MCP servers / Playwright

Playwright MCP server: setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor

Playwright's MCP server lets your AI drive a real browser: open pages, click, type, fill forms, read the page structure and take screenshots. It is the quickest way to have the AI check that a change to a web page actually works.

It mostly reads the page as a structured "accessibility snapshot" rather than looking at pixels, which is what the server's own description recommends over screenshots.

Runs with

npx (Node.js)

Package

@playwright/mcp on npm

Needs

Node.js (for npx) and a supported browser on your machine.

Tools

25 (7 read-only, 18 can change things)

Source

microsoft/playwright-mcp

Last checked

2026-09-20 (server reported version 1.64.0-alpha-1789764292000)

Config for Playwright

Generated by the same code as the free builder, so it matches what you get there. Pick your client, then copy.

Claude Code

Save as .mcp.json in your project root. Claude Code asks you to approve it the first time.

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

Or add it from a terminal instead (single quotes work in bash, zsh and PowerShell; more on this command):

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

Claude Desktop

Merge into claude_desktop_config.json (Settings → Developer → Edit Config), then fully quit and restart Claude Desktop.

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

Cursor

Save as .cursor/mcp.json in your project, or ~/.cursor/mcp.json for all projects.

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

What it can do

These are all 25 tools the server reported when we started it and asked on 2026-09-20. The labels come from the hints each tool declares about itself.

• browser_close can change things
  Close the page
• browser_resize can change things
  Resize the browser window
• browser_console_messages read-only
  Returns all console messages
• browser_handle_dialog can change things
  Handle a dialog
• browser_emulate_media can change things
  Emulate CSS media features for the page, for example switch between the light and dark color scheme.
• browser_evaluate can change things
  Evaluate JavaScript expression on page or element
• browser_file_upload can change things
  Upload one or multiple files
• browser_drop can change things
  Drop files or MIME-typed data onto an element, as if dragged from outside the page.
• browser_find read-only
  Search the accessibility snapshot of the current page for text or a regular expression.
• browser_fill_form can change things
  Fill multiple form fields
• browser_press_key can change things
  Press a key on the keyboard
• browser_type can change things
  Type text into editable element
• browser_navigate can change things
  Navigate to a URL
• browser_navigate_back can change things
  Go back to the previous page in the history
• browser_network_requests read-only
  Returns a numbered list of network requests since loading the page.
• browser_network_request read-only
  Returns full details (headers and body) of a single network request, or a single part if `part` is set.
• browser_run_code_unsafe can change things
  Run a Playwright code snippet.
• browser_take_screenshot read-only
  Take a screenshot of the current page.
• browser_snapshot read-only
  Capture accessibility snapshot of the current page, this is better than screenshot
• browser_click can change things
  Perform click on a web page
• browser_drag can change things
  Perform drag and drop between two elements
• browser_hover can change things
  Hover over element on page
• browser_select_option can change things
  Select an option in a dropdown
• browser_tabs can change things
  List, create, close, or select a browser tab.
• browser_wait_for read-only
  Wait for text to appear or disappear or a specified time to pass

Watch out for

• Only 7 of its 25 tools are read-only. The rest click, type, navigate, upload files or run code in the page. Point it at sites you trust and at your own local app.
• Two tools run code: browser_evaluate runs JavaScript on the page, and browser_run_code_unsafe runs a Playwright code snippet. The server's own name for the second one includes "unsafe".
• By default it keeps a persistent browser profile on disk, so logins from one session are still there in the next. The README puts it under ms-playwright in your local app data folder. Add --isolated to keep the profile in memory only.
• The --allowed-origins option can list sites the browser may request, but the README warns it does not act as a security boundary and does not affect redirects.

Variations

Headless and isolated

No visible browser window, and nothing saved to disk between sessions. Good for automated checks and for keeping logins from lingering. We started the server with these flags to confirm it accepts them.

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

The same in Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Cursor.

Try asking

• “Open http://localhost:3000, click through the signup flow and tell me if anything looks broken.”
• “Take a screenshot of the pricing page on a phone-sized window.”
• “Fill in the contact form with test data and check what error messages appear.”

Related servers

• Fetch: Download a web page and convert it to readable text.
• Context7: Pulls up-to-date library docs into the conversation.