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Claude and MCP
Let Claude set up projects, run comparisons, look at what changed and triage it.
visualdiff is an MCP server, so Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor and other AI tools can use it: set up a project, run a comparison, look at what changed as images, review pages and export the report, all from a chat.
Connect#
Claude Code: in the visualdiff menu, choose Connect to Claude Code…. It shows the exact command it runs, then adds visualdiff for all your projects. Start a new Claude Code session to use it.
Claude Desktop, Cursor and others: choose Copy MCP config for other apps and paste it into the app's MCP settings (for example claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Over HTTP: while visualdiff is open, the same tools are at http://localhost:4400/mcp (local only):
claude mcp add --transport http visualdiff http://localhost:4400/mcp
Comparisons started this way show up in the app as they run.
Ask in plain language#
- "Set up visualdiff for ~/Dev/acme. Before is https://acme-c3.test/, after is https://acme-c4.test/."
- "Compare main with feature/craft-4 in acme, full sweep."
- "What broke? Look at the five worst pages and mark them."
- "Re-shoot the contact page and tell me if it's fixed."
- "Export the upgrade report."
When Claude inspects a page it gets the before, after and difference images, cropped to the changed region, so it can describe what actually changed, not just a percentage. The triage prompt walks it through a whole comparison: broken pages first, then each change, reviewing as it goes. Reviews Claude makes show up in the app like anyone else's.
Tools#
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
list_projects, get_project |
Known projects; their environments, branches, runs and comparisons |
setup_project |
Detect the site in a folder and preview or write vdiff.config.json |
list_pages |
The pages a comparison will capture |
compare |
Capture two environments or branches and compare them |
reshoot_pages |
Capture pages of an existing comparison again (or every failed capture) |
get_job |
Progress and log of a running comparison |
get_results |
Summary and rows worst first, with the same filters as the app |
get_page |
One page's details, with before, after and difference images of a changed region |
review_page |
Mark expected, bug or fixed, with a note |
export_report |
The Markdown or CSV report |
prepare_branch, remove_branch |
Set up or remove a branch environment |