MCP Macaco Playwright▌
by macacoai
Playwright automation for AI agents: 50+ functions for browser automation, form filling, Chrome DevTools, and web scrapi
Enables comprehensive browser automation and web interaction through Playwright with 50+ specialized functions for navigation, form filling, data extraction, and Chrome DevTools Protocol support. Designed specifically for AI agents to perform complex web workflows including scraping, testing, and automated browsing tasks.
Both formats append explainx.ai attribution and the canonical URL for this MCP server listing.
best for
- / AI agents performing web scraping tasks
- / Automated browser testing and QA workflows
- / Web automation for data collection
- / Automated form filling and submission
capabilities
- / Navigate web pages and control browser instances
- / Fill forms and handle file uploads automatically
- / Extract data and take screenshots from web pages
- / Monitor network requests and console messages
- / Execute custom JavaScript in browser context
- / Handle browser dialogs and alerts
what it does
Provides comprehensive browser automation through Playwright with 50+ functions for web scraping, testing, and automated browsing tasks. Includes Chrome DevTools Protocol support and is optimized for AI agents.
about
MCP Macaco Playwright is an official MCP server published by macacoai that provides AI assistants with tools and capabilities via the Model Context Protocol. Playwright automation for AI agents: 50+ functions for browser automation, form filling, Chrome DevTools, and web scrapi It is categorized under browser automation, search web. This server exposes 28 tools that AI clients can invoke during conversations and coding sessions.
how to install
You can install MCP Macaco Playwright in your AI client of choice. Use the install panel on this page to get one-click setup for Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code, and other MCP-compatible clients. This server runs locally on your machine via the stdio transport.
license
NOASSERTION
MCP Macaco Playwright is released under the NOASSERTION license.
readme
MCP Macaco Playwright
Enhanced Playwright Tools for Model Context Protocol (MCP) with Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) Support
Overview
MCP Macaco Playwright is a comprehensive browser automation server that provides AI agents with powerful web interaction capabilities through the Model Context Protocol. It combines Playwright's robust browser automation with CDP integration for advanced debugging and control scenarios.
Features
- Complete Browser Automation: Navigate, interact, and extract data from web pages
- Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP) Support: Connect to existing browser instances
- AI-Optimized: Designed specifically for AI agents and automated workflows
- Comprehensive Tool Set: 50+ specialized functions for web automation
- Multi-Browser Support: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge
- Screenshot & Snapshot Capabilities: Visual and accessibility-based page capture
- Form Automation: Complete form filling and submission workflows
- Network Monitoring: Track requests, responses, and console messages
Installation
npm install mcp-macaco-playwright
Quick Start
import { createConnection } from "mcp-macaco-playwright";
// Create MCP server connection
const server = await createConnection();
// Use with MCP client
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_navigate",
arguments: { url: "https://example.com" },
});
Function Reference
Navigation Functions
browser_navigate
Navigate to a specific URL.
Parameters:
url(string, required): The URL to navigate to
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_navigate",
arguments: { url: "https://github.com" },
});
browser_navigate_back
Go back to the previous page in browser history.
Parameters: None
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_navigate_back",
arguments: {},
});
browser_navigate_forward
Go forward to the next page in browser history.
Parameters: None
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_navigate_forward",
arguments: {},
});
Page Analysis Functions
browser_snapshot
Capture an accessibility snapshot of the current page for analysis and interaction.
Parameters: None
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_snapshot",
arguments: {},
});
browser_take_screenshot
Take a visual screenshot of the page or specific element.
Parameters:
type(string, optional): Image format ('png' or 'jpeg', default: 'png')filename(string, optional): Custom filename for the screenshotelement(string, optional): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, optional): Element reference from snapshotfullPage(boolean, optional): Capture full scrollable page
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_take_screenshot",
arguments: {
type: "png",
fullPage: true,
filename: "homepage.png",
},
});
Element Interaction Functions
browser_click
Click on a specific element on the page.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_click",
arguments: {
element: "Sign in button",
ref: "button-signin-123",
},
});
browser_double_click
Perform a double-click on an element.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_double_click",
arguments: {
element: "File icon",
ref: "file-icon-456",
},
});
browser_right_click
Perform a right-click to open context menu.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_right_click",
arguments: {
element: "Image thumbnail",
ref: "img-thumb-789",
},
});
Text Input Functions
browser_type
Type text into an editable element.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshottext(string, required): Text to typesubmit(boolean, optional): Press Enter after typingslowly(boolean, optional): Type character by character
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_type",
arguments: {
element: "Search input field",
ref: "search-input-123",
text: "playwright automation",
submit: true,
},
});
browser_press_key
Press a specific key on the keyboard.
Parameters:
key(string, required): Key name (e.g., 'Enter', 'ArrowLeft', 'a')
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_press_key",
arguments: { key: "Escape" },
});
Form Functions
browser_select_option
Select options in a dropdown menu.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshotvalues(array, required): Array of values to select
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_select_option",
arguments: {
element: "Country dropdown",
ref: "country-select-456",
values: ["United States"],
},
});
browser_check_checkbox
Check or uncheck a checkbox element.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshotchecked(boolean, required): Whether to check (true) or uncheck (false)
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_check_checkbox",
arguments: {
element: "Terms and conditions checkbox",
ref: "terms-checkbox-789",
checked: true,
},
});
browser_select_radio
Select a radio button.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_select_radio",
arguments: {
element: "Payment method: Credit Card",
ref: "payment-radio-cc",
},
});
browser_clear_input
Clear the content of an input field.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_clear_input",
arguments: {
element: "Email input field",
ref: "email-input-123",
},
});
Data Extraction Functions
browser_get_text
Extract text content or attribute values from elements.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshotattribute(string, optional): Specific attribute to extract (e.g., 'href', 'src')
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_get_text",
arguments: {
element: "Product price",
ref: "price-display-456",
},
});
browser_get_elements
Get multiple elements matching a selector.
Parameters:
selector(string, required): CSS selector to find elementsattribute(string, optional): Attribute to extract from each element
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_get_elements",
arguments: {
selector: ".product-card h3",
attribute: "textContent",
},
});
Scrolling and Focus Functions
browser_scroll_to
Scroll to a specific element or coordinate position.
Parameters:
element(string, optional): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, optional): Element reference from page snapshotx(number, optional): X coordinate to scroll toy(number, optional): Y coordinate to scroll tobehavior(string, optional): Scroll behavior ('auto' or 'smooth')
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_scroll_to",
arguments: {
element: "Footer section",
ref: "footer-section-123",
behavior: "smooth",
},
});
browser_focus_element
Set focus on a specific element.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_focus_element",
arguments: {
element: "Search input",
ref: "search-input-456",
},
});
browser_blur_element
Remove focus from a specific element.
Parameters:
element(string, required): Human-readable element descriptionref(string, required): Element reference from page snapshot
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_blur_element",
arguments: {
element: "Email input",
ref: "email-input-789",
},
});
Wait Functions
browser_wait_for
Wait for specific conditions to be met.
Parameters:
time(number, optional): Time to wait in secondstext(string, optional): Text to wait for to appeartextGone(string, optional): Text to wait for to disappear
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_wait_for",
arguments: {
text: "Loading complete",
time: 5,
},
});
Tab Management Functions
browser_tab_list
List all open browser tabs.
Parameters: None
Example:
await client.callTool({
name: "browser_tab_list",
arguments: {},
});
browser_tab_new
Open a new browser tab.
Parameters:
url(string, optional): URL to navigate to
FAQ
- What is the MCP Macaco Playwright MCP server?
- MCP Macaco Playwright is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server profile on explainx.ai. MCP lets AI hosts (e.g. Claude Desktop, Cursor) call tools and resources through a standard interface; this page summarizes categories, install hints, and community ratings.
- How do MCP servers relate to agent skills?
- Skills are reusable instruction packages (often SKILL.md); MCP servers expose live capabilities. Teams frequently combine both—skills for workflows, MCP for APIs and data. See explainx.ai/skills and explainx.ai/mcp-servers for parallel directories.
- How are reviews shown for MCP Macaco Playwright?
- This profile displays 67 aggregated ratings (sample rows for discoverability plus signed-in user reviews). Average score is about 4.6 out of 5—verify behavior in your own environment before production use.
Use Cases▌
Web Research & Information Gathering
Fetch and extract information from websites automatically
Example
Research competitor pricing, scrape product reviews, monitor news mentions
Automate 5-10 hours/week of manual web research
Content Monitoring & Alerts
Track website changes, new content, price updates
Example
Monitor competitor blog for new posts, track stock availability, watch for pricing changes
Stay informed without manual checking, never miss important updates
Data Extraction & Aggregation
Extract structured data from multiple websites
Example
Compile product listings from 10 e-commerce sites, aggregate job postings, collect real estate data
Build datasets 100x faster than manual copying
API-less Integration
Interact with services that don't offer APIs
Example
Check form submissions, validate website functionality, test user flows
Automate interactions with any website, even without API
Implementation Guide▌
Prerequisites
- ›Claude Desktop or Cursor with MCP support
- ›Understanding of web scraping ethics and robots.txt
- ›Rate limiting awareness to avoid overwhelming target sites
- ›Knowledge of legal restrictions on data collection
Time Estimate
20-40 minutes including configuration and testing
Installation Steps
- 1.Install web automation MCP server via npm or pip
- 2.Configure allowed domains and rate limits in MCP config
- 3.Test with simple fetch: 'Get content from example.com'
- 4.Progress to extraction: 'Extract all product prices from this page'
- 5.Set up monitoring: 'Check this URL daily for changes'
- 6.Parse structured data: 'Create CSV from this table'
- 7.Respect robots.txt and rate limits always
Troubleshooting
- ⚠403 Forbidden: Website blocks bots—respect their wishes, use official API instead
- ⚠Rate limit errors: Slow down requests, add delays between fetches
- ⚠Stale data: Target site changed HTML structure—update selectors
- ⚠Timeout errors: Site is slow or blocking—increase timeout, try different user agent
- ⚠JavaScript-rendered content: Use headless browser MCP servers for dynamic sites
Best Practices▌
✓ Do
- +Check robots.txt and respect crawl rules
- +Rate limit requests: 1-2 requests/second maximum
- +Use official APIs when available instead of scraping
- +Identify your bot with descriptive user agent
- +Cache results to minimize repeated requests
- +Handle errors gracefully with retries and fallbacks
- +Validate extracted data for accuracy
✗ Don't
- −Don't scrape sites that explicitly forbid it (robots.txt, ToS)
- −Don't overwhelm servers with rapid requests—use rate limiting
- −Don't scrape personal data without consent and legal basis
- −Don't ignore copyright on extracted content
- −Don't assume HTML structure is stable—handle changes
- −Don't use scraped data for commercial purposes without permission
💡 Pro Tips
- ★Use CSS selectors or XPath for robust data extraction
- ★Set up monitoring alerts for extraction failures (structure changed)
- ★Implement exponential backoff for retries on failures
- ★Store raw HTML for reprocessing if extraction logic changes
- ★Combine with data analysis tools for insights from extracted data
- ★Consider using official APIs or RSS feeds as more stable alternatives
Technical Details▌
Architecture
MCP server handles HTTP requests, HTML parsing, JavaScript rendering (if headless browser), and returns structured data to Claude.
Protocols
- HTTP/HTTPS
- WebSocket (for real-time sites)
- Puppeteer/Playwright (for JavaScript sites)
Compatibility
- Static HTML sites
- JavaScript-rendered SPAs (with headless browser)
- REST APIs
- GraphQL endpoints
When to Use This▌
✓ Use When
Use for research automation, content monitoring, data aggregation from multiple sources, and when official APIs don't exist. Best for read-only information gathering.
✗ Avoid When
Avoid for sites with APIs (use API instead), sites that explicitly forbid scraping, when data is copyrighted, or for login-required content without proper authorization.
Integration▌
- →Scheduled monitoring with change detection
- →Multi-source data aggregation pipelines
- →Fallback to web scraping when API rate limits hit
- →Headless browser for JavaScript-heavy sites
Discussion
Product Hunt–style comments (not star reviews)- No comments yet — start the thread.
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Ratings
4.6★★★★★67 reviews- ★★★★★Pratham Ware· Dec 28, 2024
According to our notes, MCP Macaco Playwright benefits from clear Model Context Protocol framing — fewer ambiguous “AI plugin” claims.
- ★★★★★Arya Reddy· Dec 20, 2024
I recommend MCP Macaco Playwright for teams standardizing on MCP; the explainx.ai page compares cleanly with sibling servers.
- ★★★★★Kaira Robinson· Dec 16, 2024
MCP Macaco Playwright is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
- ★★★★★Arya Shah· Dec 8, 2024
MCP Macaco Playwright has been reliable for tool-calling workflows; the MCP profile page is a good permalink for internal docs.
- ★★★★★Kaira Park· Dec 4, 2024
MCP Macaco Playwright reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
- ★★★★★Chinedu Haddad· Nov 23, 2024
We wired MCP Macaco Playwright into a staging workspace; the listing’s GitHub and npm pointers saved time versus hunting across READMEs.
- ★★★★★Michael Harris· Nov 11, 2024
We evaluated MCP Macaco Playwright against two servers with overlapping tools; this profile had the clearer scope statement.
- ★★★★★Kofi Jain· Nov 7, 2024
Useful MCP listing: MCP Macaco Playwright is the kind of server we cite when onboarding engineers to host + tool permissions.
- ★★★★★Isabella Diallo· Oct 26, 2024
MCP Macaco Playwright reduced integration guesswork — categories and install configs on the listing matched the upstream repo.
- ★★★★★Arjun Bansal· Oct 14, 2024
MCP Macaco Playwright is a well-scoped MCP server in the explainx.ai directory — install snippets and categories matched our Claude Code setup.
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