PC Price Checker

UK PC component price tracker with a web dashboard and Claude MCP server.

Track GPU, CPU, RAM, storage, and pre-built PC prices across 40+ UK retailers. Get price-drop alerts, view history charts, and ask Claude natural-language questions about your watchlist — all from a single self-hosted tool.

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What it does

• Live price search across 40+ UK retailers via PricesAPI.io (Scan, Ebuyer, Overclockers, CCL, Novatech, Amazon UK, Argos, Currys, John Lewis, and more)
• Price history tracking — SQLite-backed snapshots with 30-day trend charts and all-time low / high stats
• Price-drop alerts — set a threshold per component; get notified via Discord, Slack, Telegram, ntfy, Pushover, or email
• Pre-built PC tracking — monitor gaming desktops and workstations across 15 UK system builders
• Build planner — budget advisor, build vs. buy calculator, compatibility checker, deal scorer
• eBay secondhand prices — scrape sold listings for 100+ GPU/CPU models
• PCPartPicker integration — import lists, search 66,000+ component specs, browse by category
• Amazon data — Keepa price history, PA API product data, or Apify scraper fallback
• Apify cloud scrapers — Currys, Google Shopping, Argos, Idealo, Amazon (no bot detection issues)
• Stealth browser scraper — Playwright with fingerprint hardening; supports Camoufox and Novada as priority backends
• Auto-refresh scheduler — background refresh at any interval you choose
• Export / import — CSV and JSON export of price history, builds, and tracked components

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Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────┐
│  Claude (MCP client)            │  ← Ask natural-language questions
│  or Web Browser                 │  ← Use the dashboard UI
└────────────┬────────────────────┘
             │ stdio / HTTP
┌────────────▼────────────────────┐
│  MCP Server + REST API          │  src/index.ts + src/web.ts
│  50+ tools · 70+ REST endpoints │
└────────────┬────────────────────┘
             │
┌────────────▼────────────────────┐
│  SQLite database (better-sqlite3)│  price history, builds, config
└────────────┬────────────────────┘
             │
┌────────────▼────────────────────┐
│  Data sources                   │
│  · PricesAPI.io                 │
│  · eBay Browse API              │
│  · Keepa / Amazon PA API        │
│  · AWIN affiliate feed          │
│  · PCPartPicker dataset         │
│  · Bing Shopping                │
│  · Reddit (r/buildapc, deals)   │
│  · HotUKDeals                   │
│  · CeX (secondhand)             │
│  · Apify actors (5 retailers)   │
│  · Playwright stealth scraper   │
└─────────────────────────────────┘

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Tech stack

Layer	Technology
Runtime	Node.js 18+ · TypeScript
MCP server	@modelcontextprotocol/sdk · stdio transport
REST API	Express 5
Database	SQLite via better-sqlite3 · WAL mode
Web UI	Alpine.js v3 · daisyUI v5 · Tailwind CSS · Chart.js
Browser scraping	Playwright · Camoufox · Novada CDP
Notifications	Discord · Slack · Telegram · ntfy · Pushover · Email (Resend)
Cloud scraping	Apify platform actors

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Quick start

Docker (recommended)

docker run -d \
  -p 3000:3000 \
  -v ./data:/app/data \
  -e PRICES_API_KEY=your_key_here \
  ghcr.io/gregbtm/pc-price-checker:latest

Open http://localhost:3000 — add a component, prices load immediately.

From source

git clone https://github.com/gregbtm/PCPriceChecker
cd PCPriceChecker/pc-price-mcp
npm install
npm run build
PRICES_API_KEY=your_key node dist/index.js

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Configuration

All configuration is stored in SQLite and can be set through the web UI (Settings tab) or via the configure_api_keys MCP tool. No restart required.

Key	Required	Description
prices_api_key	Yes	PricesAPI.io key — free tier covers 50k calls/month
apify_api_token	No	Unlocks Currys, Argos, Google Shopping, Idealo, Amazon scrapers
keepa_api_key	No	Amazon price history (Keepa)
ebay_client_id / ebay_client_secret	No	eBay Browse API
amazon_access_key / amazon_secret_key / amazon_associate_tag	No	Amazon PA API
discord_webhook_url	No	Price-drop notifications
slack_webhook_url	No	Price-drop notifications
telegram_bot_token / telegram_chat_id	No	Telegram alerts
ntfy_topic	No	ntfy push (no account needed)
novada_browser_ws	No	Novada cloud anti-detect browser (priority 1 scraper)
camofox_url	No	Camoufox self-hosted Firefox (priority 2 scraper)

Get a free PricesAPI key at pricesapi.io.

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MCP setup (Claude Desktop / Claude Code)

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pc-price-checker": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/pc-price-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "PRICES_API_KEY": "your_key_here"
      }
    }
  }
}

Then ask Claude things like:

• "Track an RTX 5080 and alert me if it drops below £900"
• "What's the best value GPU under £400 right now?"
• "Design a 1440p gaming build under £1,200 and track all the parts"
• "Show me eBay secondhand prices for a used RTX 4090"
• "Compare the RTX 5070 Ti Super vs RX 9070 XT — performance per pound"

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MCP tools (50+)

Category	Tools
Search	search_components, search_uk_retailers, search_prebuilt_pcs
Tracking	track_component, untrack_component, list_tracked, set_price_alert
Prices	get_latest_prices, get_price_history, refresh_prices, get_price_drops
eBay	ebay_gpu_prices, ebay_component_prices
PCPartPicker	pcpartpicker_specs, pcpartpicker_browse, import_pcpartpicker
Builds	create_build, add_to_build, compare_components, budget_builder
Advisor	build_vs_buy, upgrade_advisor, benchmark_lookup, check_compatibility
Apify	apify_currys, apify_google_shopping, apify_argos, apify_idealo, apify_amazon
Alerts	check_price_alerts, add_to_waitlist, check_stock_changes
Config	configure_api_keys, configure_notifications, configure_scheduler

Full tool reference: pc-price-mcp/DOCS.md

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Notification channels

Channel	Setup
Discord	Create a webhook in Channel Settings → Integrations
Slack	Create an Incoming Webhook app
Telegram	Create a bot via @BotFather, get your chat_id
ntfy	Just set a topic — no account needed for ntfy.sh (recommended)
Pushover	Get app and user keys from pushover.net
Email	Resend API key + verified sending domain

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Anti-bot scraping

The Playwright scraper uses a three-tier priority chain:

1. Novada (cloud anti-detect, set novada_browser_ws) — best for heavily-protected sites
2. Camoufox (self-hosted Firefox, set camofox_url) — real Firefox profile, no automation flags
3. Local Chromium — built-in stealth layer (removes navigator.webdriver, spoofs plugins, mimeTypes, WebGL renderer, canvas noise, randomised viewport/timing)

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License

MIT