mcp-playwright

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

# Colon-delimited
mcporter call playwright.TOOL_NAME key:value --output json

# Function-call style
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

# Navigate and get accessibility tree
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_navigate(url: "https://example.com")' --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_snapshot --output json

# Extract specific data via JavaScript
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_evaluate(expression: "document.querySelector(\"h1\").textContent")' --output json

Fill and Submit a Form

# Navigate and inspect
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_navigate(url: "https://example.com/login")' --output json
mcporter call playwright.browser_snapshot --output json

# Use refs from snapshot to interact
mcporter call 'playwright.browser_type(element: "Username field", ref: "e3", text: "[email protected]")' --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.