Skip to content
Puppeteer MCP Logo Puppeteer MCP

Architecture Documentation

Architecture Documentation

Section titled “Architecture Documentation”

Understand the design and architecture of Puppeteer MCP, a beta browser automation platform.

Architecture Overview

Section titled “Architecture Overview”

System Design

Section titled “System Design”

Complete system architecture:

  • Component overview
  • Design principles
  • Technology stack
  • Integration patterns
  • Architectural decisions

Session Management

Section titled “Session Management”

Unified session management system:

  • Session lifecycle
  • Resource pooling
  • State management
  • Cleanup strategies
  • Performance optimization

Security Model

Section titled “Security Model”

Enterprise-focused security architecture:

  • Authentication mechanisms
  • Authorization patterns
  • NIST compliance
  • Threat modeling
  • Security controls

MCP Integration

Section titled “MCP Integration”

Model Context Protocol integration:

  • MCP architecture
  • Tool design patterns
  • AI assistant integration
  • Protocol implementation
  • Future roadmap

Core Components

Section titled “Core Components”

1. Multi-Protocol Gateway

Section titled “1. Multi-Protocol Gateway”
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│          Protocol Gateway               │
├─────────┬──────────┬─────────┬─────────┤
│  REST   │ WebSocket│  gRPC   │   MCP   │
│  API    │   API    │  API    │  Server │
└─────────┴──────────┴─────────┴─────────┘
                    │
                    ▼
          ┌──────────────────┐
          │ Session Manager  │
          └──────────────────┘

2. Session Management Layer

Section titled “2. Session Management Layer”
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│         Session Manager                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  • Session Creation & Tracking          │
│  • Resource Pool Management             │
│  • Lifecycle Management                 │
│  • Cleanup & Recovery                   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

3. Browser Automation Core

Section titled “3. Browser Automation Core”
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│      Puppeteer Integration              │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  • Browser Instance Management          │
│  • Page Automation                      │
│  • Event Handling                       │
│  • Resource Optimization                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Design Principles

Section titled “Design Principles”

1. Protocol Agnostic

Section titled “1. Protocol Agnostic”
  • Unified session management across all protocols
  • Consistent API semantics
  • Protocol-specific optimizations

2. Security First

Section titled “2. Security First”
  • Zero-trust architecture
  • Defense in depth
  • NIST compliance built-in

3. Scalability

Section titled “3. Scalability”
  • Horizontal scaling ready
  • Resource pooling
  • Efficient state management

4. Developer Experience

Section titled “4. Developer Experience”
  • Simple API surface
  • Comprehensive error handling
  • TypeScript-first approach

Technology Stack

Section titled “Technology Stack”

Core Technologies

Section titled “Core Technologies”
  • Runtime: Node.js 20+ (LTS)
  • Language: TypeScript 5+
  • Browser Engine: Chromium via Puppeteer
  • Protocols: HTTP/2, WebSocket, gRPC, stdio

Key Libraries

Section titled “Key Libraries”
  • Web Framework: Express.js
  • WebSocket: ws
  • gRPC: @grpc/grpc-js
  • MCP: Custom implementation
  • Authentication: JWT, bcrypt

Development Tools

Section titled “Development Tools”
  • Testing: Jest
  • Linting: ESLint
  • Building: TypeScript Compiler
  • Documentation: MkDocs

System Flow

Section titled “System Flow”

Request Lifecycle

Section titled “Request Lifecycle”
1. Client Request → Protocol Gateway
2. Authentication & Authorization
3. Session Validation/Creation
4. Action Execution via Puppeteer
5. Response Formatting
6. Client Response

Session Lifecycle

Section titled “Session Lifecycle”
1. Session Creation → Resource Allocation
2. Active State → Action Processing
3. Idle Detection → Keep-alive or Warning
4. Timeout/Close → Resource Cleanup
5. Terminated → Full Cleanup

Performance Architecture

Section titled “Performance Architecture”

Resource Management

Section titled “Resource Management”
  • Browser instance pooling
  • Memory usage monitoring
  • CPU throttling
  • Concurrent session limits

Optimization Strategies

Section titled “Optimization Strategies”
  • Lazy browser initialization
  • Page context reuse
  • Efficient selector strategies
  • Smart waiting mechanisms

Security Architecture

Section titled “Security Architecture”

Defense Layers

Section titled “Defense Layers”
  1. Network Level: TLS, firewall rules
  2. Application Level: Authentication, rate limiting
  3. Session Level: Isolation, timeouts
  4. Browser Level: Sandbox, permissions

Compliance

Section titled “Compliance”
  • NIST SP 800-53 controls
  • OWASP best practices
  • Regular security audits
  • Vulnerability scanning

Integration Patterns

Section titled “Integration Patterns”

REST API Pattern

Section titled “REST API Pattern”
// Stateless request/response
POST /api/sessions
GET /api/sessions/:id
POST /api/sessions/:id/navigate

WebSocket Pattern

Section titled “WebSocket Pattern”
// Persistent connection with events
ws.send({ type: 'create_session' });
ws.on('session_created', handler);
ws.send({ type: 'browser_action', action: 'click' });

gRPC Pattern

Section titled “gRPC Pattern”
// Strongly typed RPC
service BrowserAutomation {
  rpc CreateSession(CreateRequest) returns (Session);
  rpc ExecuteAction(ActionRequest) returns (ActionResponse);
}

MCP Pattern

Section titled “MCP Pattern”
// Tool-based integration
tools: {
  puppeteer_navigate: { /* params */ },
  puppeteer_click: { /* params */ }
}

Future Architecture

Section titled “Future Architecture”

Planned Enhancements

Section titled “Planned Enhancements”
  • Distributed session management
  • Cloud browser support
  • Advanced caching layer
  • GraphQL API support
  • Plugin architecture

Scalability Roadmap

Section titled “Scalability Roadmap”
  • Kubernetes operators
  • Multi-region support
  • Edge deployment
  • Serverless functions
  • Browser clustering

Learn More

Section titled “Learn More”