cortex-scout

Overview

CortexScout is a Rust-based MCP server that provides comprehensive web search, extraction, and browser automation capabilities for AI agents. It offers stateful browser automation through a single omni-tool, anti-bot handling with progressive fallbacks, and optional Human-in-the-Loop support. The server exposes a variety of MCP tools for search, crawling, extraction, and deep research, making it suitable for complex web scraping and automation tasks.

Try asking AI

After installing, here are 5 things you can ask your AI assistant:

• web_search

  URL discovery or search+content retrieval

  Try:Search for the latest AI newsTry:Find research papers about machine learning
• web_fetch

  Unified fetch family (single/batch/crawl modes)

  Try:Fetch the content of this articleTry:Batch download these 10 URLsTry:Crawl this website for all links
• extract_fields

  Primary structured extraction from web content

  Try:Extract product details from this pageTry:Pull contact information from this website
• scout_browser_automate

  Stateful omni-tool for browser automation

  Try:Fill out this login form and click submitTry:Navigate to this product page and take a screenshot
• memory_search

  LanceDB-backed research history search

  Try:Find similar queries from previous researchTry:Search my extraction history for company data
• deep_research

  Multi-hop search + scrape + synthesis

  Try:Research competitors in the SaaS industryTry:Synthesize findings about renewable energy trends
• scout_agent_profile_auth

  Launch visible browser profile for auth challenges

  Try:Solve this CAPTCHA for meTry:Log into Google account
• visual_scout

  Visual analysis of web content

  Try:Analyze this product imageTry:Extract text from this screenshot
• hitl_web_fetch

  Human-in-the-loop web fetch with auth modes

  Try:Fetch this protected content with loginTry:Handle this paywalled article

Comparable tools

Installation

git clone https://github.com/cortex-works/cortex-scout.git
cd cortex-scout
cargo build --release --manifest-path mcp-server/Cargo.toml --bin cortex-scout-mcp

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cortex-scout": {
      "command": "env",
      "args": [
        "RUST_LOG=warn",
        "CORTEX_SCOUT_TOOL_TIMEOUT_SECS=90",
        "/path/to/cortex-scout-mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

How is this different from Playwright MCP?

CortexScout provides a stateful omni-tool that combines multiple Playwright actions into a single call, reducing token usage for AI agents. It also includes anti-bot handling and optional Human-in-the-Loop capabilities.

What anti-bot protections does it handle?

CortexScout handles various protections through progressive fallbacks: Cloudflare, CAPTCHA, reCAPTCHA, Turnstile, DataDome, AWS Shield, and custom auth challenges. It includes validation evidence against targets like LinkedIn, Ticketmaster, and Amazon.

Compare cortex-scout with