MCP server · Browser automation

Playwright MCP server

Lets an assistant drive a real browser through Playwright, reading pages as accessibility snapshots instead of screenshots.

Maintainer: Microsoft (official)
Licence: Apache-2.0
Runs: Locally (npx)
Sign-in: None
Registry version: 0.0.82 (updated 2026-09-18)
Last activity: 2026-10-08
Source: github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp

Overview

What it does

Playwright MCP is Microsoft’s browser automation server built on Playwright. Instead of sending screenshots, it gives the model a structured accessibility snapshot of the page, so it can click, type and navigate by element reference without a vision model. It runs locally through npx and opens Chrome, Firefox, WebKit or Edge, headed by default or headless with a flag.

It suits exploratory testing, filling forms, checking a page after a change and other long browser sessions where keeping state matters. By default it uses a persistent profile, so logins survive between sessions; --isolated keeps the profile in memory and --storage-state loads cookies from a file. Extra tool groups are opt-in with --caps, including network routing, storage, DevTools tracing and video, coordinate-based mouse control, PDF export and test assertions. For coding agents, the README points to Playwright CLI with skills as a lighter option that uses fewer tokens.

Tools

What the assistant can do

Navigate, click, type, hover, drag, select options and press keys by element reference
Take accessibility snapshots and screenshots, and read console messages and network requests
Fill forms, upload files, handle dialogs and manage tabs
Opt-in network routing and cookie or local storage control
Opt-in tracing, video recording, PDF export and test assertions
Opt-in coordinate-based mouse control for vision models

Install

Install Playwright MCP server in your app

You need:

Node.js 18 or newer
An MCP client

Run in your project. --scope local keeps the servers private to you in this project; use user for every project.

Terminal

claude mcp add --scope local playwright -- npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest

Native Windows (PowerShell)

claude mcp add --scope local playwright -- cmd /c npx -y '@playwright/mcp@latest'

Project root. Commit it to share the servers with your team; each person sets the variables in their own shell.

.mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

On native Windows (not WSL), the reference servers’ READMEs start npx through `cmd /c`: if a server won’t start, use "command": "cmd" with "args": ["/c", "npx", …].

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config). Restart Claude after saving.

claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

In your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for every project.

mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

In your workspace. VS Code asks for each secret the first time a server starts and stores it securely.

mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "playwright": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

macOS/Linux: ~/.config/devin/mcp_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\devin\mcp_config.json. Read by the default Devin Local agent and by the legacy Cascade agent.

mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Want it alongside other servers? Open Playwright MCP in the MCP config generator and add the rest; it writes one file per app. The snippets follow the setup in the server’s README, checked on 2026-10-14.

Before you install

The README states it is not a security boundary; browser_run_code_unsafe runs arbitrary JavaScript in the server process and is described as RCE-equivalent.
The default persistent profile keeps logins and cookies on disk; use --isolated for throwaway sessions.
File access is limited to workspace roots unless you pass --allow-unrestricted-file-access; origin allow and block lists are not a security boundary.
A local MCP server runs with your user account’s permissions. Install it only from the source linked above. See how to choose a safe server.

Why it’s listed

Why we list it

The most widely used browser automation server, maintained by the Playwright team with frequent releases.

All MCP servers MCP config generator Guide: MCP servers in Claude Code Guide: what is MCP?

What it does

What the assistant can do

Install Playwright MCP server in your app

Before you install

Why we list it

More MCP servers