AI Agent Integration with WebMCP
What is WebMCP?
WebMCP (Model Context Protocol for the Web) is an experimental browser API that lets a webpage register tools an AI agent can call. Instead of copy-pasting data between a chat and a tool, the agent invokes the tool directly in the page where your data already lives — with your files never leaving the browser.
How to enable it
- Use Chrome 146+ (Canary/Dev), or Chrome 149+ with the WebMCP origin trial.
- For local development, enable the flag at chrome://flags/#enable-webmcp-testing.
- Open GIS Toolbox — tools register automatically on document.modelContext. Check the browser console for the confirmation message.
Available tools for agents
Once enabled, agents can call these tools:
Eighteen tools covering coordinate conversion (single + batch), CRS lookup and validation, format conversion (GeoJSON, CSV, KML, Shapefile, GPX, WKT, TopoJSON, GeoPackage, DXF and related types), batch format conversion, spatial analysis (buffer, intersect, union, difference, simplify, explode, flatten, measure), geometry generators (grid, Voronoi, TIN, random points), read-only spatial SQL (run_sql_query), and remote PMTiles inspection (inspect_pmtiles_url).
Example prompts
- "Convert these GPS coordinates from WGS84 to EPSG:3857."
- "Buffer this GeoJSON by 2 km."
- "Convert all files in this ZIP to GeoJSON."
- "Generate a hex grid for bbox -1,-1,1,1 with cell side 0.25 degrees."
WebMCP FAQ
Do I need to install anything?
No. WebMCP is built into Chrome 146+ behind a flag, and as an origin trial from Chrome 149. No GIS Toolbox extension is required. Chrome's Model Context Tool Inspector is optional for debugging.
Is my data sent to the AI?
The agent calls the tool, which runs locally in your browser. Tool results are returned to the agent to answer you, but your files are not uploaded to a GIS Toolbox server.