SideButton

Open-source AI agent platform — MCP server, knowledge packs, and workflow automation tools.

Website · Documentation · GitHub

<p align="center"> <a href="https://sidebutton.com/media/sidebutton-open-source-platform-release"> <img src="https://sidebutton.com/media/sidebutton-agent-stack.png" alt="The AI Agent Stack — SideButton" width="700" /> </a> </p>

AI agent platform with 40+ AI agent tools. Run autonomous AI agents with agentic workflows, knowledge packs, and real browser control. Connect Claude Code, Cursor, ChatGPT, or any MCP client.

npx sidebutton@latest
# Dashboard at http://localhost:9876

What you get

MCP Server	40+ AI agent tools for browser control, workflow execution, knowledge pack access. Stdio and SSE transports.
REST API	60+ endpoints. Trigger workflows remotely from webhooks, cron jobs, mobile apps, or other agents.
Workflow Engine	AI workflow automation with 34+ step types — browser, shell, LLM, control flow. Define agentic workflows in YAML.
Knowledge Packs	Installable domain knowledge — CSS selectors, data models, state machines. Role playbooks turn coding agents into an AI software engineer, QA, or PM.
Chrome Extension	40+ browser commands. Real DOM access via WebSocket, not screenshots. Recording mode.
Dashboard	Svelte UI — workflow browser, run logs, skill pack manager, system status.

Quick Start

# Install and start
npx sidebutton@latest

# Or from source
pnpm install && pnpm build && pnpm start

# Open http://localhost:9876

CLI

pnpm cli serve          # Start server with dashboard
pnpm cli serve --stdio  # Start with stdio transport (for Claude Desktop)
pnpm cli list           # List available workflows
pnpm cli status         # Check server status

# Skill pack management
pnpm cli registry add <path|url>   # Install skill packs from a registry
pnpm cli registry update [name]    # Update installed packs
pnpm cli registry remove <name>    # Uninstall packs and remove registry
pnpm cli search [query]            # Search available skill packs

# Creating skill packs
pnpm cli init [domain]             # Scaffold a new skill pack
pnpm cli validate [path]           # Validate pack structure
pnpm cli publish [source]          # Publish to a registry

MCP Server

SideButton is an AI agent platform and MCP server. AI coding agents connect to it directly for browser control, workflow automation, and domain knowledge.

Works with Claude Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, Windsurf, ChatGPT — any MCP client.

Claude Code

Add to ~/.claude/settings.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sidebutton": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://localhost:9876/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sidebutton": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["sidebutton", "--stdio"]
    }
  }
}

Cursor

Add to ~/.cursor/mcp.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sidebutton": {
      "url": "http://localhost:9876/mcp"
    }
  }
}

MCP Tools

Tool	Description
run_workflow	Execute a workflow by ID
list_workflows	List all available workflows
get_workflow	Get workflow YAML definition
get_run_log	Get execution log for a run
list_run_logs	List recent workflow executions
get_browser_status	Check browser extension connection
capture_page	Capture selectors from current page
navigate	Navigate browser to URL
snapshot	Get page accessibility snapshot
click	Click an element
type	Type text into an element
scroll	Scroll the page
screenshot	Capture page screenshot
hover	Hover over element
extract	Extract text from element
extract_all	Extract all matching elements
extract_map	Extract structured data from repeated elements
select_option	Select dropdown option
fill	Fill input value (React-compatible)
press_key	Send keyboard keys
scroll_into_view	Scroll element into viewport
evaluate	Execute JavaScript in browser
exists	Check if element exists
wait	Wait for element or delay
check_writing_quality	Evaluate text quality

REST API

60+ JSON endpoints for external integrations. Same workflows available via MCP locally and via REST remotely.

# Run a workflow
curl -X POST http://localhost:9876/api/workflows/check_ticket/run \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"params": {"ticket_id": "PROJ-123"}}'

# List workflows
curl http://localhost:9876/api/workflows

# Get run log
curl http://localhost:9876/api/runs/latest

Trigger workflows from webhooks, cron jobs, mobile apps, or other agents on different machines.

Workflow Engine

YAML-first orchestration. 34+ step types:

Step Types

Type	Description
Browser
browser.navigate	Open a URL
browser.click	Click an element by selector
browser.type	Type text into an element
browser.fill	Fill input value (React-compatible)
browser.scroll	Scroll the page
browser.extract	Extract text from element into variable
browser.extractAll	Extract all matching elements
browser.extractMap	Extract structured data from repeated elements
browser.wait	Wait for element or fixed delay
browser.exists	Check if element exists
browser.hover	Position cursor on element
browser.key	Send keyboard keys
browser.snapshot	Capture accessibility snapshot
browser.injectCSS	Inject CSS styles into page
browser.injectJS	Execute JavaScript in page
browser.select_option	Select dropdown option
browser.scrollIntoView	Scroll element into view
Shell
shell.run	Execute a bash command
terminal.open	Open a visible terminal window (macOS)
terminal.run	Run command in terminal window
LLM
llm.classify	Structured classification with categories
llm.generate	Free-form text generation
Control Flow
control.if	Conditional branching
control.retry	Retry with backoff
control.stop	End workflow with message
workflow.call	Call another workflow with parameters
Data
data.first	Extract first item from list

LLM steps work with Ollama (local), OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.

Example

id: check_ticket_status
title: "Check Jira ticket and classify"
steps:
  - type: browser.navigate
    url: "https://your-org.atlassian.net/browse/{{ticket_id}}"
  - type: browser.extract
    selector: "[data-testid='status-field']"
    as: current_status
  - type: control.if
    condition: "{{current_status}} != 'Done'"
    then:
      - type: llm.classify
        prompt: "Should this ticket be closed? Context: {{current_status}}"
        classes: [close, keep_open]
        as: decision

Variable Interpolation

Use {{variable}} syntax to reference extracted values or parameters:

steps:
  - type: browser.extract
    selector: ".username"
    as: user
  - type: shell.run
    cmd: "echo 'Hello, {{user}}!'"

Knowledge Packs

Installable domain knowledge (skill packs) per web app or domain. Knowledge packs power AI code review, automated testing, and enterprise AI agent deployments.

Also referred to as skill packs in code and CLI commands.

• Selectors — CSS selectors for UI elements
• Data models — entity types, fields, relationships, valid states
• State machines — valid transitions per state
• Role playbooks — role-specific procedures (QA, SE, PM, SD)
• Common tasks — step-by-step procedures, gotchas, edge cases

sidebutton install github.com
sidebutton install atlassian.net

11 domains, 28+ modules published. Open registry — build and share packs for any web app.

Chrome Extension

Install from the Chrome Web Store.

• 40+ browser commands — navigate, click, type, extract, scroll, wait, snapshot
• Real DOM access via CSS selectors — not pixel coordinates, not screenshots
• Recording mode — capture manual actions as workflows
• Embed buttons — inject action buttons into any web page
• WebSocket connection — stable reconnection, works with local or remote server

After installing:

1. Navigate to any website
2. Click the SideButton extension icon
3. Click "Connect This Tab"

Dashboard & Observability

Svelte UI at http://localhost:9876:

• Workflow browser — list, search, run
• Run logs — step-by-step execution traces with timing, variables, errors
• Skill pack manager — install, browse, inspect
• System status — extension connection, LLM config, server health

SideButton handles AI agent orchestration — from workflow execution to knowledge injection.

Architecture

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                          @sidebutton/server                               │
│                                                                          │
│  ┌─────────────────────┐   ┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │  stdio Transport    │   │    Fastify HTTP + WebSocket (port 9876)  │  │
│  │  ─────────────────  │   │    ────────────────────────────────────  │  │
│  │  stdin → JSON-RPC   │   │  GET  /        → Dashboard (Svelte)      │  │
│  │  stdout ← JSON-RPC  │   │  GET  /ws      → Chrome Extension WS     │  │
│  │  (Claude Desktop)   │   │  POST /mcp     → MCP JSON-RPC (SSE)      │  │
│  └──────────┬──────────┘   │  GET  /api/*   → REST API                │  │
│             │              └──────────────────────┬───────────────────┘  │
│             │                                     │                      │
│             └──────────────────┬──────────────────┘                      │
│                                ▼                                         │
│  ┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐  │
│  │                       @sidebutton/core                              │  │
│  │                                                                     │  │
│  │  - Workflow types & parser (YAML)                                  │  │
│  │  - Step executors (37 step types)                                  │  │
│  │  - Variable interpolation                                          │  │
│  │  - Execution context & events                                      │  │
│  └────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘  │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
      ▲                ▲                      ▲                      ▲
      │ stdio          │ WebSocket            │ HTTP POST            │ REST
      ▼                ▼                      ▼                      ▼
┌──────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌─────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐
│Claude Desktop│ │ Chrome Extension│ │   Claude Code   │ │   Mobile App      │
│ (MCP stdio)  │ │ (Browser Auto)  │ │   (MCP SSE)     │ │   (REST Client)   │
└──────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └─────────────────┘ └───────────────────┘

Project Structure

sidebutton/
├── packages/
│   ├── core/              # @sidebutton/core — workflow engine
│   │   └── src/
│   │       ├── types.ts       # Workflow types
│   │       ├── parser.ts      # YAML loader
│   │       ├── executor.ts    # Workflow runner
│   │       └── steps/         # Step implementations
│   ├── server/            # @sidebutton/server — MCP + HTTP + CLI
│   │   ├── bin/               # CLI entry point
│   │   └── src/
│   │       ├── server.ts      # Fastify HTTP server
│   │       ├── stdio-mode.ts  # stdio transport entry point
│   │       ├── extension.ts   # WebSocket client
│   │       ├── mcp/           # MCP handlers
│   │       │   ├── handler.ts    # MCP JSON-RPC logic
│   │       │   ├── stdio.ts      # stdio transport adapter
│   │       │   └── tools.ts      # Tool definitions
│   │       └── cli.ts         # Commander CLI
│   └── dashboard/         # Svelte web UI
│       └── src/
│           ├── App.svelte
│           └── lib/
├── extension/             # Chrome extension
├── workflows/             # Public workflow library
├── actions/               # User-created workflows
├── skills/                # Installed skill packs
└── run_logs/              # Execution history

Environment Variables

Variable	Required For	Description
OPENAI_API_KEY	llm.* steps	OpenAI API key for LLM workflows
ANTHROPIC_API_KEY	llm.* steps	Anthropic API key (alternative)

Development

pnpm install       # Install dependencies
pnpm build         # Build all packages
pnpm start         # Start server
pnpm cli list      # List workflows
pnpm cli status    # Check status

Watch Mode

pnpm dev              # Full dev mode (all packages)
pnpm dev:server       # Server with auto-restart on :9876
pnpm dev:dashboard    # Dashboard watch build
pnpm dev:core         # Core library watch build

Platform Automation Disclaimer

SideButton is a general-purpose browser automation framework. When automating third-party platforms:

• Review Terms of Service: Many platforms prohibit or restrict automation. You are responsible for complying with the terms of any platform you automate.
• Account Risk: Automation may result in account restrictions or suspension on some platforms.
• Use Responsibly: Only automate actions you would perform manually. Respect rate limits and platform guidelines.

The authors do not endorse or encourage violations of third-party terms of service.

Legal

• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy

License

This project uses mixed licensing. See LICENSING.md for details.

• Engine, server, CLI, dashboard — Apache-2.0
• Browser extension — FSL-1.1-Apache-2.0 (converts to Apache-2.0 on 2029-03-15)