kernel/kernel-mcp-server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides AI assistants with secure access to Kernel platform tools and browser automation capabilities.
🌐 **Use instantly** at https://mcp.onkernel.com/mcp — no installation required!
What is this?
The Kernel MCP Server bridges AI assistants (like Claude, Cursor, fx, or other MCP-compatible tools) with the Kernel platform, enabling them to:
- 🚀 Deploy and manage Kernel apps in the cloud
- 🌐 Launch and control headless Chromium sessions for web automation
- 📊 Monitor deployments and track invocations
- 🔍 Search Kernel documentation and inject context
- 💻 Execute arbitrary Playwright code against live browsers
- 🧠 Run persistent JavaScript Browser REPL cells with native helpers, Patchright, Playwright, and raw CDP
- 🎥 Record MP4 video replays of browser automation
**Open-source & fully-managed** — the complete codebase is available here, and we run the production instance so you don't need to deploy anything.
The server uses OAuth 2.0 authentication via Clerk to ensure secure access to your Kernel resources. During authorization, users can grant organization-wide access or restrict the resulting access and refresh tokens to one Kernel project. Project-scoped tokens cannot switch projects; organization-wide authorization remains available for existing workflows.
For a deeper dive into why and how we built this server, see our blog post: Introducing Kernel MCP Server.
Setup Instructions
General (Transports)
- Streamable HTTP (recommended): https://mcp.onkernel.com/mcp
- stdio via mcp-remote (for clients without remote MCP support): npx -y mcp-remote https://mcp.onkernel.com/mcp
Use the streamable HTTP endpoint where supported for increased reliability. If your client does not support remote MCP, use mcp-remote over stdio.
Kernel's server is a centrally hosted, authenticated remote MCP using OAuth 2.1 with dynamic client registration.
Protocol compatibility
The same /mcp endpoint serves SDK v1 / 2025-era Streamable HTTP clients and
protocol revision 2026-07-28 clients through the SDK v2 stateless handler.
Legacy clients still initialize normally. Modern clients use per-request metadata
and do not initialize or receive an MCP session ID. Both use the same tools and
authentication checks; MCP Apps capabilities are read per request for modern clients.
Legacy clients should handle both JSON-RPC errors and isError tool results.
Unknown tools now produce JSON-RPC error -32602; ordinary tool failures still
return isError. Validation-error text and generated tool schemas can differ from
SDK v1. No byte-preserving compatibility layer or Tasks extension is installed.
Run bun test 'src/app/[transport]/dual-era.test.ts' to exercise both SDK client
generations over HTTP, including OAuth authorization and refresh with local upstream
service fixtures. The v1 SDK is retained only as a test dependency.
Quick Setup with Kernel CLI
The fastest way to configure the MCP server is using the Kernel CLI:
Supported Targets
| Target | Command |
| -------------- | ----------------------------------------- |
| Cursor | kernel mcp install --target cursor |
| Claude Desktop | kernel mcp install --target claude |
| Claude Code | kernel mcp install --target claude-code |
| VS Code | kernel mcp install --target vscode |
| Windsurf | kernel mcp install --target windsurf |
| Zed | kernel mcp install --target zed |
| Goose | kernel mcp install --target goose |
| fx | kernel mcp install --target fx |
The CLI automatically locates your tool's config file and adds the Kernel MCP server configuration.
Connect in your client
Claude
> Our remote MCP server is not compatible with the method Free users of Claude use to add MCP servers.
Pro, Max, Team & Enterprise (Claude.ai and Claude Desktop)
1. Go to **Settings → Connectors → Add custom connector**.
2. Enter: **Integration name:** Kernel, **Integration URL:** https://mcp.onkernel.com/mcp, then click **Add**.
3. In **Settings → Connectors**, click **Connect** next to Kernel to launch OAuth and approve.
4. In chat, click **Search and tools** and enable the Kernel tools if needed.
> On Claude for Work (Team/Enterprise), only Primary Owners or Owners can enable custom connectors for the org. After it's configured, each user still needs to go to **Settings → Connectors** and click **Connect** to authorize it for their account.
Claude Code CLI
Cursor
Automatic setup
Manual setup
1. Press **⌘/Ctrl Shift J**.
2. Go to **MCP & Integrations → New MCP server**.
3. Add this configuration: