Playwright MCP & Browser Automation
Playwright MCP enables browser automation for Claude Desktop and Cursor. Control Chrome, Firefox, and WebKit with AI. Explore Puppeteer MCP, Firecrawl MCP, and Apify MCP for web scraping and data extraction.
Popular Web Scraping MCP Servers
Official browser automation and scraping integrations
Firecrawl MCP Server
Turn any website into clean markdown or structured data. AI-optimized web scraping.
Puppeteer MCP Server
Control headless Chrome for web scraping, testing, and automation
Playwright MCP Server
Apify MCP Server
Access 2,000+ ready-made scrapers and actors from the Apify platform
Web Crawling & Sitemaps
Crawl entire websites, follow links, and extract content from multiple pages
Firecrawl MCP
Crawlee MCP
Scrapy MCP Server
Cheerio MCP
Browser Automation
Control browsers for JavaScript-heavy sites, screenshots, and complex interactions
Puppeteer MCP
Playwright MCP
Selenium MCP
Browser Use MCP
Data Extraction & APIs
Extract structured data with AI-powered understanding and pre-built scrapers
Apify MCP Server
Diffbot MCP
Jina Reader MCP
Tavily MCP Server
Proxy & Anti-Bot Solutions
Bypass blocks with rotating proxies, CAPTCHA solving, and smart request handling
Bright Data MCP
ScraperAPI MCP
Crawlbase MCP
Zyte MCP Server
What Can Web Scraping MCP Servers Do?
Extract Content
Get clean text, markdown, or structured data from any webpage.
Crawl Websites
Follow links and scrape entire sites with sitemap support.
Automate Browsers
Click, type, scroll, and interact with JavaScript-heavy pages.
Structure Data
Convert scraped content to JSON, CSV, or database records.
Web Scraping Best Practices
- • Check robots.txt: Respect website crawling policies
- • Rate limiting: Add delays between requests (1-3 seconds recommended)
- • Terms of service: Review website ToS before scraping
- • Use official APIs: Prefer APIs over scraping when available
- • Identify yourself: Set a descriptive User-Agent string
- • Avoid personal data: Don't scrape PII without consent
Compare Web Scraping MCP Servers
Choose the right scraping tool for your workflow
| Feature | Firecrawl | Puppeteer | Playwright | Apify |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JavaScript Rendering | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Clean Markdown | ✓ | — | — | Some actors |
| Multi-browser | — | Chrome only | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pre-built Scrapers | — | — | — | ✓ 2,000+ |
| Proxy Included | ✓ | — | — | ✓ |
| AI Optimized | ✓ | — | — | Varies |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is MCP Playwright?
Playwright MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that enables AI assistants like Claude and Cursor to automate browsers. With Playwright MCP, you can control Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit browsers using natural language commands — clicking buttons, filling forms, taking screenshots, and extracting data from any website.
How to integrate MCP with Playwright?
To integrate Playwright MCP with Claude Desktop or Cursor, install the server via npm (npx @anthropic/mcp-server-playwright) and add it to your MCP configuration. The Playwright MCP server runs locally and gives your AI assistant full browser automation capabilities.
What is the difference between Playwright MCP and Puppeteer MCP?
Playwright MCP supports multiple browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Safari/WebKit), while Puppeteer MCP only works with Chrome/Chromium. Playwright MCP also has better auto-waiting for elements, built-in test recording, and more reliable handling of modern web apps. For most use cases, Playwright MCP is the recommended choice.
How to use Firecrawl MCP in Cursor?
To use Firecrawl MCP in Cursor, add the Firecrawl server to your MCP configuration file. Firecrawl MCP converts any webpage to clean markdown optimized for AI processing. It handles JavaScript rendering, removes clutter, and delivers LLM-ready content.
Is Firecrawl MCP free?
Firecrawl MCP has a free tier with limited requests. For production use, Firecrawl offers paid plans with higher rate limits, priority support, and proxy rotation. Check firecrawl.dev for current pricing.
What does Firecrawl MCP do?
Firecrawl MCP transforms websites into AI-ready data. It crawls pages, renders JavaScript, and outputs clean markdown or structured JSON. Unlike Playwright MCP or Puppeteer MCP which focus on browser automation, Firecrawl MCP is optimized specifically for extracting content for LLMs.
What is the difference between Playwright MCP and agents?
Playwright MCP provides browser automation capabilities through the Model Context Protocol, letting AI assistants control browsers. AI agents are higher-level systems that use tools like Playwright MCP to complete complex tasks. Playwright MCP is a tool that agents can use for web interactions.
How do I install Playwright MCP for Claude Code?
For Claude Code, add the Playwright MCP server to your global MCP configuration. Run 'npx @anthropic/mcp-server-playwright' or add it to your .mcp.json file. Playwright MCP works with Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, and other MCP-compatible clients.
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