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The Playwright MCP server provides a programmatic API for integrating browser automation capabilities directly into your Node.js applications. This allows you to embed MCP server functionality without relying on the CLI.

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When to Use the API

Use the programmatic API when you need to:
  • Integrate Playwright MCP into custom Node.js services
  • Create HTTP servers with SSE transport for MCP
  • Provide your own browser context management
  • Embed browser automation in existing applications
  • Deploy Playwright MCP as a standalone service

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When to Use CLI Instead

Use the CLI approach when:
  • Connecting to MCP clients like Claude Desktop, VS Code, or Cursor
  • Running browser automation through standard MCP configuration
  • You don’t need custom browser context management
  • You want the simplest setup process

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Basic Usage Pattern

The programmatic API centers around the createConnection function, which creates an MCP server instance: 
import { createConnection } from '@playwright/mcp';
import { SSEServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/sse.js';

// Create connection with default configuration
const server = await createConnection();

// Create connection with custom configuration
const server = await createConnection({
  browser: {
    launchOptions: { headless: true }
  }
});

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Core Components

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createConnection Function

The main entry point for creating an MCP server instance. See createConnection for detailed documentation.

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Configuration Schema

The Config object allows you to customize browser behavior, server settings, timeouts, and capabilities. See Configuration Schema for all available options.

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Tool Capabilities

Control which automation features are enabled by specifying capabilities. See Tool Capabilities for details on available capability groups.

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Integration Example

Here’s how to integrate Playwright MCP into an HTTP server with SSE transport: 
import http from 'http';
import { createConnection } from '@playwright/mcp';
import { SSEServerTransport } from '@modelcontextprotocol/sdk/server/sse.js';

http.createServer(async (req, res) => {
  // Create a headless Playwright MCP server with SSE transport
  const connection = await createConnection({
    browser: { launchOptions: { headless: true } }
  });
  const transport = new SSEServerTransport('/messages', res);
  await connection.connect(transport);
}).listen(8931);

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Next Steps