Jul 26, 2026 ai-code

peek-cli Review 2026: Let Your Coding Agent See the Browser

peek-cli lets coding agents capture a screenshot of any open browser tab via a Chrome extension. We review how it works, its safety model, and who should use it for frontend work.

Coding agents are great at writing UI code and terrible at seeing it. peek-cli closes that gap: it lets your agent capture a screenshot of any open browser tab, so it can iterate on frontend designs until they’re actually right.

What is peek-cli?

peek-cli is a tool that streams screenshots from your browser to your coding agent. You install a Chrome extension and a small WebSocket daemon (peeked), then the agent can list open tabs and grab a screenshot of any of them. It works with Claude Code, Codex, GitHub Copilot, and more.

Key features

  • Tab screenshots for agents — the agent sees exactly what you see in the browser.
  • WebSocket streaming — a local daemon pushes screenshots to the agent.
  • Broad compatibility — Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, and other agents via a skill.
  • Safe by design — the agent can only request screenshots; it can’t inject scripts or act in the browser.
  • Ships as a Chrome Web Store extension + npm CLI + agent skill.
  • Open source (MIT).

Who should use it?

peek-cli is for anyone using an agent to build or fix frontend/UI work. “Make the button centered” is a lot easier when the agent can actually look at the result. It also helps agents verify a live, logged-in page instead of guessing from markup.

It’s not a full browser-automation tool — it screenshots only, no clicking or DOM manipulation. For that, you’d reach for a browser-agent framework.

Pros and cons

Pros: gives agents real visual feedback, simple to set up, deliberately cannot act in the browser (safe), open source.

Cons: needs the extension installed and reconnected each startup; screenshot-only; the local daemon must be running.

Pricing

Free and open source (MIT).

FAQ

Can the agent click or type in my browser? No. It sends screenshot requests over a WebSocket; it never accesses the browser or runs scripts.

Which agents does it support? Claude Code, Codex, Copilot, and others via the bundled skill/plugin.

Is there a paid tier? No — peek-cli is open-source MIT software; the CLI installs via npm.

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