by aaronjmars
OpenDia is a web based diagram tool enabling real-time collaborative diagram creation and editing via easy-to-use web in
Connects AI models to your browser so they can control tabs, navigate pages, fill forms, and click elements using your existing logged-in sessions and browser data. Works locally without switching contexts or starting from scratch.
OpenDia is a community-built MCP server published by aaronjmars that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. OpenDia is a web based diagram tool enabling real-time collaborative diagram creation and editing via easy-to-use web in It is categorized under browser automation. This server exposes 18 tools that AI clients can invoke during conversations and coding sessions.
You can install OpenDia in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
MIT
OpenDia is released under the MIT license. This is a permissive open-source license, meaning you can freely use, modify, and distribute the software.
Fetch and extract information from websites automatically
Example
Research competitor pricing, scrape product reviews, monitor news mentions
Automate 5-10 hours/week of manual web research
Track website changes, new content, price updates
Example
Monitor competitor blog for new posts, track stock availability, watch for pricing changes
Stay informed without manual checking, never miss important updates
Extract structured data from multiple websites
Example
Compile product listings from 10 e-commerce sites, aggregate job postings, collect real estate data
Build datasets 100x faster than manual copying
Share your MCP server with the developer community
OpenDia is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
Useful MCP listing: OpenDia is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
OpenDia reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
OpenDia is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
We evaluated OpenDia against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
We wired OpenDia into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.
OpenDia has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.
OpenDia reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
I recommend OpenDia for teams standardizing on MCP; the explainx.ai page compares cleanly with sibling servers.
According to our notes, OpenDia benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.
showing 1-10 of 27
The open alternative to Dia / Perplexity Comet
Connect your browser to AI models.
No browser switching needed—works seamlessly with Chrome, Firefox, and any Chromium browser. Private, local-first & MCP focused.
If you are not technical / never used MCPs before, we recommend using Perplexity Comet.
OpenDia lets AI models control your browser automatically. The key advantage? It leverages everything you already have—your logged-in accounts, saved passwords, cookies, wallets, and browsing history. No need to start from scratch or switch contexts.
🔑 Use Your Existing Digital Life:
✨ Key Benefits:
Works with Chrome, Firefox, and any Chromium-based browser:
Also perfect for Cursor users who want to automate their local testing and development workflows!
Real workflows you can try today:
For Chrome/Chromium browsers:
opendia-chrome-1.1.0.zip from releaseschrome://extensions/ (or your browser's extension page)For Firefox:
opendia-firefox-1.1.0.zip from releasesabout:debugging#/runtime/this-firefoxmanifest.json file from the extracted folderNote: Firefox extensions are loaded as temporary add-ons and will be removed when Firefox restarts. This is a Firefox limitation for unsigned extensions.
Option 1: Double-click Installation (Recommended)
opendia.dxt file from releases.dxt file to install automaticallyOption 2: Manual Configuration Add to your Claude Desktop configuration:
{
"mcpServers": {
"opendia": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["opendia"]
}
}
}
For Cursor or other AI tools, use the same configuration or follow their specific setup instructions.
npx opendia
# Use custom ports
npx opendia --port=6000 # Uses 6000 (WebSocket) + 6001 (HTTP)
npx opendia --ws-port=5555 --http-port=5556 # Specify individually
# Handle port conflicts
# Note: Existing OpenDia processes are automatically terminated on startup
npx opendia --tunnel
Note: For auto-tunneling to work, you need ngrok installed:
macOS:
brew install ngrok
Windows:
# Using Chocolatey
choco install ngrok
# Or download from https://ngrok.com/download
Linux:
# Ubuntu/Debian
curl -s https://ngrok-agent.s3.amazonaws.com/ngrok.asc | sudo tee /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/ngrok.asc >/dev/null
echo "deb https://ngrok-agent.s3.amazonaws.com buster main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/ngrok.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install ngrok
# Or download from https://ngrok.com/download
Then get your free authtoken from https://dashboard.ngrok.com/get-started/your-authtoken and run:
ngrok config add-authtoken YOUR_TOKEN_HERE
OpenDia gives AI models 18 powerful browser tools:
Once everything is set up, try asking your AI:
Content Creation:
"Read the article on this page and create a Twitter thread summarizing the main points"
Research & Analysis:
"Look through my browser history from this week and find articles about machine learning. Summarize the key trends."
Social Media Management:
"Check my Twitter bookmarks and organize them into categories. Create a summary of each category."
Productivity:
"Open tabs for my usual morning reading sites and give me a briefing of today's top stories"
Development Testing:
"Fill out this contact form with test data and check if the submission works properly"
Personal Assistant:
"Find that GitHub repo I was looking at yesterday about React components and bookmark it for later"
Page Styling & Fun:
"Apply a dark hacker theme to this page to make it look more interesting"
"Make this boring documentation page feel like a cozy coffee shop"
Interact with services that don't offer APIs
Example
Check form submissions, validate website functionality, test user flows
Automate interactions with any website, even without API
Prerequisites
Time Estimate
20-40 minutes including configuration and testing
Steps
Troubleshooting
✓ Do
✗ Don't
💡 Pro Tips
Architecture
MCP server handles HTTP requests, HTML parsing, JavaScript rendering (if headless browser), and returns structured data to Claude.
Protocols
Compatibility
✓ Use when
Use for research automation, content monitoring, data aggregation from multiple sources, and when official APIs don't exist. Best for read-only information gathering.
✗ Avoid when
Avoid for sites with APIs (use API instead), sites that explicitly forbid scraping, when data is copyrighted, or for login-required content without proper authorization.