Install guide and config at curatedmcp.com

Playwright MCP: Cross-browser automation that actually works in production

Browser automation is harder than it looks. You need Chromium for most sites, Firefox for edge cases, and Safari if you care about macOS users. You need screenshots for debugging, reliable waits instead of sleepy setTimeout() calls, and the ability to mock network requests without spinning up a proxy server.

Playwright MCP is the official Microsoft integration that gives Claude, Cursor, and Windsurf full control over Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit browsers. It's what you'd reach for when Puppeteer feels limiting or when you need to test against multiple rendering engines without writing boilerplate.

What It Does

Playwright MCP unlocks sophisticated browser control for AI agents. Click elements, type text, select dropdowns, drag items—all triggered by natural language prompts to Claude. Take screenshots instantly for visual debugging. Generate PDFs, intercept network requests, mock API responses, manage cookies and local storage, and emulate mobile devices.

The real power: record user interactions and replay them, wait for specific network conditions or DOM states instead of guessing delays, and handle complex workflows like OAuth flows or multi-step form interactions that require real browser context.

If you're already using Playwright for testing, this is the natural extension into AI-powered automation. If you need Firefox or Safari support that other tools skip, this is your answer.

How to Install

npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest

Then add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright-mcp": {
      "command": "npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest"
    }
  }
}

Requires Node.js 18+. First run downloads browser binaries (~150MB).

Real-World Use Cases

• Cross-browser testing without the test file: Ask Claude to visit your site on Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit, take screenshots of the same interaction on each, and flag visual regressions—all in one prompt.
• E2E workflow automation: Build a multi-step flow (login → navigate → fill form → submit) by describing it to Cursor, which orchestrates Playwright to execute it while you handle the logic.
• Web scraping with intelligence: Scrape dynamic sites where content loads after interaction. Let Claude navigate, wait for network idle, intercept API calls to understand data structure, then extract what you need.

Full install guides for Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, and more at CuratedMCP.