Playwright

You can run a lightweight Playwright MCP (Model Context Protocol) server to automate browser tasks through a simple, scalable API. It exposes core browsing capabilities—like navigation, DOM interactions, screenshots, and network inspection—in a way that lets you build higher-level automation and QA workflows without embedding Playwright directly in your client.

How to use

You connect to the MCP server from your client and issue commands that operate on a persistent browser context. Start with a local stdio server to keep everything self-contained, or run an HTTP transport if you prefer remote control. The server tracks open pages/tabs, lets you switch between them, and supports multiple pages, popups, and plugins that extend interactions across tabs.

Key capabilities you’ll use include navigating to URLs, interacting with page elements, querying for elements, collecting snapshots (HTML, screenshots, accessibility trees), and monitoring network activity. Outputs are returned in a raw, unmodified form from Playwright so you can post-process or feed them directly into tools and workflows.

How to install

Prerequisites: you need Python and a Python package manager, plus Playwright browsers installed.

# Install directly from source and install Playwright browsers
pip install git+https://github.com/alexrwilliam/playwright-mcp-server.git
playwright install

Additional setup and usage notes

Run the MCP server in stdio mode for local control or in http mode for remote control. In headed mode you can visually observe the browser.

If you prefer to run the server with a real browser channel, you can specify the channel and optionally a user data directory to preserve cookies and profile data.

Configuration and behavior notes

The server exposes a rich set of configuration options for response budgets, artifacts, and timeouts. You can tune how much inline data is returned, where large artifacts are stored, and how long artifacts are retained. You can also control how many elements are returned by element queries and how many nodes are included in accessibility snapshots.

Security and reliability considerations include limiting the size of inline responses, trimming overflow data, and using artifact previews to keep the main response compact while preserving access to full payloads when needed.

Troubleshooting and tips

If you encounter connectivity issues, verify the transport type you started with (stdio or http) and ensure the server process is running. For large responses, use artifact accessors to retrieve full payloads without overwhelming the client.

Available tools

navigate

Navigate to a URL. Returns the current page reference and state.

reload

Reload the current page to refresh its state.

go_back

Go back in the browser history.

go_forward

Go forward in the browser history.

get_current_url

Return the current page URL with parsed components.

wait_for_url

Wait for the URL to match a pattern within a timeout.

wait_for_load_state

Wait for the page to reach a specific load state such as domcontentloaded, load, or networkidle.

set_viewport_size

Set the browser viewport dimensions for the active page.

list_pages

List all open pages or tabs with identifiers, URLs, and titles.

switch_page

Switch the active context to a specific page by its identifier.

close_page

Close a specific page or tab.

wait_for_popup

Wait for a new popup or tab to open and capture its reference.

switch_to_latest_page

Switch to the most recently opened page.

click

Click an element matched by a selector.

type_text

Type text into an element matched by a selector.

fill

Fill an input field with a value.

clear_text

Clear the text from an input field.

select_option

Select an option in a dropdown or select element.

hover

Hover the mouse over an element.

scroll

Scroll within a page or element to specified coordinates.

press_key

Press a keyboard key in the page context.

check_checkbox

Check a checkbox element.

uncheck_checkbox

Uncheck a checkbox element.

upload_file

Upload a file to a file input element.

query_selector

Query for a single element using CSS, XPath, or Playwright locators with optional text caps.

query_selector_all

Query for all matching elements with optional caps.

query_selector_meta

Provide a quick metadata preview for an element.

is_visible

Check if an element is visible on the page.

is_enabled

Check if an element is enabled for interaction.

wait_for_element

Wait for an element to appear within a timeout.

get_element_bounding_box

Get an element's position and size.

get_element_attributes

Get all attributes of an element.

get_computed_style

Get a CSS computed style property for an element.

evaluate

Execute JavaScript in the page context and return results.

wait_for_network_idle

Wait for network activity to settle.

get_page_errors

Retrieve JavaScript errors from the page.

get_console_logs

Retrieve console logs from the page.

get_network_requests

Retrieve captured network requests with optional filtering.

get_network_responses

Retrieve captured network responses with optional filtering.

clear_network_logs

Clear all captured network logs.

intercept_route

Intercept and handle network requests with a custom action.

unroute_all

Remove all route interceptors.

wait_for_response

Wait for a specific network response to occur.

get_response_body

Extract the body of a network response.

get_html

Retrieve the page HTML content.

get_accessibility_snapshot

Generate an accessibility tree snapshot with optional filtering and node limits.

screenshot

Capture a screenshot of the page or a specific element and store as an artifact.

pdf

Generate a PDF of the current page and return artifact metadata.

set_extra_headers

Add custom HTTP headers to all requests.

set_user_agent

Change the browser User-Agent string.