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Playwright MCP Server 🎭

🚀 Active Fork of executeautomation/mcp-playwright
This repository is an actively maintained continuation of the original MCP Playwright server: 👉 https://github.com/executeautomation/mcp-playwright

A Model Context Protocol server that provides browser automation capabilities using Playwright. This server enables LLMs to interact with web pages, take screenshots, generate test code, web scraps the page and execute JavaScript in a real browser environment. It is optimized for QA and E2E automation: screenshots, logs, assertions, API testing, plus full MCP HTTP/gateway support — built on the same Playwright foundations, complementary to Microsoft’s server.

Screenshot

Documentation | API reference

Installation

You can install the package using either npm, mcp-get, or Smithery:

Using npm:

npm install -g @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server

Using mcp-get:

npx @michaellatman/mcp-get@latest install @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server

Using Smithery

To install Playwright MCP for Claude Desktop automatically via Smithery:

npx @smithery/cli install @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server --client claude

Installation in VS Code

Install the Playwright MCP server in VS Code using one of these buttons:

Alternatively, you can install the Playwright MCP server using the VS Code CLI:

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

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

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

Configuration to use Playwright Server

Here's the Claude Desktop configuration to use the Playwright server:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server"]
    }
  }
}

Streamable HTTP mode

The server supports the MCP Streamable HTTP transport so it can run behind gateways.

• Start in HTTP mode (defaults to port 8000 and path /mcp):

  npx @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server --http

• Override the port or path:

  npx @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server --http --port 3000 --path /custom-mcp

How files are shared in HTTP mode

• Generated artifacts (screenshots, PDFs, console logs, generated tests) are written into /data/<session>/<resourceId>.<ext> on the server.
• Each Streamable HTTP session gets its own isolated resource namespace; links are only valid for that session and expire after the configured TTL (--resource-ttl, default 600s). Session close or TTL expiry removes the files and their directories.
• Tool results return resourceLinks pointing to download URLs:
  {scheme}://{host}:{port}{path}/resources/{sessionId}/{resourceId}/{filename}
  (host from --host-name, scheme from --insecure, path from --path, default /mcp).
• In stdio mode, resource linking is disabled; tools only emit local paths.

This scope-based sharing prevents content leakage between sessions/clients while still giving HTTP clients and gateways stable download URIs.

Uploads in HTTP mode

• The playwright_upload_file tool accepts a local filePath only in stdio mode. In HTTP mode, you must first upload the file and pass uploadResourceUri.
• Get the session-scoped upload URL by calling construct_upload_url (HTTP mode only). It returns a POST multipart endpoint like {path}/uploads/{sessionId}; the session ID is embedded in the URL so no header is usually needed.
• Upload with multipart/form-data (field file). On success, the server responds with a session-scoped resourceUri such as mcp-uploads://<session>/<id>.
• Then call playwright_upload_file with uploadResourceUri to attach the uploaded file to the file input. Uploads are isolated per session/client like other resources.
• Agents must be able to run terminal/CLI commands (curl on Linux/macOS, Invoke-WebRequest/iwr on Windows) to upload the file before calling playwright_upload_file in HTTP mode.
• Stdio mode continues to use local filePath; HTTP mode prefers uploaded resources.

Client Configuration

Claude Desktop / VS Code (mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "transport": {
        "type": "http",
        "url": "http://localhost:8000/mcp"
      }
    }
  }
}

Adjust url to match your host/port/path and use https if terminated by a proxy.

CLI flags

• --http: Enable Streamable HTTP transport (default: off; stdio is used when omitted).
• --port <number>: HTTP port (default: 8000, only relevant when --http is set).
• --path <path>: Base HTTP path (default: /mcp, only relevant when --http is set).
• --host-name <hostname>: Hostname used in generated download URLs (default: system hostname, only relevant when --http is set).
• --listen <address>: Bind address for the HTTP server (default: 0.0.0.0, only relevant when --http is set).
• --insecure: Use http scheme for download links; omit to use https (only relevant when --http is set).
• --resource-ttl <seconds>: TTL for generated resources (default: 600 seconds; only affects HTTP mode).
• --static-user-agent: Disable the default randomized User-Agent rotation (by default, each new browser launch picks a modern UA to reduce bot detection/CAPTCHAs).

Agents / Prompts

• A starter agent prompt is provided in AGENTS.md. Create an agent in VS Code (or your client) using that prompt as a template; customize as needed.
• For file uploads in HTTP mode, ensure the agent has permission to run terminal/CLI commands (curl on Linux/macOS, Invoke-WebRequest/iwr on Windows) because uploads are performed via the session-specific HTTP endpoint before calling playwright_upload_file.

Contributing

• Read the CONTRIBUTING.md guidelines for required tooling (pre-commit hooks, lint/test/build steps, conventional commits, documentation updates).
• The CI workflow enforces the same standards; please mirror them locally before opening a PR.

Available Tools

Tool	Purpose	Notes
playwright_navigate	Open a URL with optional viewport/headless/browser type	Browser launched if needed
playwright_screenshot	Capture screenshot of page/element	HTTP mode returns resource link
playwright_save_as_pdf	Save page as PDF	HTTP mode returns resource link
playwright_console_logs	Retrieve browser console logs with filters	Log file registered when saved
playwright_upload_file	Set a file into an <input type="file">	In HTTP mode, upload file via construct_upload_url then pass uploadResourceUri; stdio uses filePath
construct_upload_url (HTTP)	Return session-scoped upload URL/instructions	Use POST multipart (file field) to get uploadResourceUri
playwright_click / playwright_fill / playwright_select / playwright_hover / playwright_drag / playwright_press_key	Core page interactions	Browser required
playwright_iframe_click / playwright_iframe_fill	Interact inside iframes	Provide iframe selector
playwright_get_visible_text / playwright_get_visible_html	Read visible page content	HTML tool supports cleaning options
playwright_custom_user_agent	Override User-Agent for browser context
playwright_go_back / playwright_go_forward / playwright_close	Navigation or close browser
playwright_evaluate	Execute JS in page
playwright_expect_response / playwright_assert_response	Wait for and assert network responses
playwright_get / playwright_post / playwright_put / playwright_patch / playwright_delete	HTTP API helpers
start_codegen_session / end_codegen_session / get_codegen_session / clear_codegen_session	Record and generate Playwright tests	Generated tests are exposed as resources in HTTP mode

Docker Support

The Playwright MCP Server is available as a pre-built Docker image with all browsers and system dependencies included. This avoids slow first-run downloads and version drift.

Using Docker

To use Docker, pull the latest image from GitHub Container Registry:

docker pull ghcr.io/aakashh242/mcp-playwright:latest

Running with Docker directly

# Run the server (stdin/stdout communication)
docker run -i --rm ghcr.io/aakashh242/mcp-playwright:latest

Streamable HTTP mode in Docker

docker run --rm -p 8000:8000 -v /data:/data \
  ghcr.io/aakashh242/mcp-playwright:latest \
  node dist/index.js --http --insecure --host-name localhost --listen 0.0.0.0 --path /mcp

• Mount /data to persist session-scoped artifacts if desired.
• Adjust --host-name to the public hostname your clients/gateways use. Use --insecure for http; omit it for https behind a terminating proxy.
• Resource download URLs will be http://<host>:8000/mcp/resources/<session>/<resourceId>/<filename> by default.
• The container default is headless (PLAYWRIGHT_HEADLESS=1) and the Playwright base image already includes browsers.

Using Docker Compose (recommended for production HTTP)

Use the provided docker-compose.yml to run streamable HTTP with sensible defaults:

docker compose up -d

Defaults:

• HTTP mode with --path=/mcp, --listen=0.0.0.0, --port=8000, and a --host-name placeholder (replace with your public hostname).
• Ports: 8000:8000
• Volumes: ./data/app-data:/app/data and ./data/resource-data:/data for persisted session artifacts.

Using Docker with MCP Clients

To use the Dockerized server with Claude Desktop or other MCP clients, you can configure them to use Docker:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "docker",
      "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "ghcr.io/aakashh242/mcp-playwright:latest"]
    }
  }
}

Building Locally

If you need to build the Docker image locally:

The Docker build handles dependencies and the TypeScript build for you:

docker build -t mcp-playwright .

Then use mcp-playwright instead of ghcr.io/aakashh242/mcp-playwright:latest in the commands above.

Testing

This project uses Jest for testing. The tests are located in the src/__tests__ directory.

Running Tests

You can run the tests using one of the following commands:

# Run tests using the custom script (with coverage)
node run-tests.cjs

# Run tests using npm scripts
npm test           # Run tests without coverage
npm run test:coverage  # Run tests with coverage
npm run test:custom    # Run tests with custom script (same as node run-tests.cjs)

The test coverage report will be generated in the coverage directory.

Running evals

The evals package loads an mcp client that then runs the index.ts file, so there is no need to rebuild between tests. You can load environment variables by prefixing the npx command. Full documentation can be found here.

OPENAI_API_KEY=your-key  npx mcp-eval src/evals/evals.ts src/tools/codegen/index.ts

Contributing

When adding new tools, please be mindful of the tool name length. Some clients, like Cursor, have a 60-character limit for the combined server and tool name (server_name:tool_name).

Our server name is playwright-mcp. Please ensure your tool names are short enough to not exceed this limit.

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