🔗 Official Repository
github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcpAlways check the official repository for the latest setup instructions and license.
What is it?
Official Microsoft Playwright MCP server, enabling LLMs to interact with web pages through structured accessibility snapshots — is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server enabling AI applications like Claude and Cursor to securely access browser automation capabilities through the open protocol.
Why microsoft/playwright-mcp?
Playwright MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that provides browser automation capabilities to LLMs via Playwright. Instead of relying on screenshots or vision-based models, it uses Playwright's structured accessibility snapshots for fast, deterministic web interaction. This allows AI clients and autonomous agents to execute long-running workflows, exploratory automation, and self-healing tests with persistent browser state.
Common Use Cases
- Executing exploratory web automation and navigation with persistent browser context
- Running self-healing automated web tests using structured page accessibility trees
- Enabling LLMs to interact deterministically with web forms and page elements without vision models
Quick Install (Claude Desktop)
{
"mcpServers": {
"playwright-mcp": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "microsoft/playwright-mcp"]
}
}
}Add to your Claude Desktop config file after installing requirements per the repo instructions.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Playwright MCP interact with web pages without using vision models?
It utilizes Playwright's structured accessibility tree snapshots rather than pixel-based screenshots, operating purely on structured data.
What is the key difference between Playwright MCP and Playwright CLI?
Playwright CLI is token-efficient for coding agents using short commands, whereas Playwright MCP supports persistent state and rich introspection for complex agentic workflows.
What system requirements are needed to run Playwright MCP?
You need Node.js version 18 or newer, along with a supported MCP client such as VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf, or Claude Desktop.