AUTOMATIONSWITCH
OfficialDev Tools

Playwright

by Microsoft

Official Microsoft Playwright MCP server. Browser automation tools (navigate, click, fill, screenshot, evaluate JS, network capture) backed by Playwright. 31,942 stars, 35 commits/30d, Apache-2.0.

31,942·11 tools·Released JUN 2025·Apache-2.0
npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest
Share:

Official Microsoft Playwright MCP server: browser automation, navigation, form filling, screenshots, and JS evaluation through the Playwright protocol. 31,942 GitHub stars, 35 commits on main in the last 30 days. Apache-2.0.

Reviewed by M. Nouriel · MAY 2026

INSTALL THIS SERVER

{ "mcpServers": { "playwright": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest" ] } } }
PrereqNPM package `@playwright/mcp`. Chromium downloads on first run (~200MB). Path: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS).
{ "mcpServers": { "playwright": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "playwright": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "playwright": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest" ] } } }
{ "mcpServers": { "playwright": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest" ] } } }

11 TOOLS AVAILABLE

navigate
Navigate to a URL
Read
screenshot
Take a screenshot of the current page
Read
click
Click an element by selector
Write
fill
Fill a form field with text
Write
evaluate
Run JavaScript in the browser context
Admin
get_text
Extract text content from an element
Read

OUR ASSESSMENT

Strengths
  • Official Microsoft maintenance (formerly attributed to Anthropic in error).
  • 31,942 GitHub stars and Apache-2.0 licence.
  • 35 commits on main in the last 30 days.
  • Structured accessibility tree extraction reduces token overhead vs screenshot-only flows.
  • Headless Chromium with configurable viewport.
  • Multi-step navigation with state persistence.
  • Screenshot capture for visual verification.
Weaknesses
  • Chromium download required on first run (~200MB).
  • Heavy for simple URL fetching (use Firecrawl for read-only scraping).
  • Stored URL was previously incorrect (pointed at anthropics/anthropic-quickstarts); corrected at audit (2026-05-03).
Security Notes

Runs a local headless browser. Sandboxed by default. Use a dedicated browser profile to isolate agent sessions from your personal browsing data.

Best For

Agents that need to interact with web pages, fill forms, or capture screenshots

TECHNICAL DETAILS

Language
typescript
Transport
stdio
Clients
Claude DesktopClaude CodeCursorVS Code
License
Apache-2.0
GitHub
npm
@playwright/mcp
Last Release
v0.3.0APR 12, 2026
First Released
JUN 1, 2025

ADOPTION METRICS

// GitHub Stars
31,942
26,842 this week (+526.3%)

// Reading this31,942 stars on the microsoft/playwright-mcp repo. 35 commits on main in the last 30 days. Stored value previously inflated via incorrect attribution to anthropics/anthropic-quickstarts; corrected at audit (2026-05-03).

// Weekly Downloads
32,600
3,200 this week

// Reading thisBrowser automation is a core agent workflow. Downloads spike when new Playwright versions ship with improved headless mode.

// Popularity Rank
#4
Globally · #2 in Dev Tools

// Reading this#2 in Dev Tools (behind GitHub). Globally #4 reflects the universal demand for browser automation.

SOURCES & VERIFICATION

We don't take any single directory's word for it. Before scoring, we cross-reference 3 public MCP sources, install the server ourselves against the clients we cover, and record when we last re-verified.

01
Discovered
Official MCP Registry
First indexed APR 24, 2026
02
Cross-referenced
3 directories
Official MCP Registry, PulseMCP, Smithery
03
Verified against
Claude Desktop + Cursor
Installed and tested across clients
04
Last re-checked
MAY 3, 2026
Weekly re-verification
// How other directories see it

The same server, 3 different lenses. We reconcile these signals into our editorial score, which is why our number sometimes diverges from a directory-aggregate star count.

SourceTheir ratingTheir star countTheir downloadsLast synced
AutomationSwitch This page4.7editorial31,94232.6K / wkMAY 3, 2026
Official MCP Registry— unrated2,400unavailableAPR 12, 2026
PulseMCP4.4 community2,38028.3K / wkAPR 21, 2026
Smithery4.5 installs2,40031.7K installsAPR 20, 2026

// Counts are directory-reported; we don't adjust them. Discrepancies usually come from different snapshot times or star-caching.

OTHER DEV TOOLS MCP SERVERS

Official5

GitHub

GitHub

Official GitHub MCP server. 29,469 stars, MIT, 33 commits on main in the last 30 days. Repo, issue, PR, action, and code search tools backed by the GitHub REST + GraphQL APIs.

24 tools29,469
Official4.7

MCP Registry

Model Context Protocol

The community-driven registry service for MCP servers, maintained by the Model Context Protocol project. Discover, list, and validate MCP servers from inside agents. 6,781 GitHub stars and 65 commits on main in the last 30 days.

5 tools6,781
Official4.6

MCP Inspector

Model Context Protocol

The official MCP debugging and testing tool maintained by the Model Context Protocol project. Visual inspector for MCP servers: invoke tools, inspect transports, validate protocol behaviour during development. 9,647 GitHub stars and 32 commits on main in the last 30 days.

6 tools9,647
Official4.6

XcodeBuild MCP

Sentry (getsentry org)

MCP server and CLI for agent use of Xcode build tools. Build, test, run, and inspect iOS, macOS, watchOS, and visionOS projects from inside agents. 5,429 GitHub stars and 95 commits on main in the last 30 days. Maintained by Sentry.

7 tools5,429
Community4.6

GitLab MCP

zereight

GitLab MCP with 60+ tools covering merge requests, repositories, issues, branches, commits, files, discussions, draft notes, approvals, pipelines, and OAuth multi-user support. 54 commits on main in the last 30 days.

9 tools1,449
Vendor4.5

OpenSpec

Fission-AI

The leading spec-driven development workflow for AI agents. Implements the /opsx:propose → /opsx:apply → /opsx:archive cycle that scaffolds proposals, specs, design docs, and task checklists, then applies them and archives once shipped.

7 tools44,941
// Get in touch

DISCUSS YOUR
MCP REQUIREMENTS.

Evaluating a server, scoping an internal deployment, or working out whether MCP is the right fit at all. Start the conversation and we will point you at the right piece of the ecosystem.

Discuss Your MCP Requirements →