browse/GITHUB_LOGIN.md

GitHub Login with Claude Browse

Documentation for logging into GitHub using the claude-browse MCP plugin.

Overview

GitHub uses HttpOnly cookies for session management, which cannot be accessed via JavaScript. This means the standard cookie extraction approach doesn't work. Instead, use the interactive login method.

Interactive Login Flow

1. Start browser and navigate to login

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__goto: https://github.com/login

2. Enter credentials

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__type:
  selector: input[name="login"]
  text: <username>

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__type:
  selector: input[name="password"]
  text: <password>

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__click:
  selector: input[name="commit"]

3. Handle 2FA

GitHub may present SMS or authenticator-based 2FA.

For SMS:

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__click:
  selector: button:has-text("Send SMS")

Wait for user to provide code, then:

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__type:
  selector: input[name="sms_otp"]
  text: <6-digit-code>

The form may auto-submit. If not:

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__click:
  selector: button[type="submit"]

Note: The input[name="otp"] selector doesn't work - use input[name="sms_otp"] instead.

4. Save session for reuse

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__session_save:
  path: /path/to/github-session.json

5. Restore session in future

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__session_restore:
  path: /path/to/github-session.json

Selector Reference

Element	Selector
Username field	input[name="login"]
Password field	input[name="password"]
Sign in button	input[name="commit"]
SMS OTP field	input[name="sms_otp"]
Send SMS button	button:has-text("Send SMS")

Troubleshooting

HttpOnly Cookies

GitHub's session cookies (user_session, __Host-user_session_same_site) are HttpOnly and cannot be read via document.cookie. The interactive login approach is required.

Selector Timeouts

If button:has-text("...") times out, query all buttons first:

mcp__plugin_browse_browse__query:
  selector: button

Then use a more specific selector based on the returned attributes.

Auto-submit Forms

GitHub's 2FA form may auto-submit after entering the code. Check if the page redirected before trying to click submit.

Session Storage Location

Recommended path: ~/.claude/github-session.json

The session file contains:

• Current URL
• All cookies (including HttpOnly ones captured by Playwright)
• localStorage
• sessionStorage

Cookie Count

A successful GitHub login typically results in ~14 cookies being stored.