (+comet_tabs, +comet_upload)
Completion Detection	Fixed timeout	Stability-based
Connection Recovery	None	Auto-reconnect with backoff
Tab Management	None	Full registry and control
Health Monitoring	None	Cached health checks
Last Tab Protection	None	Prevents browser crash

Installation

Prerequisites

Node.js 18 or higher
Perplexity Comet Browser installed
Claude Code or compatible MCP client

Install via npm

Terminal

npm install -g perplexity-comet-mcp

Install from Source

bash

git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/perplexity-comet-mcp.git
cd perplexity-comet-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Configure Claude Code

Add to your Claude Code MCP settings (~/.claude/settings.json or VS Code settings):

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comet-bridge": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/perplexity-comet-mcp/dist/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Windows Users: Use the full Windows path:

config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "comet-bridge": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["C:\\Users\\YourName\\perplexity-comet-mcp\\dist\\index.js"]
    }
  }
}

Tools Reference

comet_connect

Establish connection to Comet browser. Auto-launches if not running.

Code

Parameters: None
Returns: Connection status message

Example:

Code

> comet_connect
Comet started with debug port 9223
Connected to Perplexity (cleaned 2 old tabs)

comet_ask

Send a prompt to Comet and wait for the complete response. Automatically triggers agentic browsing for URLs and action-oriented requests.

Code

Parameters:
  - prompt (required): Question or task for Comet
  - newChat (optional): Start fresh conversation (default: false)
  - timeout (optional): Max wait time in ms (default: 120000)

Returns: Complete response text

Examples:

Code

# Simple research query
> comet_ask "What are the latest features in Python 3.12?"

# Agentic browsing (auto-triggered)
> comet_ask "Go to github.com/trending and list top Python repos"

# Site-specific data extraction
> comet_ask "Check the price of iPhone 15 on amazon.com"

comet_poll

Check status and progress of ongoing tasks. Returns the response if completed.

Code

Parameters: None
Returns: Status (IDLE/WORKING/COMPLETED), steps taken, or final response

Example:

Code

> comet_poll
Status: WORKING
Browsing: https://github.com/trending
Current: Scrolling page

Steps:
  - Preparing to assist you
  - Navigating to github.com
  - Clicking on Trending
  - Scrolling page

comet_stop

Halt the current agentic task if it goes off track.

Code

Parameters: None
Returns: Confirmation message

comet_screenshot

Capture a screenshot of the current browser view.

Code

Parameters: None
Returns: PNG image data

comet_tabs

View and manage browser tabs. Essential for multi-tab workflows.

Code

Parameters:
  - action (optional): "list" (default), "switch", or "close"
  - domain (optional): Domain to match (e.g., "github.com")
  - tabId (optional): Specific tab ID

Returns: Tab listing or action confirmation

Examples:

Code

# List all external tabs
> comet_tabs
2 browsing tab(s) open:
  - AGENT-BROWSING: github.com [ACTIVE]
    URL: https://github.com/trending
  - AGENT-BROWSING: stackoverflow.com
    URL: https://stackoverflow.com/questions

# Switch to a tab
> comet_tabs action="switch" domain="stackoverflow.com"
Switched to stackoverflow.com (https://stackoverflow.com/questions)

# Close a tab (protected if last tab)
> comet_tabs action="close" domain="github.com"
Closed github.com

Tab Protection:

Cannot close the last external browsing tab (prevents Comet crash)
Internal tabs (chrome://, Perplexity UI) are automatically filtered

comet_mode

Switch Perplexity search modes for different use cases.

Code

Parameters:
  - mode (optional): "search", "research", "labs", or "learn"

Returns: Current mode or confirmation of switch

Mode	Use Case
search	Quick web searches
research	Deep, comprehensive analysis
labs	Data analytics and visualization
learn	Educational explanations

comet_upload

Upload files to file input elements on web pages. Essential for posting images to social media, attaching files to forms, or uploading documents.

Code

Parameters:
  - filePath (required): Absolute path to the file to upload
  - selector (optional): CSS selector for specific file input
  - checkOnly (optional): If true, only checks what file inputs exist

Returns: Success message or error with available inputs

Examples:

Code

# Upload an image to the first file input found
> comet_upload filePath="/home/user/screenshot.png"
File uploaded successfully: /home/user/screenshot.png

# Check what file inputs exist on the page
> comet_upload filePath="dummy" checkOnly=true
Found 2 file input(s) on the page:
  1. #image-upload
  2. input[name="attachment"]

# Upload to a specific input
> comet_upload filePath="/home/user/doc.pdf" selector="#attachment-input"
File uploaded successfully: /home/user/doc.pdf

Workflow for posting images:

Navigate to the post creation page (e.g., Reddit, Twitter)
Use comet_upload checkOnly=true to find file inputs
Use comet_upload filePath="..." selector="..." to attach the file
Continue with form submission

Architecture

Code

┌─────────────────┐     MCP Protocol      ┌──────────────────┐
│   Claude Code   │ ◄──────────────────► │  Perplexity      │
│   (Your IDE)    │                       │  Comet MCP       │
└─────────────────┘                       └────────┬─────────┘
                                                   │
                                          Chrome DevTools
                                            Protocol
                                                   │
                                          ┌────────▼─────────┐
                                          │  Comet Browser   │
                                          │  (Perplexity)    │
                                          └──────────────────┘
                                                   │
                                          ┌────────▼─────────┐
                                          │   External       │
                                          │   Websites       │
                                          └──────────────────┘

Key Components

Component	Purpose
`index.ts`	MCP server and tool handlers
`cdp-client.ts`	Chrome DevTools Protocol client with reconnection logic
`comet-ai.ts`	Perplexity interaction, prompt submission, response extraction
`types.ts`	TypeScript interfaces for tabs, state, and CDP types

Configuration

Environment Variables

Variable	Description	Default
`COMET_PATH`	Custom path to Comet executable	Auto-detected
`COMET_PORT`	CDP debugging port	9223

Custom Comet Path

server.ts

# Windows
set COMET_PATH=C:\Custom\Path\comet.exe

# macOS/Linux
export COMET_PATH=/custom/path/to/Comet.app/Contents/MacOS/Comet

Troubleshooting

Connection Issues

Problem: Error: Failed to list targets: ECONNREFUSED

Solutions:

Ensure Comet browser is installed
Close any existing Comet instances
Run comet_connect to auto-start with correct flags

Problem: WebSocket connection closed during long tasks

Solution: This version handles reconnection automatically. If persistent, increase timeout:

Code

comet_ask prompt="..." timeout=180000

Windows-Specific Issues

Problem: ECONNRESET errors on Windows

Solution: This version includes PowerShell-based fetch workarounds. Ensure:

PowerShell is available in PATH
No firewall blocking localhost:9223

Problem: Comet not found on Windows

Solution: Set custom path:

bash

set COMET_PATH=%LOCALAPPDATA%\Perplexity\Comet\Application\comet.exe

WSL-Specific Issues

Problem: WSL cannot connect to Windows localhost:9223

Explanation: WSL2 uses a separate network namespace by default. The MCP uses Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) which requires WebSocket connections to Windows localhost.

Solution: Enable WSL mirrored networking:

Create or edit %USERPROFILE%\.wslconfig (e.g., C:\Users\YourName\.wslconfig):

ini

[wsl2]
networkingMode=mirrored

Restart WSL:

powershell

wsl --shutdown

Open a new WSL terminal and try again.

Alternative: Run Claude Code from Windows PowerShell instead of WSL.

Problem: UNC paths are not supported warnings

Explanation: This is a benign warning from PowerShell when launched from WSL. The MCP handles this automatically.

Tab Management Issues

Problem: Cannot close - this is the only browsing tab

Explanation: This is intentional protection. Comet requires at least one external tab. Open another tab first, then close the unwanted one.

Development

Build from Source

bash

git clone https://github.com/RapierCraft/perplexity-comet-mcp.git
cd perplexity-comet-mcp
npm install
npm run build

Run in Development

Terminal

npm run dev

Run Tests

Terminal

npm test

Project Structure

Code

perplexity-comet-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts        # MCP server entry point
│   ├── cdp-client.ts   # CDP connection management
│   ├── comet-ai.ts     # AI interaction logic
│   └── types.ts        # TypeScript definitions
├── dist/               # Compiled JavaScript
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before submitting a pull request.

Development Guidelines

Maintain TypeScript strict mode compliance
Add tests for new features
Update documentation for API changes
Follow existing code style

Attribution

This project is an enhanced fork of comet-mcp by hanzili.

Key Enhancements by RapierCraft

Windows and WSL platform support
Tab management system (comet_tabs tool)
Smart completion detection
Auto-reconnect with exponential backoff
Health check caching
Agentic prompt auto-transformation
Last tab protection
Internal tab filtering

License

MIT License - see LICENSE for details.

Links

Built with precision by RapierCraft