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 Visual Sentinel account and an API key generated at https://visualsentinel.com/settings/api-keys. The permanent Free plan includes three HTTP and SSL monitors, 10-minute uptime checks, email and browser-push alerts, and one status page.

Add a small JSON snippet to your AI clients 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?

Store VS_API_KEY in your local MCP client configuration. The local server reads it from the environment and sends it only to visualsentinel.com over HTTPS for authenticated requests; it does not return the key in tool results. Anyone with access to your machine or configuration may be able to read it, so revoke a leaked key 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.

Monitor websites
from Claude.

now on npm · v0.1.0

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.

Install with npx Get a free API key

MIT · ESM · Node 18+ · five tools work without an API key

install in your AI client

One command,
or one JSON snippet.

Replace the placeholder with your API key from /settings/api-keys. Restart your client; tools become available immediately.

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.
Eleven authenticated.

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 organization.

Public · 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 · 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

Talk to your monitors,
get real answers.

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." Claude checks the plan capability, proposes a valid visual cadence, confirms the monitor name with you, and creates it 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

Local server. Local key.
Direct HTTPS to us.

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

Source, spec, and more.

Answers,
in plain English.

Can't find what you're looking for? Email support.

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 / SSL / speed checks, and acknowledge alerts on your behalf, all by calling these tools.

trusted by operators

What customers say

Real reviews from teams already running Visual Sentinel monitoring against their production sites.

G2 verified review

Instant alerts that make website monitoring stress-free

I used to manually check every client website to make sure it was still online. If a plugin update, SSL issue, or hosting problem caused downtime, I usually found out only after a client complained. Visual Sentinel fixed that for me. It monitors all my sites and sends instant alerts when something goes wrong, whether it is downtime, performance degradation, certificate issues, DNS changes, or visual breakage. The support for multiple alert channels, including WhatsApp, makes it even more useful. It has saved me a lot of time and made my website management far less stressful.

Read on G2

Customer message

Visual Sentinel picked up and detected a rogue XMR crypto miner that injected itself via Magento. Alerted me of the issues, made it obvious what the problem was, and I could get repairs done immediately. Took us 18 minutes from start to finish to completely scrape out this garbage after diagnosis finished, and around an hour of downtime total. Wouldn’t have had any idea without your tools.

Free plan. Three monitors.
HTTP and SSL, email and push.

The MCP server works on every plan. Paid plans add monitoring layers, faster checks, and more alert channels.

Start free See pricing

Monitor websites
from Claude.

now on npm · v0.1.0

MIT · ESM · Node 18+ · five tools work without an API key

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

# 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

Local server. Local key.
Direct HTTPS to us.

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.

Monitor websites from Claude.

One command,or one JSON snippet.

Claude Desktop

Claude Code (CLI)

Cline (VS Code extension)

Cursor

Continue

Five public tools.Eleven authenticated.

Talk to your monitors,get real answers.

Status check at a glance

Triage an incident without leaving the terminal

Onboard a new monitor by description

Free SSL or DNS check on any domain

Local server. Local key.Direct HTTPS to us.

Source, spec, and more.

Answers, in plain English.

What customers say

Instant alerts that make website monitoring stress-free

Free plan. Three monitors. HTTP and SSL, email and push.

Monitor websites from Claude.

One command,or one JSON snippet.

Claude Desktop

Claude Code (CLI)

Cline (VS Code extension)

Cursor

Continue

Five public tools.Eleven authenticated.

Talk to your monitors,get real answers.

Status check at a glance

Triage an incident without leaving the terminal

Onboard a new monitor by description

Free SSL or DNS check on any domain

Local server. Local key.Direct HTTPS to us.

Source, spec, and more.

Answers, in plain English.

What customers say

Instant alerts that make website monitoring stress-free

Free plan. Three monitors. HTTP and SSL, email and push.

Monitor websites
from Claude.

One command,
or one JSON snippet.

Five public tools.
Eleven authenticated.

Talk to your monitors,
get real answers.

Local server. Local key.
Direct HTTPS to us.

Answers,
in plain English.

Free plan. Three monitors.
HTTP and SSL, email and push.

Monitor websites
from Claude.

One command,
or one JSON snippet.

Five public tools.
Eleven authenticated.

Talk to your monitors,
get real answers.

Local server. Local key.
Direct HTTPS to us.

Answers,
in plain English.

Free plan. Three monitors.
HTTP and SSL, email and push.