Setup Guide

Get started in under a minute

Install the Chrome extension and AI companion, then your tools are ready to request visual captures.

Install the Chrome Extension

Install Snip from the Chrome Web Store:

Install the AI Companion

The companion server bridges your AI tools and the Chrome extension. It runs locally on your machine.

npm install -g @snip-browser/ai-companion

# This automatically configures Claude Code, Codex, and Cursor.
# Start the companion server:
snip-companion start

# Verify it's running:
snip-companion doctor

Configure your AI tool

Setup runs automatically on install, but you can also configure tools individually.

snip-companion setup all

# Configures all supported AI tools at once:
#   Claude Code  → ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md
#   Codex CLI    → ~/.codex/instructions.md
#   Cursor       → ~/.cursor/rules/snip-browser.md

snip-companion setup claude

# Writes snip-wait instructions to:
~/.claude/CLAUDE.md

# Claude Code will now automatically use snip-wait
# when it needs to see something in the browser.

snip-companion setup codex

# Writes snip-wait instructions to:
~/.codex/instructions.md

# Codex CLI will now use snip-wait when it needs
# visual context from the browser.

snip-companion setup cursor

# Writes snip-wait instructions to:
~/.cursor/rules/snip-browser.md

# Cursor's AI will now use snip-wait when it needs
# to see something in the browser.

Try it out

Ask your AI tool to look at a webpage. It will run snip-wait, Chrome opens, you capture and annotate, and the AI sees what you see.

# Your AI tool runs this automatically:
snip-wait --url "https://example.com" --reason "Check the layout"

# Chrome opens -> you select a region -> annotate -> copy
# AI receives the annotated screenshot and responds

Configuration

Optional environment variables for advanced setup.

Variable	Default	Description
`SNIP_COMPANION_HOST`	127.0.0.1	Server bind address
`SNIP_COMPANION_PORT`	8765	Server port
`SNIP_COMPANION_DIR`	~/SnipInbox	Data directory for captures
`SNIP_COMPANION_MAX_ITEMS`	200	Max captures before pruning
`SNIP_COMPANION_MAX_AGE_DAYS`	14	Max capture age before pruning

Note: The companion server runs locally on your machine. No data is sent to the cloud. Screenshots are stored in ~/SnipInbox and automatically cleaned up after 14 days.

CLI Reference

Two commands power the AI integration.

snip-companion

Service lifecycle and setup tool.

snip-companion start          # Start the server (port 8765)
snip-companion doctor         # Check server health
snip-companion setup          # Configure all AI tools
snip-companion setup claude   # Configure Claude Code only
snip-companion setup codex    # Configure Codex CLI only
snip-companion setup cursor   # Configure Cursor only

snip-wait

Blocking visual capture request. Your AI tool runs this automatically.

snip-wait --url <url-or-local-path> --reason <text> [--timeout-ms <ms>]

Flag	Description	Default
`--url`	URL or local file path to open	required
`--reason`	Why the capture is needed (shown in extension)	required
`--timeout-ms`	Max wait time in ms (5000–900000)	300000

Output

Returns JSON with the captured image path. If the user added comments, a comments array is included.

{
  "ok": true,
  "image_path": "/Users/you/SnipInbox/images/abc123.png",
  "source_url": "https://example.com/",
  "reason": "Check the layout",
  "comments": [
    { "index": 1, "x": 0.35, "y": 0.72, "comment": "This button should be blue" }
  ]
}

Exit Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Invalid arguments
2	Timeout
3	Cancelled
4	Server error