What is the Visual Sentinel MCP server?

A small Node.js program that implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and exposes 16 tools wrapping the public Visual Sentinel REST API. Once installed, an AI assistant like Claude can list your monitors, create new ones, fetch incident history, run free DNS or SSL or speed checks, and acknowledge alerts on your behalf, all by calling these tools.

Which AI clients does it work with?

Any client that speaks MCP protocol version 2025-06-18. Tested with Claude Desktop, Claude Code (CLI), Cline (VS Code extension), Cursor, and Continue. The server uses stdio transport, which is the standard local-install transport for MCP servers.

Do I need a Visual Sentinel account?

For the public tools (DNS lookup, SSL inspection, speed test, website check, service health), no. Those work without authentication. For monitor management, incident triage, and alert acknowledgement you need a free Visual Sentinel account and an API key generated at https://visualsentinel.com/settings/api-keys. The free plan includes 1 monitor with all 6 monitoring layers and all 11 alert channels.

Add a small JSON snippet to your AI client’s MCP configuration that runs npx -y @visualsentinel/mcp-server with VS_API_KEY in the env block. Full snippets for Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cline, and Continue are in this page and in the package README at https://github.com/VisualSentinel/mcp-server.

Where does my API key go? Is it sent anywhere I do not control?

Your VS_API_KEY stays on the machine running the MCP server. The server runs locally (via npx) and forwards requests directly to https://visualsentinel.com over HTTPS. Anthropic, the AI client, and Visual Sentinel never see your key in the same place. If a key is leaked, revoke it instantly at https://visualsentinel.com/settings/api-keys.

Is there a Claude Code plugin too?

Yes. The visualsentinel marketplace bundles the MCP server with three task-focused skills (monitor status, incident triage, monitor onboarding) and three slash commands (/vs-status, /vs-incidents, /vs-add-monitor). Install with: claude plugin marketplace add github.com/VisualSentinel/claude-plugins, then claude plugin install visual-sentinel@visualsentinel.

What is Model Context Protocol?

Model Context Protocol (MCP) is an open standard for connecting AI assistants to tools and data sources. An MCP client (like Claude Desktop) speaks JSON-RPC to MCP servers (like this one) over stdio or HTTP. Each server advertises a set of tools the client can call. MCP is supported by Claude, Cline, Cursor, Continue, and a growing list of other AI products.

Now on npm

Monitor websites from Claude, Cursor, Cline, and Continue.

The Visual Sentinel MCP server adds 16 monitoring tools to any AI client that speaks Model Context Protocol. Ask Claude what is down, triage an incident, run a free SSL check, or create a new visual-regression monitor without leaving the conversation.

View on npm Get a free API key Source on GitHub

MIT licensed, ESM-only, Node 18+. Five tools (DNS, SSL, speed test, website check, service health) work without an API key.

Install in your AI client

One command or one JSON snippet, depending on the client. Replace the placeholder with your API key from /settings/api-keys.

Claude Desktop

json

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows). Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "visualsentinel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (CLI)

bash

Install the marketplace plugin (recommended, includes 3 skills and 3 slash commands) or just register the MCP server directly.

# Recommended: full plugin (MCP server + skills + commands)
claude plugin marketplace add github.com/VisualSentinel/claude-plugins
claude plugin install visual-sentinel@visualsentinel
export VS_API_KEY=vs_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

# Or: MCP server only
claude mcp add visualsentinel -- npx -y @visualsentinel/mcp-server

Cline (VS Code extension)

json

Open Cline’s settings panel, MCP servers tab, and add the JSON below.

{
  "visualsentinel": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
    "env": { "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_..." }
  }
}

Cursor

json

Cursor reads MCP servers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Create or edit that file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "visualsentinel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
      "env": { "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Continue

json

Edit ~/.continue/config.json. Add to the mcpServers array:

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "visualsentinel",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
      "env": { "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_..." }
    }
  ]
}

Sixteen tools, one server

Five public tools work on any URL or domain without authentication. Eleven authenticated tools manage the monitors, incidents, alerts, status pages, and servers in your Visual Sentinel organization.

Public tools (no API key)

vs_health
Check whether Visual Sentinel itself is up
vs_dns_check
Resolve A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, or SOA records for a domain
vs_ssl_check
Inspect a TLS certificate (issuer, expiry, SAN list, chain)
vs_speed_test
One-shot speed check (TTFB, total load time, transfer size)
vs_website_check
Quick HTTP health check on any URL

Authenticated tools (VS_API_KEY)

vs_monitors_list
List monitors filtered by status or type
vs_monitors_get
Fetch one monitor with current status and last check
vs_monitors_create
Create a new HTTP, HTTPS, KEYWORD, PING, PORT, DNS, SSL, VISUAL, CONTENT, API, GRAPHQL, or WEBSOCKET monitor
vs_monitors_check_now
Trigger an immediate check outside the scheduled cadence
vs_monitors_uptime
Uptime percentage and outage breakdown over 24h, 7d, 30d, 90d, 365d
vs_incidents_list
List incidents filtered by status or monitor
vs_incidents_get
Fetch one incident with full check history and root-cause hints
vs_alerts_list
List alerts by status
vs_alerts_acknowledge
Acknowledge an alert with an optional note
vs_status_pages_list
List your public status pages
vs_servers_list
List registered origin servers

What you can ask

Status check at a glance

"What Visual Sentinel monitors are down right now?" Claude calls vs_monitors_list filtered by status, then summarises with the affected monitors and their last successful check.

Triage an incident without leaving the terminal

"Triage incident clm_xyz." Claude pulls the incident, scans the check history, and proposes a probable cause and a next action. Acknowledge directly with a follow-up message.

Onboard a new monitor by description

"Watch https://shop.example.com/checkout for visual changes every minute." Claude infers the monitor type, confirms the name and interval with you, and creates the monitor with vs_monitors_create.

Free SSL or DNS check on any domain

"What is the SSL situation on example.com?" Claude calls vs_ssl_check (no API key required) and surfaces issuer, expiry, SAN list, and chain. Same for DNS records, page speed, or a quick HTTP probe.

Where your data goes

The MCP server runs locally on your machine via npx. Your VS_API_KEY never leaves your computer except in the direct HTTPS request to visualsentinel.com.
The AI client (Claude, Cline, Cursor, Continue) sees the JSON results of each tool call, just like it would any other tool output. Treat tool output the same way you treat any text in your conversation.
Public tools (DNS, SSL, speed, website check, health) use no key at all. Their results are still visible in your conversation.
Revoke a leaked API key instantly at /settings/api-keys. Revocation takes effect within seconds.

Resources

Six layers of monitoring, in your AI client.

Free plan covers 1 monitor with all 6 layers and all 11 alert channels. Upgrade only when you outgrow it.

Start free See pricing

Monitor websites from Claude, Cursor, Cline, and Continue.

MIT licensed, ESM-only, Node 18+. Five tools (DNS, SSL, speed test, website check, service health) work without an API key.

Install in your AI client

One command or one JSON snippet, depending on the client. Replace the placeholder with your API key from /settings/api-keys.

Claude Desktop

json

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows). Restart Claude Desktop afterwards.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "visualsentinel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
      "env": {
        "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Code (CLI)

bash

Install the marketplace plugin (recommended, includes 3 skills and 3 slash commands) or just register the MCP server directly.

# Recommended: full plugin (MCP server + skills + commands)
claude plugin marketplace add github.com/VisualSentinel/claude-plugins
claude plugin install visual-sentinel@visualsentinel
export VS_API_KEY=vs_live_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

# Or: MCP server only
claude mcp add visualsentinel -- npx -y @visualsentinel/mcp-server

Cline (VS Code extension)

json

Open Cline’s settings panel, MCP servers tab, and add the JSON below.

{
  "visualsentinel": {
    "command": "npx",
    "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
    "env": { "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_..." }
  }
}

Cursor

json

Cursor reads MCP servers from ~/.cursor/mcp.json. Create or edit that file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "visualsentinel": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
      "env": { "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_..." }
    }
  }
}

Continue

json

Edit ~/.continue/config.json. Add to the mcpServers array:

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "visualsentinel",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@visualsentinel/mcp-server"],
      "env": { "VS_API_KEY": "vs_live_..." }
    }
  ]
}

Sixteen tools, one server

Five public tools work on any URL or domain without authentication. Eleven authenticated tools manage the monitors, incidents, alerts, status pages, and servers in your Visual Sentinel organization.

Public tools (no API key)

vs_health
Check whether Visual Sentinel itself is up
vs_dns_check
Resolve A, AAAA, MX, NS, TXT, CNAME, or SOA records for a domain
vs_ssl_check
Inspect a TLS certificate (issuer, expiry, SAN list, chain)
vs_speed_test
One-shot speed check (TTFB, total load time, transfer size)
vs_website_check
Quick HTTP health check on any URL

Authenticated tools (VS_API_KEY)

vs_monitors_list
List monitors filtered by status or type
vs_monitors_get
Fetch one monitor with current status and last check
vs_monitors_create
Create a new HTTP, HTTPS, KEYWORD, PING, PORT, DNS, SSL, VISUAL, CONTENT, API, GRAPHQL, or WEBSOCKET monitor
vs_monitors_check_now
Trigger an immediate check outside the scheduled cadence
vs_monitors_uptime
Uptime percentage and outage breakdown over 24h, 7d, 30d, 90d, 365d
vs_incidents_list
List incidents filtered by status or monitor
vs_incidents_get
Fetch one incident with full check history and root-cause hints
vs_alerts_list
List alerts by status
vs_alerts_acknowledge
Acknowledge an alert with an optional note
vs_status_pages_list
List your public status pages
vs_servers_list
List registered origin servers

What you can ask

Status check at a glance

"What Visual Sentinel monitors are down right now?" Claude calls vs_monitors_list filtered by status, then summarises with the affected monitors and their last successful check.

Triage an incident without leaving the terminal

"Triage incident clm_xyz." Claude pulls the incident, scans the check history, and proposes a probable cause and a next action. Acknowledge directly with a follow-up message.

Onboard a new monitor by description

"Watch https://shop.example.com/checkout for visual changes every minute." Claude infers the monitor type, confirms the name and interval with you, and creates the monitor with vs_monitors_create.

Free SSL or DNS check on any domain

"What is the SSL situation on example.com?" Claude calls vs_ssl_check (no API key required) and surfaces issuer, expiry, SAN list, and chain. Same for DNS records, page speed, or a quick HTTP probe.

Where your data goes

The MCP server runs locally on your machine via npx. Your VS_API_KEY never leaves your computer except in the direct HTTPS request to visualsentinel.com.

The AI client (Claude, Cline, Cursor, Continue) sees the JSON results of each tool call, just like it would any other tool output. Treat tool output the same way you treat any text in your conversation.

Public tools (DNS, SSL, speed, website check, health) use no key at all. Their results are still visible in your conversation.

Revoke a leaked API key instantly at /settings/api-keys. Revocation takes effect within seconds.