Option	Description	Example
`--browser`	Browser to use	`chrome`, `firefox`, `webkit`, `msedge`
`--headless`	Run without UI	`--headless` (default) or `--no-headless`
`--device`	Emulate device	`--device="iPhone 15"`
`--viewport`	Set viewport size	`--viewport="1920x1080"`
`--caps`	Enable capabilities	`--caps=vision,pdf,testing,tracing`

Core Tools

Navigation

Tool	Purpose
`browser_navigate`	Navigate to URL
`browser_navigate_back`	Go back in history
`browser_tabs`	Manage tabs (list/new/close/select)
`browser_close`	Close page/browser
`browser_resize`	Resize window

Interaction

Tool	Purpose
`browser_click`	Click element
`browser_type`	Type into input
`browser_fill_form`	Fill multiple form fields
`browser_select_option`	Select dropdown option
`browser_hover`	Hover over element
`browser_drag`	Drag and drop
`browser_press_key`	Press keyboard key
`browser_file_upload`	Upload files
`browser_handle_dialog`	Handle JS dialogs

Information Retrieval

Tool	Purpose
`browser_snapshot`	Get page accessibility tree (preferred)
`browser_take_screenshot`	Capture visual screenshot
`browser_console_messages`	Get console logs
`browser_network_requests`	Get network requests

Utilities

Tool	Purpose
`browser_wait_for`	Wait for conditions
`browser_evaluate`	Execute JavaScript
`browser_run_code`	Run Playwright code
`browser_install`	Install browser

Common Patterns

Web Scraping

1. browser_navigate to target URL
2. browser_wait_for content to load
3. browser_snapshot to get page structure
4. browser_evaluate to extract data
5. Repeat for pagination if needed

Form Automation

1. browser_navigate to form page
2. browser_snapshot to find form fields
3. browser_fill_form with all field data
4. browser_click submit button
5. browser_wait_for success indicator

Authentication Flow

1. browser_navigate to login page
2. browser_snapshot to identify fields
3. browser_type username into email field
4. browser_type password into password field
5. browser_click login button
6. browser_wait_for dashboard content

Screenshot Capture

1. browser_navigate to target page
2. browser_wait_for content to load
3. browser_take_screenshot with options:
   - fullPage: true for entire page
   - element/ref for specific element

Element References

Elements are identified using accessibility tree references from browser_snapshot:

- link[Home] - Link with text "Home"
- button[Submit] - Button labeled "Submit"
- textbox[Email] - Input field labeled "Email"
- combobox[Country] - Dropdown for Country

Optional Capabilities

Vision (`--caps=vision`)

browser_mouse_click_xy - Click at coordinates
browser_mouse_drag_xy - Drag between coordinates
browser_mouse_move_xy - Move mouse

PDF (`--caps=pdf`)

browser_pdf_save - Save page as PDF

Testing (`--caps=testing`)

browser_generate_locator - Generate Playwright locator
browser_verify_element_visible - Verify element visibility
browser_verify_text_visible - Verify text on page
browser_verify_value - Verify element value

Tracing (`--caps=tracing`)

browser_start_tracing - Start recording trace
browser_stop_tracing - Stop and save trace

Best Practices

Always use browser_snapshot first - Understand page structure before interacting
Wait for content - Use browser_wait_for before interactions
Handle dynamic content - Re-snapshot after page changes
Use accessibility references - More reliable than coordinates
Handle dialogs promptly - They block other actions
Close browser when done - Free up resources

Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Browser not installed	Use `browser_install` tool
Element not found	Take fresh `browser_snapshot`
Timeout errors	Use `browser_wait_for` with longer time
Dialog blocking	Use `browser_handle_dialog`
Stale element	Re-snapshot after page changes

When to Use This Skill

Automating browser interactions
Web scraping dynamic content
E2E testing workflows
Generating PDFs from web pages
Taking screenshots
Form filling and submission
Multi-page workflows

Core Tools

Navigation

Interaction

Information Retrieval

Utilities

Common Patterns

Web Scraping

Form Automation

Authentication Flow

Screenshot Capture

Element References

Optional Capabilities

Vision (--caps=vision)

PDF (--caps=pdf)

Testing (--caps=testing)

Tracing (--caps=tracing)

Best Practices

Troubleshooting

When to Use This Skill

Vision (`--caps=vision`)

PDF (`--caps=pdf`)

Testing (`--caps=testing`)

Tracing (`--caps=tracing`)

playwright-mcp

Playwright MCP Browser Automation

Setup

Installation

Configuration Options