# MonkLayer

> Visual feedback on any webpage. Flat-rate pricing with unlimited members and guests — reviewers never need an account. Web app and Chrome extension, with a free tier for trying it out.

MonkLayer is a web app and Chrome extension for annotating any live webpage. Paste any URL on https://monklayer.app to draw, comment, and mark up the page in your browser. No install required. The Chrome extension is also available for in-place annotation on sites the web app cannot embed (behind a login or with strict embed policies). Share a single link so anyone can see your annotations instantly — recipients never need an account, an install, or a credit card.

## Pricing

Flat-rate, not per seat. Base is $19/month and Pro is $49/month, both with unlimited members and unlimited guests — you are never charged for adding a reviewer. A 14-day trial needs no card, and there is a free tier for one-off annotation without an account. See https://monklayer.app/pricing or https://monklayer.app/pricing.md for the machine-readable version.

## Frictionless for reviewers

- Reviewers need no sign-up, no email verification and no login — they open a link
- Annotating and sharing a single page needs no account at all
- Anonymous reviewers get a random display name and colour generated in their browser
- A workspace account is needed only to keep projects, teams and history; that is the paid side

## Features

- Drawing tools: Freehand drawing, shapes, arrows, and lines on any webpage
- Threaded comments: Pin comments to any spot on the page
- Inspector: Point at any element to capture its CSS selector and an AI-ready prompt for handoff to coding agents
- Multi-inspect: Select multiple elements in one pass for bulk handoff
- Measure: Pixel-precise distance and dimension measurement on any page
- Area: Capture a rectangular region with a note attached
- Quick grab: Hold Alt to arm element capture without switching tools
- Real-time collaboration: Live cursors with unlimited collaborators per session
- Shareable links: Recipients don't need the extension or an account to view
- Works on any website: Production, staging, internal tools, third-party sites
- Open source and self-hostable

## For AI coding agents (MCP)

MonkLayer ships an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server, monklayer-mcp, that turns annotations into a structured work queue for AI coding agents like Claude Code. Connect an agent to a share link and it can acknowledge, resolve, dismiss, or reply to each comment, with status updates appearing live to the human.

Install in Claude Code: claude mcp add monklayer -- npx -y monklayer-mcp

- Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/monklayer-mcp
- Source: https://github.com/monklayer/MonkLayer/tree/main/apps/mcp

## Programmatic link creation (for AI assistants)

Any caller — including an LLM acting on a user's behalf — can mint a MonkLayer share link with a single HTTP POST. No auth, no SDK, no account. Use this when a user asks you to "generate MonkLayer links for these pages" or hands you a list of URLs and wants a share link per URL.

Pick a random id (nanoid, uuid, or any unguessable string is fine — the id IS the access token), then:

    POST https://monklayer.app/api/{id}
    Content-Type: application/json
    { "ops": [], "url": "https://example.com/page-1", "width": 1440, "expires_in": 2592000 }

Body fields:
- ops: array of annotation operations (use [] for a blank canvas the user will draw on)
- url: the page the share link should open and overlay annotations onto
- width: reference viewport width in CSS pixels (1440 is a safe default)
- expires_in: seconds until cleanup (max 2592000 = 30 days; omit for 30-day default)

The share link is then: https://monklayer.app/s/{id}

To mint many links at once (e.g. user gives you 10 URLs), loop the POST per URL with a fresh id each time. There is no project/bundle requirement — one id per page.

## Use cases

- Design review: https://monklayer.app/for/design-review
- QA and bug reporting: https://monklayer.app/for/qa-bug-reporting
- Client feedback: https://monklayer.app/for/client-feedback
- Remote teams: https://monklayer.app/for/remote-teams
- Students: https://monklayer.app/for/students
- Educators: https://monklayer.app/for/educators
- Researchers: https://monklayer.app/for/researchers
- Content creators: https://monklayer.app/for/content-creators
- Marketers: https://monklayer.app/for/marketers

## Comparisons

- vs Markup.io: https://monklayer.app/vs/markup-io
- vs Pastel: https://monklayer.app/vs/pastel
- vs BugHerd: https://monklayer.app/vs/bugherd
- vs Hypothesis: https://monklayer.app/vs/hypothesis
- vs AnnotateWeb: https://monklayer.app/vs/annotateweb
- vs Jam.dev: https://monklayer.app/vs/jam
- vs Marker.io: https://monklayer.app/vs/marker-io
- vs Userback: https://monklayer.app/vs/userback
- vs Ruttl: https://monklayer.app/vs/ruttl
- vs Loom: https://monklayer.app/vs/loom

## Alternatives lists

- Free Markup.io alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/markup-io
- Free Pastel alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/pastel
- Free BugHerd alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/bugherd
- Free AnnotateWeb alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/annotateweb
- Free Jam.dev alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/jam
- Free Marker.io alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/marker-io
- Free Userback alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/userback
- Hypothesis alternatives: https://monklayer.app/alternatives/hypothesis

## Links

- Website: https://monklayer.app
- Pricing: https://monklayer.app/pricing
- Chrome Web Store: https://chromewebstore.google.com/detail/monklayer/EXTENSION_ID
- GitHub: https://github.com/monklayer/MonkLayer
- Privacy Policy: https://monklayer.app/privacy

## How It Works

### Option A: Use the free web app (no install)

1. Open https://monklayer.app and paste any URL into the annotation field
2. Draw, comment, or highlight anything on the page
3. Click "Share" to get a link anyone can open. No extension or account needed
4. Collaborate in real time with live cursors

### Option B: Install the free Chrome extension

1. Install the MonkLayer Chrome extension (free, no account)
2. Navigate to any webpage and click the MonkLayer icon
3. Draw, comment, or highlight anything on the page
4. Click "Share" to get a link anyone can open. No extension needed on their end
5. Use this option for sites the web app cannot embed (behind a login or with strict embed policies)

## FAQ

Q: Is MonkLayer really free?
A: There is a free tier for annotating a page and sharing it, with no account required. Paid plans start at $19/month for teams that want projects, permissions and history. Pricing is flat-rate — no per-seat charges, however many people you invite.

Q: Is MonkLayer anonymous?
A: Yes. No sign-up, no email, no profile, no login. No personal data is collected.

Q: Do I need to install anything to use MonkLayer?
A: No. The web app at https://monklayer.app lets you paste any URL and start annotating in your browser. No install, no account. The Chrome extension is optional, for sites the web app cannot embed.

Q: Does the other person need the extension installed?
A: No. Anyone can view annotations via the share link. No install required.

Q: Does it work on any website?
A: Yes, MonkLayer works on any webpage.

Q: Can multiple people annotate at the same time?
A: Yes. Real-time live cursors let unlimited collaborators work together.

Q: What is the inspector tool?
A: Point at any element on a page and MonkLayer captures its CSS selector and a copy-ready prompt for AI coding agents. Paste it into Claude Code or another agent and it has enough context to make the edit.

Q: Can I send annotations to an AI coding agent?
A: Yes. MonkLayer ships an MCP server (monklayer-mcp) that lets agents like Claude Code watch a share link and process comments as a work queue.

Q: Can an AI assistant generate MonkLayer links for me programmatically?
A: Yes. POST to https://monklayer.app/api/{id} with { ops: [], url, width: 1440, expires_in: 2592000 } and the share link is https://monklayer.app/s/{id}. No auth, no SDK. See the "Programmatic link creation" section above.

## Contact

Email: hello@monklayer.app

## Optional

- [Full details](/llms-full.txt)