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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.

Key Features

Requirements

Getting started

First, install the Playwright MCP server with your client.

Standard config works in most of the tools:

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

Install in VS Code Install in VS Code Insiders

Claude Code

Use the Claude Code CLI to add the Playwright MCP server:

claude mcp add playwright npx @playwright/mcp@latest
Claude Desktop

Follow the MCP install guide, use the standard config above.

Codex

Create or edit the configuration file ~/.codex/config.toml and add:

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

For more information, see the Codex MCP documentation.

Cursor

Click the button to install:

Install in Cursor

Or install manually:

Go to Cursor Settings -> MCP -> Add new MCP Server. Name to your liking, use command type with the command npx @playwright/mcp@latest. You can also verify config or add command like arguments via clicking Edit.

Gemini CLI

Follow the MCP install guide, use the standard config above.

Goose

Click the button to install:

Install in Goose

Or install manually:

Go to Advanced settings -> Extensions -> Add custom extension. Name to your liking, use type STDIO, and set the command to npx @playwright/mcp. Click "Add Extension".

LM Studio

Click the button to install:

Add MCP Server playwright to LM Studio

Or install manually:

Go to Program in the right sidebar -> Install -> Edit mcp.json. Use the standard config above.

opencode

Follow the MCP Servers documentation. For example in ~/.config/opencode/opencode.json:

{
  "$schema": "https://opencode.ai/config.json",
  "mcp": {
    "playwright": {
      "type": "local",
      "command": [
        "npx",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ],
      "enabled": true
    }
  }
}

Qodo Gen

Open Qodo Gen chat panel in VSCode or IntelliJ → Connect more tools → + Add new MCP → Paste the standard config above.

Click Save.

VS Code

Click the button to install:

Install in VS Code Install in VS Code Insiders

Or install manually:

Follow the MCP install guide, use the standard config above. You can also install the Playwright MCP server using the VS Code CLI:

# For VS Code
code --add-mcp '{"name":"playwright","command":"npx","args":["@playwright/mcp@latest"]}'

After installation, the Playwright MCP server will be available for use with your GitHub Copilot agent in VS Code.

Windsurf

Follow Windsurf MCP documentation. Use the standard config above.

Configuration

Playwright MCP server supports following arguments. They can be provided in the JSON configuration above, as a part of the "args" list:

> npx @playwright/mcp@latest --help
  --allowed-origins <origins>     semicolon-separated list of origins to allow
                                  the browser to request. Default is to allow
                                  all.
  --blocked-origins <origins>     semicolon-separated list of origins to block
                                  the browser from requesting. Blocklist is
                                  evaluated before allowlist. If used without
                                  the allowlist, requests not matching the
                                  blocklist are still allowed.
  --block-service-workers         block service workers
  --browser <browser>             browser or chrome channel to use, possible
                                  values: chrome, firefox, webkit, msedge.
  --caps <caps>                   comma-separated list of additional
                                  capabilities to enable, possible values:
                                  vision, pdf.
  --cdp-endpoint <endpoint>       CDP endpoint to connect to.
  --cdp-header <headers...>       CDP headers to send with the connect request,
                                  multiple can be specified.
  --config <path>                 path to the configuration file.
  --device <device>               device to emulate, for example: "iPhone 15"
  --executable-path <path>        path to the browser executable.
  --extension                     Connect to a running browser instance
                                  (Edge/Chrome only). Requires the "Playwright
                                  MCP Bridge" browser extension to be installed.
  --headless                      run browser in headless mode, headed by
                                  default
  --host <host>                   host to bind server to. Default is localhost.
                                  Use 0.0.0.0 to bind to all interfaces.
  --ignore-https-errors           ignore https errors
  --isolated                      keep the browser profile in memory, do not
                                  save it to disk.
  --image-responses <mode>        whether to send image responses to the client.
                                  Can be "allow" or "omit", Defaults to "allow".
  --no-sandbox                    disable the sandbox for all process types that
                                  are normally sandboxed.
  --output-dir <path>             path to the directory for output files.
  --port <port>                   port to listen on for SSE transport.
  --proxy-bypass <bypass>         comma-separated domains to bypass proxy, for
                                  example ".com,chromium.org,.domain.com"
  --proxy-server <proxy>          specify proxy server, for example
                                  "http://myproxy:3128" or
                                  "socks5://myproxy:8080"
  --save-session                  Whether to save the Playwright MCP session
                                  into the output directory.
  --save-trace                    Whether to save the Playwright Trace of the
                                  session into the output directory.
  --secrets <path>                path to a file containing secrets in the
                                  dotenv format
  --storage-state <path>          path to the storage state file for isolated
                                  sessions.
  --timeout-action <timeout>      specify action timeout in milliseconds,
                                  defaults to 5000ms
  --timeout-navigation <timeout>  specify navigation timeout in milliseconds,
                                  defaults to 60000ms
  --user-agent <ua string>        specify user agent string
  --user-data-dir <path>          path to the user data directory. If not
                                  specified, a temporary directory will be
                                  created.
  --viewport-size <size>          specify browser viewport size in pixels, for
                                  example "1280, 720"

User profile

You can run Playwright MCP with persistent profile like a regular browser (default), in isolated contexts for testing sessions, or connect to your existing browser using the browser extension.

Persistent profile

All the logged in information will be stored in the persistent profile, you can delete it between sessions if you'd like to clear the offline state. Persistent profile is located at the following locations and you can override it with the --user-data-dir argument.

# Windows
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\mcp-{channel}-profile

# macOS
- ~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright/mcp-{channel}-profile

# Linux
- ~/.cache/ms-playwright/mcp-{channel}-profile

Isolated

In the isolated mode, each session is started in the isolated profile. Every time you ask MCP to close the browser, the session is closed and all the storage state for this session is lost. You can provide initial storage state to the browser via the config's contextOptions or via the --storage-state argument. Learn more about the storage state here.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@playwright/mcp@latest",
        "--isolated",
        "--storage-state={path/to/storage.json}"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Browser Extension

The Playwright MCP Chrome Extension allows you to connect to existing browser tabs and leverage your logged-in sessions and browser state. See extension/README.md for installation and setup instructions.

Configuration file

The Playwright MCP server can be configured using a JSON configuration file. You can specify the configuration file using the --config command line option:

npx @playwright/mcp@latest --config path/to/config.json
Configuration file schema
{
  // Browser configuration
  browser?: {
    // Browser type to use (chromium, firefox, or webkit)
    browserName?: 'chromium' | 'firefox' | 'webkit';

    // Keep the browser profile in memory, do not save it to disk.
    isolated?: boolean;

    // Path to user data directory for browser profile persistence
    userDataDir?: string;

    // Browser launch options (see Playwright docs)
    // @see https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-browsertype#browser-type-launch
    launchOptions?: {
      channel?: string;        // Browser channel (e.g. 'chrome')
      headless?: boolean;      // Run in headless mode
      executablePath?: string; // Path to browser executable
      // ... other Playwright launch options
    };

    // Browser context options
    // @see https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-browser#browser-new-context
    contextOptions?: {
      viewport?: { width: number, height: number };
      // ... other Playwright context options
    };

    // CDP endpoint for connecting to existing browser
    cdpEndpoint?: string;

    // Remote Playwright server endpoint
    remoteEndpoint?: string;
  },

  // Server configuration
  server?: {
    port?: number;  // Port to listen on
    host?: string;  // Host to bind to (default: localhost)
  },

  // List of additional capabilities
  capabilities?: Array<
    'tabs' |    // Tab management
    'install' | // Browser installation
    'pdf' |     // PDF generation
    'vision' |  // Coordinate-based interactions
  >;

  // Directory for output files
  outputDir?: string;

  // Network configuration
  network?: {
    // List of origins to allow the browser to request. Default is to allow all. Origins matching both `allowedOrigins` and `blockedOrigins` will be blocked.
    allowedOrigins?: string[];

    // List of origins to block the browser to request. Origins matching both `allowedOrigins` and `blockedOrigins` will be blocked.
    blockedOrigins?: string[];
  };
 
  /**
   * Whether to send image responses to the client. Can be "allow" or "omit". 
   * Defaults to "allow".
   */
  imageResponses?: 'allow' | 'omit';
}

Standalone MCP server

When running headed browser on system w/o display or from worker processes of the IDEs, run the MCP server from environment with the DISPLAY and pass the --port flag to enable HTTP transport.

npx @playwright/mcp@latest --port 8931

And then in MCP client config, set the url to the HTTP endpoint:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "url": "http://localhost:8931/mcp"
    }
  }
}
Docker

NOTE: The Docker implementation only supports headless chromium at the moment.

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

You can build the Docker image yourself.

docker build -t mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp .
Programmatic usage
import http from 'http';

import { createConnection } from '@playwright/mcp';
import { SSEServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/sse.js';

http.createServer(async (req, res) => {
  // ...

  // Creates a headless Playwright MCP server with SSE transport
  const connection = await createConnection({ browser: { launchOptions: { headless: true } } });
  const transport = new SSEServerTransport('/messages', res);
  await connection.sever.connect(transport);

  // ...
});

Tools

Core automation
Tab management
Browser installation
Coordinate-based (opt-in via --caps=vision)
PDF generation (opt-in via --caps=pdf)
Verify (opt-in via --caps=verify)
Tracing (opt-in via --caps=tracing)

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