Article

    Unthread WebMCP

    3 min read
    Last updated 1 day ago

    Drive Unthread from your AI agent

    Unthread supports WebMCP — a way to connect your own AI agent directly to the Unthread dashboard in your browser.

    Two ways to connect

    You can connect an AI agent two ways. Pick whichever fits how you already work:

    • A browser-native agent — an AI agent that lives inside your browser, like Claude for Chrome. No external setup; the dashboard exposes its tools directly to the agent on the page.
    • A desktop AI app — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, or any other app that supports MCP. You install a small browser extension that bridges your open Unthread tab to the desktop app.

    Both paths reach the same set of capabilities. The difference is purely about which AI app you prefer.

    Set up — browser-native agent

    1. Install your browser-native AI agent — for example, Claude for Chrome.

    2. Sign in to Unthread as you normally would and open the dashboard.

    3. Start a fresh conversation with your agent and, as the first message, tell it to use the Unthread tools. A clear opening line:

      Please connect to the WebMCP tools on this page

      The agent will discover the tools and orient itself. Once it has, give it any task in the next message.

    That's it. The agent authenticates using your existing Unthread session, so everything it does is done as you.

    Why a dedicated first turn matters. If your first message mixes the connect instruction with a task (e.g., "use the unthread tools to filter my inbox"), the agent may treat "unthread tools" as a vague reference instead of looking up the actual tool registry on the page. A standalone instruction lets it discover and load the tool surface cleanly.

    Set up — desktop AI app via the bridge

    1. Install the WebMCP Bridge extension by MCPCat in the browser you use for Unthread.

    2. Install the local relay. In a terminal:

      npm install -g @mcp-b/webmcp-server

    3. Configure your desktop AI app to use the relay.

      • Claude Desktop: Settings → Developer → Edit Config; add an entry under mcpServers:

        {
  "mcpServers": {
    "webmcp": {
      "command": "webmcp-server"
    }
  }
}

      • Claude Code: claude mcp add webmcp -- webmcp-server

      • Cursor / Windsurf: follow the app's MCP server configuration; point it at the webmcp-server command.

    4. Open Unthread in your browser. The bridge extension popup will show the active tab and the tools it found.

    5. Open your desktop AI app and ask it to use Unthread. It sees the dashboard's tools the same way it sees any other MCP server.

    Your desktop app authenticates through your browser session — no token to set up.