MCP setup guide · Codex · October 29, 2026

Connect Codex to SnapshotFlow MCP

Codex keeps MCP servers in config.toml, shared by the Codex CLI, the IDE extension, and the desktop app. Add SnapshotFlow once and every Codex surface can capture and read live pages.

Start free — 300 screenshots

Before you start

A SnapshotFlow account. Sign up free if you do not have one.
The server URL: https://api.snapshotflow.com/mcp
No API key. The server uses OAuth, so Codex signs you in through the browser.

Add the server

codex mcp add snapshotflow --url https://api.snapshotflow.com/mcp

The command writes this table to ~/.codex/config.toml. You can also add it by hand:

[mcp_servers.snapshotflow]
url = "https://api.snapshotflow.com/mcp"
tool_timeout_sec = 120

tool_timeout_sec is optional. The default is 60 seconds; a higher limit gives long full-page captures and batches room to finish. For a single repository, put the same table in .codex/config.toml inside a trusted project.

Sign in

codex mcp login snapshotflow

The command opens your browser so you can authorize SnapshotFlow. Start a new Codex session afterwards so it loads the server.

Check that it works

codex mcp list

SnapshotFlow should be listed. Inside the Codex TUI, /mcp shows the active servers and their tools.

Prompts to try in Codex

SnapshotFlow renders pages on its own servers, so give Codex a deployed or preview URL rather than localhost.

Use the SnapshotFlow MCP server to take a full-page screenshot of https://preview.example.com. List the three most important visual issues and fix them in this repository.

Use SnapshotFlow batch_screenshot on https://example.com, https://example.com/pricing and https://example.com/blog. Check that the header and footer look the same on all three.

Read https://docs.example.com/migration with SnapshotFlow extract_text and apply the migration steps to this project.

Troubleshooting

Tool calls time out. Raise tool_timeout_sec in the [mcp_servers.snapshotflow] table.
The server starts slowly. Raise startup_timeout_sec (default 10 seconds).
Sign-in expired. Run codex mcp login snapshotflow again.
Turn it off without deleting it. Add enabled = false to the table.

What it costs

Your AI client spends its own model tokens, billed by your AI provider. SnapshotFlow only counts screenshots against your account:

Tool	Counts as
`screenshot`	1 screenshot (repeat requests served from cache are free)
`batch_screenshot`	1 screenshot per captured URL (cache hits are free)
`visual_diff`	2 screenshots
`extract_text`	1 screenshot
`check_job`	Free

New accounts get 300 free screenshots for the lifetime of the account. No credit card required. See pricing for paid plans.

Sources

Steps checked against the official documentation on October 29, 2026. Client menus change often; if a label differs, the linked page has the current name.

OpenAI: MCP in Codex

Other MCP clients

The same server works with any client that supports remote MCP over Streamable HTTP with OAuth. Setup guides:

See SnapshotFlow MCP server for all clients, the tool list, and capture options, or the MCP reference for tool schemas. For more tasks to try, browse the MCP prompt library.