| name | mcp-playwright |
| description | Browser automation via Playwright MCP — navigate, interact, screenshot, and inspect web pages headlessly. Use for: 'scrape this page', 'fill out a web form', 'take a screenshot of a URL', 'check if a site is up'. Use when no browser session exists. |
| allowed-tools | ["Bash"] |
Automate browser interactions through the Playwright MCP server via mcporter CLI. Navigate to URLs, click elements, fill forms, take screenshots, and read page content — all headless by default. Use this when you need to interact with web pages, verify UI, scrape content, or test web flows.
Playwright MCP vs Claude-in-Chrome: Use Playwright MCP for headless/CI/server automation where no browser window exists. Use Claude-in-Chrome MCP tools for interactive browser sessions where the user has Chrome open with the extension.
Call Syntax
mcporter call playwright.TOOL_NAME key:value --output json
mcporter call 'playwright.TOOL_NAME(key: "value")' --output json
Tool Reference
Navigation
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_navigate | url | Navigate to a URL |
browser_navigate_back | — | Go back to previous page |
browser_close | — | Close the current page |
Observation
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_snapshot | — | Accessibility snapshot of the page (primary observation tool) |
browser_take_screenshot | — | Capture a PNG screenshot |
browser_console_messages | — | Get browser console output |
browser_network_requests | — | List network requests made by the page |
Interaction
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_click | element, ref | Click an element (use ref from snapshot) |
browser_type | element, ref, text | Type text into an input |
browser_select_option | element, ref, values | Select dropdown options |
browser_hover | element, ref | Hover over an element |
browser_drag | startElement, startRef, endElement, endRef | Drag and drop |
browser_press_key | key | Press a keyboard key |
Forms
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_fill_form | fields | Fill multiple form fields at once |
JavaScript
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_evaluate | expression | Run a JavaScript expression in the page |
browser_run_code | code | Run a Playwright code snippet |
Tabs, Waiting & Dialogs
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_tabs | — | List open tabs |
browser_wait_for | text or timeout | Wait for text to appear or a timeout |
browser_handle_dialog | accept | Accept or dismiss a dialog |
browser_file_upload | paths | Upload files to a file input |
Setup
| Tool | Parameters | Description |
|---|
browser_install | — | Install the browser binary if missing |
Common Workflows
Scrape Page Content
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_navigate(url: "https://example.com")' --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_snapshot --output json
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_evaluate(expression: "document.querySelector(\"h1\").textContent")' --output json
Fill and Submit a Form
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_navigate(url: "https://example.com/login")' --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_snapshot --output json
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_type(element: "Username field", ref: "e3", text: "user@example.com")' --output json
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_type(element: "Password field", ref: "e5", text: "password")' --output json
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_click(element: "Submit button", ref: "e7")' --output json
Take a Screenshot
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_navigate(url: "https://example.com")' --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_take_screenshot --output json
Debug a Page
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_navigate(url: "https://example.com")' --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_console_messages --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_network_requests --output json
- Discover all tools and parameters: `mcporter list playwright --all-parameters`
- **Headless by default**: The server runs `--headless` since Claude operates in a terminal. No display server needed.
- **First call is slower**: npx downloads `@playwright/mcp` on the first invocation. Subsequent calls reuse the cached package.
- **Use `browser_snapshot` as your primary observation tool** — it returns an accessibility tree with element refs that you use for `browser_click`, `browser_type`, etc.
- **Element refs**: After a `browser_snapshot`, use the `ref` values (e.g., `"e3"`) to target elements in interaction tools.
- **Empty accessibility tree?** Use `browser_wait_for` with a timeout or text selector to wait for dynamic content to load, then retry `browser_snapshot`.
- No authentication required — this server runs locally via npx.
- **Install browser if needed**: If Playwright browsers aren't installed, call `browser_install` first.
- Extended capabilities: Pass `--caps` flags when configuring the server for vision mode, PDF generation, or testing features.
- Use `--output json` for machine-readable results.
