MCP servers for browser automation
Giving an agent a browser lets it check its own UI work, reproduce bugs and fill forms. Four servers in the index do this, with different trade-offs.
Updated Oct 15, 2026 · 3 sources
§1At a glance
| Server | Browser runs | Auth | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Playwright | Local | None | Driving pages via accessibility snapshots: navigate, click, fill forms |
| Chrome DevTools | Local Chrome | None | Debugging: performance traces, network, console, screenshots |
| Puppeteer (reference, archived) | Local | None | Scripted browsing and scraping (archived reference server) |
| Browserbase | Cloud (remote server) | Browserbase API key | Headless browsers you don't run yourself |
§2Setup
{
"mcpServers": {
"playwright": { "command": "npx", "args": ["@playwright/mcp@latest"] }
}
}claude mcp add playwright npx @playwright/mcp@latest{
"mcpServers": {
"chrome-devtools": { "command": "npx", "args": ["-y", "chrome-devtools-mcp@latest"] }
}
}VS Code's docs use Playwright as their MCP quickstart, and also point out VS Code has built-in browser tools that need no server.
§3All browser servers
Browser automation for agents using Playwright accessibility snapshots.
Let coding agents control and inspect a live Chrome browser with DevTools.
Browser automation and scraping with Puppeteer. Archived reference server.
Cloud browser automation for agents, powered by Browserbase and Stagehand.
§4FAQ
- Playwright MCP or Chrome DevTools MCP?
- Playwright MCP is built for driving pages (navigate, click, fill forms) using accessibility snapshots. Chrome DevTools MCP focuses on inspecting a live Chrome: performance traces, network requests and console messages. Many people run both.
- Do browser MCP servers need an API key?
- Playwright, Chrome DevTools and Puppeteer run a local browser and need none. Browserbase runs browsers in the cloud and needs a Browserbase API key.
§5Sources
- microsoft/playwright-mcp ↗
- ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp ↗
- VS Code docs — Add and manage MCP servers ↗
Sources checked Oct 15, 2026. Spot something out of date? Tell us.