Headed version on Linux

[nfedyashev]

I'm Linux/Debian user and currently trying to find a way to run playwright-mcp in headed mode. I can navigate URLs, make screenshots but never see the actual browser in real time.

What I've tried:

1. searching through "headed" github issues

"mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@playwright/mcp@latest",
        "--browser", "chrome",
        "--executable-path", "/usr/bin/google-chrome"
      ],
      "verbose": true
    }
}

3. --config playwright_config.json with the following content

{                                                                       
  "browser": {
    "launchOptions": {
      "channel": "chrome",
      "headless": false
    }
  }
}

4. I've tried closing all Chrome instances and starting Claude Desktop

all 4 show the same result.

Playwright logs contain:

Initializing server...
Server started and connected successfully
(no errors/warnings)

Any hints on how this can be fixed are greatly appreciated.

[pavelfeldman]

https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp?tab=readme-ov-file#standalone-mcp-server

[nfedyashev]

This one worked for me. Thank you!

npx @playwright/mcp@latest --port 8931

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "bash",
      "args": [
        "-c",
        "source $HOME/.nvm/nvm.sh && nvm use --silent 22 && npx mcp-remote http://localhost:8931/mcp"
      ]
    }
  }
}