Playwright MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that provides browser automation capabilities using Playwright. This server enables LLMs to interact with web pages through structured accessibility snapshots, bypassing the need for screenshots or visually-tuned models. Its 16 documented tools cover browser, navigate, network. It runs locally over stdio via the published package.

People connecting browser automation tools to Claude, Cursor, VS Code, or another MCP client. The project is written in TypeScript.

VERIFIED ACTIVE

LAST COMMIT 2026-08-21 · ★ 36,436 · #1 OF 196 MAINTAINED BROWSER AUTOMATION · VERIFIED 2026-08-25

Apache-2.0 · TypeScript servers · how we verify → /methodology

01 · Install Playwright MCP

Claude Code

claude mcp add microsoft-playwright-mcp -- npx -y @playwright/mcp

Claude Desktop / Cursor / VS Code - add to config

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

Same JSON for Cursor. For VS Code, rename the top-level key from `mcpServers` to `servers`.

Using another client? Same JSON, different key

Claude Desktop · mcpServers

Cursor · mcpServers

VS Code · servers

Windsurf · mcpServers

Zed · context_servers

Cline · mcpServers

Roo Code · mcpServers

Continue · mcpServers

LibreChat · mcpServers

Gemini CLI · mcpServers

Codex CLI · mcp_servers

Full setup guides: every client.

02 · Evidence

Security posture

What to check before giving this server access to your agent - from the registry, GitHub, and our own probes. We don't score safety; we show what's verifiable.

runs as local process (stdio) - runs on your machine with your user's permissions

license Apache-2.0 - declared in the repository

npm package @playwright/mcp - the @playwright scope differs from the repo owner (microsoft); confirm it's the project's official package

registry namespace io.github.microsoft is GitHub-verified and matches the repo owner

03 · What Playwright MCP can do

Prose above is summarized from the project's README and registry record - no invented capabilities.

What you can build

With this server connected, an agent can click on a web page, close the page, read all console messages, and upload one or multiple files.

The 16 tools it gives your agent

Extracted from the project's README - what Playwright MCP lets an agent do.

browser_click: - Perform click on a web page
browser_close: - Close the page
browser_console_messages: - Returns all console messages
browser_drag: - Perform drag and drop between two elements
browser_drop: - Drop files or MIME-typed data onto an element, as if dragged from outside the page. At least one of "paths" or "data" must be provided.
browser_evaluate: - Evaluate JavaScript expression on page or element
browser_file_upload: - Upload one or multiple files
browser_fill_form: - Fill multiple form fields
browser_find: - Search the accessibility snapshot of the current page for text or a regular expression. Returns matching snapshot nodes with a few lines of surrounding context
browser_handle_dialog: - Handle a dialog
browser_hover: - Hover over element on page
browser_navigate: - Navigate to a URL

show all 16 tools

browser_navigate_back: - Go back to the previous page in the history
browser_network_request: - Returns full details (headers and body) of a single network request, or a single part if part is set. Use the number from browser_network_requests.
browser_network_requests: - Returns a numbered list of network requests since loading the page. Use browser_network_request with the number to get full details.
browser_press_key: - Press a key on the keyboard

Latest releases

v0.0.79 · 2026-08-06

What's New · Tool Improvements · browser_take_screenshot - WebP format - New type option to pick the image format (png, jpeg or webp); when unset, the format is inferred from the filename extension (#41152) · --codegen…

v0.0.78 · 2026-07-09

What's New · New Tools · browser_find - Search the accessibility snapshot of the current page for text or a regular expression. Returns matching snapshot nodes with a few lines of surrounding context (like search…

v0.0.77 · 2026-06-29

What's New · Tool Improvements · browser_take_screenshot - scale option - Choose between CSS-pixel screenshots (smaller, device-consistent) and device-pixel screenshots (high resolution) (#41465) · Configurable…

In the wild · how people use Playwright MCP

Public posts that name a concrete use case. Linked source posts - not MCPhq reviews, ratings, or endorsements.

@simonw · 2025-07-02 · Claude Code + real browser control

“Now Claude Code can use a Chrome browser directly! Here's my TIL: Using Playwright MCP with Claude Code.”

view post on X ↗
@debs_obrien · 2025-07-18 · Manual QA without reading source

“Manual Testing with AI - Used Playwright MCP + a simple prompt file to test my site. no source code. Navigated to the podcast page.”

view post on X ↗
@debs_obrien · 2025-07-15 · One-click VS Code install

“it is super easy to install the Playwright MCP with the new VS Code settings. No CLI, No JSON, just click install.”

view post on X ↗

04 · Who maintains Playwright MCP

Playwright MCP is maintained by microsoft. We track 9 MCP servers from microsoft - 9 actively maintained, 43,350 combined GitHub stars, oldest repo from Mar 2025. Full record: all servers from microsoft.

05 · Facts

repository: github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp
category: browser automation - ranked #1 of 196 actively-maintained browser automation servers as of 2026-08-25.
release cadence: 4 releases in the last 90 days (latest 2026-08-06)
registry: io.github.microsoft/playwright-mcp (active, first published 2026-05-01 · 8 versions)
packages: npm:@playwright/mcp

06 · Playwright MCP FAQ

Is Playwright MCP still maintained?

Yes - as of 2026-08-25, its last commit was 2026-08-21 and it shipped 4 releases in the last 90 days. We re-verify nightly.

What can Playwright MCP do?

With this server connected, an agent can click on a web page, close the page, read all console messages, and upload one or multiple files.

How do I install Playwright MCP?

Run `npx -y @playwright/mcp`. You can also paste the ready-made client config above.

Does Playwright MCP run locally?

Yes - it's a stdio server: it runs on your machine (via npx) with your user's permissions. Your data stays local unless the server itself calls external APIs.

07 · Alternatives to Playwright MCP

Alternatives to Playwright MCP

Maintained browser automation servers if Playwright MCP isn't the fit.

Pairs well with

Servers that cover what Playwright MCP doesn't - only shown when the pairing reason fits the companion.

head to head · Chrome DevTools MCP vs Playwright MCP · Agent Device (callstack) vs Playwright MCP · Playwright MCP vs Argent

More browser automation MCP servers · App Publish · Cws · Acrawl · Mobai MCP

More TypeScript MCP servers · Microsoft Learn MCP · Midplane · Aimeat · Kubeview · Swsd · see all