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Installation Guide

This comprehensive guide will walk you through installing RapidTriageME step-by-step. Choose the installation method that best fits your needs.

Prerequisites

Before installing RapidTriageME, ensure your system meets these requirements:

System Requirements

Component Minimum Recommended
Node.js 18.0+ 20.0+ LTS
RAM 4GB 8GB+
Disk Space 500MB 1GB+
Operating System macOS 10.15+, Windows 10+, Linux (Ubuntu 18.04+) Latest versions

Required Software

Installation Order

Install these components in the order listed for the smoothest experience.

  1. Node.js - JavaScript runtime for the server components
  2. Chrome Browser - Required for the debugging extension
  3. Git (optional) - For cloning repositories and development

Download Node.js

# Using Homebrew (recommended)
brew install node@20

# Or download from official site
# https://nodejs.org/en/download/

# Using Chocolatey (recommended)
choco install nodejs-lts

# Or using Scoop
scoop install nodejs-lts

# Or download installer from:
# https://nodejs.org/en/download/

# Ubuntu/Debian
curl -fsSL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo -E bash -
sudo apt-get install -y nodejs

# CentOS/RHEL/Fedora
curl -fsSL https://rpm.nodesource.com/setup_lts.x | sudo bash -
sudo dnf install nodejs npm

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S nodejs npm

Verify Prerequisites

Run these commands to verify your setup:

# Check Node.js version
node --version
# Should output: v20.x.x or higher

# Check npm version
npm --version
# Should output: 10.x.x or higher

# Check if Chrome is installed
google-chrome --version  # Linux
# OR
chrome --version         # macOS
# Should output Chrome version 90+

Installation Methods

This is the fastest and easiest way to get started with RapidTriageME.

Step 1: Install Global Packages

# Install both packages globally
npm install -g @yarlisai/rapidtriage-server @yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp

# Or install separately
npm install -g @yarlisai/rapidtriage-server
npm install -g @yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp

Step 2: Verify Installation

# Check if server command is available
rapidtriage-server --version

# Check if MCP server is available
rapidtriage-mcp --version

# Alternative: Use npx (doesn't require global install)
npx @yarlisai/rapidtriage-server --version
npx @yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp --version

Method 2: Local Development Installation

For developers who want to contribute or customize RapidTriageME.

Step 1: Clone Repository

# Clone the main repository
git clone https://github.com/YarlisAISolutions/rapidtriageME.git
cd rapidtriageME

Step 2: Install Dependencies

# Install root dependencies
npm install

# Install server dependencies
cd rapidtriage-server
npm install
npm run build
cd ..

# Install MCP server dependencies
cd rapidtriage-mcp
npm install
npm run build
cd ..

Step 3: Build All Components

# Build all components at once
./run.sh build

# Or build individually
cd rapidtriage-server && npm run build && cd ..
cd rapidtriage-mcp && npm run build && cd ..

Method 3: Docker Installation

For containerized deployments and isolated environments.

Step 1: Install Docker

Make sure Docker is installed and running on your system:

# Install Docker Desktop
brew install --cask docker

# Install Docker Desktop
winget install Docker.DockerDesktop

# Install Docker Engine
curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

Step 2: Run Docker Container

# Pull and run the latest image
docker run -d \
  --name rapidtriage \
  -p 3025:3025 \
  -p 8080:8080 \
  yarlisai/rapidtriage:latest

# Check if container is running
docker ps

# View logs
docker logs rapidtriage

Step 3: Docker Compose (Optional)

For more complex deployments:

# docker-compose.yml
version: '3.8'
services:
  rapidtriage:
    image: yarlisai/rapidtriage:latest
    ports:
      - "3025:3025"
      - "8080:8080"
    environment:
      - NODE_ENV=production
      - LOG_LEVEL=info
    volumes:
      - ./data:/app/data
    restart: unless-stopped

# Start with Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

Chrome Extension Installation

The Chrome extension is required for capturing browser data.

Step 1: Download Extension

Choose your preferred method:

  1. Visit GitHub Releases
  2. Download rapidtriage-extension-v1.0.0.zip
  3. Extract to a folder (e.g., ~/rapidtriage-extension)
# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/YarlisAISolutions/rapidtriageME.git
cd rapidtriageME/rapidtriage-extension

# Extension files are ready to use

# Download and extract
curl -L https://github.com/YarlisAISolutions/rapidtriageME/releases/latest/download/rapidtriage-extension.zip -o rapidtriage-extension.zip
unzip rapidtriage-extension.zip

Step 2: Install in Chrome

  1. Open Chrome Extensions Page
  2. Navigate to chrome://extensions/

  3. Or go to Menu → More tools → Extensions

  4. Enable Developer Mode

  5. Toggle "Developer mode" in the top right

  6. Load Extension

  7. Click "Load unpacked"
  8. Select the extracted extension folder

  9. Click "Select Folder"

  10. Verify Installation

  11. Extension icon should appear in toolbar
  12. Click the extension icon to see the popup
  13. Should show "RapidTriage Extension v1.0.0"
  1. Click the puzzle piece icon in Chrome toolbar
  2. Find "RapidTriage" in the list
  3. Click the pin icon to pin it to toolbar

Environment Configuration

Setting Up Environment Variables

Create environment configuration for your system:

# Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc
export RAPIDTRIAGE_PORT=3025
export RAPIDTRIAGE_HOST=localhost
export NODE_ENV=development
export LOG_LEVEL=info

# Reload shell configuration
source ~/.bashrc  # or ~/.zshrc

# Set environment variables
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("RAPIDTRIAGE_PORT", "3025", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("RAPIDTRIAGE_HOST", "localhost", "User")
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable("NODE_ENV", "development", "User")

# Restart PowerShell to apply changes

# Set environment variables
setx RAPIDTRIAGE_PORT 3025
setx RAPIDTRIAGE_HOST localhost
setx NODE_ENV development

# Restart Command Prompt to apply changes

Configuration File

Create a configuration file for persistent settings:

# Create config directory
mkdir -p ~/.rapidtriage

# Create config file
cat > ~/.rapidtriage/config.json << EOF
{
  "port": 3025,
  "host": "localhost",
  "logLevel": "info",
  "enableCors": true,
  "enableAuth": false,
  "screenshot": {
    "maxWidth": 1920,
    "maxHeight": 1080,
    "quality": 80
  },
  "lighthouse": {
    "enabled": true,
    "timeout": 30000
  }
}
EOF

IDE Configuration

Configure your preferred IDE to use RapidTriageME:

Cursor IDE

// ~/.cursor/mcp_settings.json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rapidtriage": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "BROWSER_TOOLS_PORT": "3025",
        "NODE_ENV": "development"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code with Continue

// ~/.continue/config.json
{
  "models": [
    {
      "title": "Claude 3.5 Sonnet",
      "provider": "anthropic",
      "model": "claude-3-5-sonnet-20241022",
      "apiKey": "your-anthropic-api-key"
    }
  ],
  "mcpServers": {
    "rapidtriage": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "BROWSER_TOOLS_PORT": "3025"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

// ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/config.json (macOS)
// %APPDATA%\Claude\config.json (Windows)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rapidtriage": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "BROWSER_TOOLS_PORT": "3025",
        "DEBUG": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Verification & Testing

Step 1: Start Services

# Terminal 1: Start browser connector server
npx @yarlisai/rapidtriage-server

# You should see:
# 🚀 RapidTriage Server running on port 3025
# ✅ WebSocket server ready
# ✅ HTTP server ready

Step 2: Test Browser Extension

  1. Open Chrome and navigate to any website
  2. Open DevTools (F12 or right-click → Inspect)
  3. Look for "RapidTriage" tab in DevTools
  4. Click the tab - should show "Connected" status
  5. Extension icon should show green dot when connected

Step 3: Test MCP Integration

Start your IDE (Cursor, VS Code, etc.) and verify MCP connection:

# Test MCP server directly
npx @yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp

# Should output available tools:
# Tools: screenshot_capture, get_console_logs, run_lighthouse_audit, etc.

Step 4: End-to-End Test

  1. Open a website in Chrome with DevTools
  2. Ask your AI assistant: "Take a screenshot of the current page"
  3. Expected result: Screenshot should be captured and displayed
  4. Ask: "Check console logs"
  5. Expected result: Any console messages should be retrieved

Troubleshooting Installation

Common Issues

Port Already in Use

# Check what's using port 3025
lsof -i :3025

# Kill the process if needed
kill -9 <PID>

# Or use a different port
RAPIDTRIAGE_PORT=3030 npx @yarlisai/rapidtriage-server

Permission Errors (npm global install)

# Fix npm permissions (recommended)
mkdir ~/.npm-global
npm config set prefix '~/.npm-global'
echo 'export PATH=~/.npm-global/bin:$PATH' >> ~/.bashrc
source ~/.bashrc

# Or use npx instead of global install
npx @yarlisai/rapidtriage-server

Chrome Extension Not Loading

  1. Check Developer Mode - Must be enabled
  2. Reload Extension - Click reload button in chrome://extensions/
  3. Clear Extension Data - Remove and re-add the extension
  4. Check Console Errors - Open chrome://extensions/ and check for errors

MCP Server Not Found

# Check Node.js path
which node

# Check if package is installed
npm list -g @yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp

# Try absolute path in IDE config
{
  "command": "/usr/local/bin/npx",
  "args": ["@yarlisai/rapidtriage-mcp"]
}

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered here:

  1. Check our troubleshooting guide
  2. Search existing issues
  3. Join our Discord community
  4. Create a new issue

When reporting issues, include: - Operating system and version - Node.js version (node --version) - Chrome version - Installation method used - Complete error messages - Steps to reproduce

Next Steps

Congratulations! You've successfully installed RapidTriageME. Here's what to do next:

  1. Configure your environment - Customize settings and options
  2. Learn about debugging - Master debugging techniques
  3. Explore the architecture - Understand how it all works
  4. Join the community - Get help and share experiences

Installation complete! Your AI assistant can now interact with any website through RapidTriageME.