Playwright MCP

Name: Playwright MCP
Author: Microsoft

Microsoft's Playwright server for driving Chrome, Firefox, WebKit or Edge from an MCP client

Official · Microsoft TypeScript Local · stdio Browser automation Testing

GitHub npm Website

129 popularity score ★ 39k ↓ 11M/wk

Connect your client

Local (npm)

Add in one click

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio Add to Goose

Opens the app, which asks before it adds the server.

Or add it by command or config

Claude CodeTerminal

claude mcp add playwright -- npx @playwright/mcp@latest

Claude Desktopclaude_desktop_config.json

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

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json

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

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

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

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.playwright]
command = "npx"
args = ["@playwright/mcp@latest"]

Gemini CLITerminal

gemini mcp add --scope user playwright npx -- @playwright/mcp@latest

Local (container)

Add in one click

Add to Cursor Add to VS Code Add to LM Studio Add to Goose

Opens the app, which asks before it adds the server.

Or add it by command or config

Claude CodeTerminal

claude mcp add playwright -- docker run -i --rm --init --pull=always mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp

Claude Desktopclaude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--init",
        "--pull=always",
        "mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor~/.cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--init",
        "--pull=always",
        "mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

VS Code.vscode/mcp.json

{
  "servers": {
    "playwright": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "docker",
      "args": [
        "run",
        "-i",
        "--rm",
        "--init",
        "--pull=always",
        "mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Codex~/.codex/config.toml

[mcp_servers.playwright]
command = "docker"
args = ["run", "-i", "--rm", "--init", "--pull=always", "mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp"]

Gemini CLITerminal

gemini mcp add --scope user playwright docker -- run -i --rm --init --pull=always mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp

Settings 12

Set together: http
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER`	Optional: Browser or channel to use: chrome, firefox, webkit or msedge (same as --browser). Default `chrome`.
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS`	Optional: Run without a window (same as --headless). When unset it is headed, except on Linux with no DISPLAY, where it runs headless.
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS`	Optional: Comma-separated tool groups to add: network, storage, devtools, vision, pdf, testing, config (same as --caps).
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ISOLATED`	Optional: Keep the browser profile in memory instead of on disk (same as --isolated). Cannot be combined with a user data directory.
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_DATA_DIR`	Optional: Folder for the persistent browser profile (same as --user-data-dir).
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	Optional: Semicolon-separated origins the browser may request. All are allowed when unset, and redirects are not covered.
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOW_UNRESTRICTED_FILE_ACCESS`	Optional: Allow files outside the workspace roots and any file:// URL (same as --allow-unrestricted-file-access).
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_IGNORE_ROOTS`	Optional: Skip asking the client for workspace roots and use the working directory as the root (same as --ignore-roots).
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_REDACT_URL_PARAMS`	Optional: Comma-separated query or fragment parameter names, such as access_token, whose values are shown as <redacted> in tool output.
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONFIG`	Optional: Path to a JSON configuration file (same as --config).
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PORT`	Optional: Port for serving over HTTP instead of stdio (same as --port).
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS`	Optional: Comma-separated hosts the HTTP server answers for. Defaults to localhost, loopback addresses and the --host value; * turns the check off.

In a container, a setting goes in with -e NAME=value after docker run.

What it does

Playwright MCP is Microsoft's browser automation server built on Playwright. The model works from accessibility snapshots of the page rather than pixels, so it can click, type, fill forms, answer dialogs, switch tabs and read console output or network traffic with no vision model involved. Screenshots are still there when you want to look at a page.

More tools come in through --caps. With network you get request mocking and an offline switch. Storage adds cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage and saved storage state, and devtools brings tracing, video, highlights and recording a person's clicks as Playwright code. Then there are coordinate mouse control (vision), PDF export (pdf), locator and assertion helpers for tests (testing), and a tool that prints the resolved settings (config). Counting every opt-in group it has 72 tools, and 25 of them are on without any --caps.

It runs on your machine under Node.js 18 or later. With no browser named it opens the installed Google Chrome channel, and it keeps a persistent profile so logins survive between sessions. Use --isolated for an in-memory profile, or --extension to attach to a Chrome or Edge you already have open. The README calls it headed by default, but the config code turns headless on when it runs on Linux with no DISPLAY set. Actions time out after 5 seconds and navigations after 60 unless you change the timeout settings. Passing --port starts it as an HTTP server, and there is a Docker image that runs headless Chromium only.

The maintainers point coding agents toward the separate Playwright CLI with skills, which costs fewer tokens. They keep this server for longer agent loops that hold on to browser state.

What it needs

Runtime	Node.js 18+
Runs on	macOS, Windows, Linux
Also	Google Chrome installed for the default chrome channel, or another browser picked with --browser Playwright Extension in Chrome or Edge, only for --extension

Limits

Limit Most tools beyond the 25 core ones only appear when their group is named in --caps (network, storage, devtools, vision, pdf, testing, config).
Platform The Docker image runs headless Chromium only.
Limit File access stays inside the client's workspace roots, or the working directory when there are none, unless --allow-unrestricted-file-access is set.
Not covered --allowed-origins and --blocked-origins filter browser requests but do not cover redirects, and the README says they are not a security boundary.
Limit Headed runs need a display. On a machine without one, start it with --port from a session that has DISPLAY, or run headless.
Limit Some clients advertise workspace roots but cannot answer the request for them. --ignore-roots makes it use the working directory instead.

Who it suits

A good fit for an agent that has to work through real web pages step by step: testing a flow, filling forms, checking what a page shows, or capturing a trace or video of a run. It comes from the Playwright team, runs locally and needs no account. Since it can click and submit as you on any site the browser can open, the persistent profile matters. Use --isolated or a separate user data directory when the agent should not carry your logins. Coding agents that only need quick browser checks may spend fewer tokens with Playwright CLI and skills, which the README recommends for that case.

Tools 60 of 72

16 only read, 39 change things, 5 can delete or overwrite.

browser_click changes: Clicks an element picked from the page snapshot
browser_close changes: Closes the current page
browser_console_messages: Returns the console messages the page has logged
browser_drag changes: Drags one element onto another
browser_drop changes: Drops files or typed data onto an element as if dragged in from outside the page
browser_emulate_media changes: Overrides CSS media features such as light or dark colour scheme
browser_evaluate changes: Runs a JavaScript expression in the page or against one element
browser_file_upload changes: Uploads one or more files to a file chooser
browser_fill_form changes: Fills several form fields in one call
browser_find: Searches the page snapshot for text or a regex and returns matching nodes with context
browser_handle_dialog changes: Accepts or dismisses an alert, confirm or prompt dialog
browser_hover changes: Moves the pointer over an element
browser_navigate changes: Opens a URL in the current tab
browser_navigate_back changes: Goes back one step in the tab's history
browser_network_request: Shows headers and body of one numbered request from the request list
browser_network_requests: Lists the requests made since the page loaded, numbered
browser_press_key changes: Presses a single keyboard key
browser_resize changes: Changes the browser window size
browser_run_code_unsafe changes: Runs a Playwright code snippet inside the server process, with full code execution rights
browser_select_option changes: Picks one or more options in a dropdown
browser_snapshot: Returns the accessibility snapshot of the page that other tools use to target elements
browser_take_screenshot: Captures an image of the page or an element, for viewing only
browser_type changes: Types text into an editable element
browser_wait_for: Waits for text to show up or go away, or for a set time
browser_tabs changes: Lists, opens, closes or switches tabs
browser_network_state_set changes: Puts the browser offline or back online (network cap)
browser_route changes: Mocks responses for requests that match a URL pattern (network cap)
browser_route_list: Shows the mock routes in force (network cap)
browser_unroute changes: Removes mock routes by pattern, or all of them (network cap)
browser_cookie_clear deletes: Deletes every cookie in the browser context (storage cap)
browser_cookie_delete deletes: Deletes one cookie (storage cap)
browser_cookie_get: Reads one cookie by name (storage cap)
browser_cookie_list: Lists cookies, optionally for one domain or path (storage cap)
browser_cookie_set changes: Sets a cookie with its domain, path, expiry and flags (storage cap)
browser_localstorage_list: Lists localStorage keys and values (storage cap)
browser_localstorage_get: Reads one localStorage item (storage cap)
browser_localstorage_set changes: Writes a localStorage item (storage cap)
browser_localstorage_delete deletes: Removes one localStorage item (storage cap)
browser_localstorage_clear deletes: Empties localStorage (storage cap)
browser_set_storage_state deletes: Replaces cookies and localStorage with a saved state file, wiping what was there (storage cap)
browser_storage_state changes: Saves cookies and localStorage to a file for reuse (storage cap)
browser_annotate: Opens the Playwright Dashboard so a person can mark up the page, then returns the marks with a screenshot and snapshot (devtools cap)
browser_highlight changes: Draws a lasting highlight around an element (devtools cap)
browser_resume changes: Continues a paused script, optionally one step at a time (devtools cap)
browser_start_recording changes: Starts turning what a person does in the browser into Playwright code (devtools cap)
browser_stop_recording: Ends the recording and returns the generated Playwright code (devtools cap)
browser_start_tracing changes: Starts a Playwright trace (devtools cap)
browser_stop_tracing changes: Stops the trace and saves it (devtools cap)
browser_start_video changes: Starts recording video of the page (devtools cap)
browser_stop_video changes: Stops the video and saves it (devtools cap)
browser_video_chapter changes: Adds a chapter card to the video being recorded (devtools cap)
browser_mouse_click_xy changes: Clicks at x and y coordinates (vision cap)
browser_mouse_down changes: Presses a mouse button down (vision cap)
browser_mouse_drag_xy changes: Drags with the left button to a coordinate (vision cap)
browser_mouse_move_xy changes: Moves the mouse to a coordinate (vision cap)
browser_mouse_up changes: Releases a mouse button (vision cap)
browser_mouse_wheel changes: Scrolls with the mouse wheel (vision cap)
browser_pdf_save changes: Saves the page as a PDF file (pdf cap)
browser_generate_locator: Produces a Playwright locator for an element, for use in tests (testing cap)
browser_verify_element_visible: Checks that an element is visible (testing cap)

Popularity

129 popularity score, on our list (the bar is 36)

★ 39k ↓ 11M/wk

GitHub stars	39,293	55.1 points
Stars in 30 days	+1,397	10 points
npm downloads, last week	10,745,786	56.2 points
Official server	Yes	8 points

Measured 2026-11-07. How the score works.

Where it is published

Code	microsoft/playwright-mcp ★ 39k
npm	@playwright/mcp 0.0.84, 2026-10-31, the one the command runs
Container	`mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp`

What it can reach

Runs	On your machine
Reaches	Drives a browser, The internet, Files on your machine, Your code
Changes things	Yes: it can write, send, create or delete
Sign-in	None
Licence	Apache-2.0 (npm)
Last code change	2026-11-04

Runs on your machine and drives a real browser that can open any site and act there as you: clicking, typing, submitting forms, uploading files. The README says the server is not a security boundary, and neither are the origin allow and block lists, which also miss redirects. browser_run_code_unsafe runs code in the server process with the rights of your user. browser_evaluate runs JavaScript in the page. The profile is persistent by default, so cookies and logged-in sessions stay on disk. File access is held to workspace roots unless --allow-unrestricted-file-access is set. In HTTP mode it binds to localhost and checks the Host header unless --host or --allowed-hosts widen that. --redact-url-params hides named token values from tool output. No account or key is needed.

Over time

GitHub stars 39k +1.4k (+4 %)

39k38k

7 Oct 20267 Nov 2026

npm downloads a week 11M +10M (+1586 %)

11M618k

20 Oct 20257 Nov 2026

Before the site measured it, read from npm's daily download counts.

Popularity score 129 +11 (+9 %)

129115

7 Oct 20267 Nov 2026

What is rising across the directory

Sources

Page checked 2026-11-06.

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MarkdownREADME.md

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Connect your client

Add in one click

Or add it by command or config

Add in one click

Or add it by command or config

Settings 12

What it does

What it needs

Limits

Who it suits

Tools 60 of 72

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