MCPHIVE

Playwright MCP: Documentation

Updated:

Connection

  • npx @playwright/mcp@latest (stdio). Client configs for Claude/Cursor/VS Code are in the repo README.
  • Docker: docker run -i --rm mcr.microsoft.com/playwright/mcp.
  • Standalone HTTP server: npx @playwright/mcp@latest --port 8931.
  • Flags: --browser (chromium/firefox/webkit/msedge), --headless, --viewport-size, --device, --isolated, --proxy-server.

Tools (core set)

  • browser_navigate, browser_navigate_back, browser_click, browser_type, browser_hover, browser_drag, browser_select_option — navigation and input.
  • browser_fill_form — fill multiple form fields in one call.
  • browser_snapshot — accessibility-tree snapshot of the page (the primary "vision" tool, pixel-free).
  • browser_take_screenshot, browser_pdf_save — visual screenshot and PDF export.
  • browser_console_messages, browser_network_requests, browser_network_request — console output and network requests.
  • browser_tabs, browser_file_upload, browser_handle_dialog, browser_wait_for — tabs, file uploads, dialogs, waiting on conditions.
  • browser_evaluate, browser_run_code_unsafe — run JS/Playwright code on the page.

Optional capability sets (--caps=...)

  • vision — coordinate-based clicks (browser_mouse_click_xy etc.) instead of the accessibility tree.
  • pdf — save the page as PDF.
  • storage — cookies, localStorage, sessionStorage, session save/restore.
  • network — mock network responses (browser_route), offline mode.
  • devtools — tracing, video recording, on-page annotations.
  • testing — locator generation and visibility/value assertions.

Agent flow

Verifying your own UI, e2e runs, filling forms on sites without an API, scraping interactive pages.

Limits

The server itself is free, but it drives a real local browser (Chromium/Firefox/WebKit/Edge), so it needs CPU/memory on the machine running the MCP client.