clear_codegen_session
Clear a code generation session without generating a test
LABSCO SUMMARY
The exploratory session becomes the test.
A codegen session brackets whatever you did in between and produces a Playwright test file from it, so a bug reproduced by hand leaves a regression test rather than a paragraph in a ticket. The HTTP verbs sitting beside the browser calls mean state can be set up through the API and then checked in the UI.
What it is
Playwright behind an agent interface: navigation and interaction by CSS selector including inside iframes, page content as text or cleaned HTML, direct HTTP verbs alongside the browser, response assertions, and a codegen session that writes the test file for whatever happened between start and end.
What you get
- A browser opened at a URL with the browser type, headless mode, viewport and wait condition set on the call — chromium by default
- Interaction by selector: click, fill, select, hover, drag, key press and file upload, with click and fill available for elements inside an iframe
- A click that follows into the tab it opens, so a target=_blank flow does not end the session
- Page content as visible text, or as HTML cleaned to taste — scripts, styles, comments and meta stripped, minified, or narrowed to one selector
- Screenshots, the page saved as a PDF, a custom user agent, and resizing either by explicit viewport or by device preset such as iPhone 13, Pixel 7 or Desktop Chrome, which sets user agent, scale factor and touch together
- GET, POST, PUT, PATCH and DELETE with headers and a bearer token, in the same session as the browser
- A wait for a named HTTP response registered first, then asserted once it arrives
- Console logs filtered by type and search term, and JavaScript evaluated in the page
- Codegen sessions as real objects — started, inspected, cleared and ended — with the end writing the Playwright test file
Requirements
Node, run over stdio from npm as @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server through npx, or built from a clone and linked locally. Browser tools need the Playwright browser binaries: the server downloads a missing browser the first time a tool asks for it, and npx playwright install fetches them ahead of time. The HTTP verbs work without them. Calls take CSS selectors, so you need the page's markup; playwright_get_visible_html will fetch it if you do not have it. The API side does not yet cover OAuth, multipart forms or binary bodies.
Setup effort
One command — npm install -g @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server
USE CASES
01
Turning a manual repro into a regression test
Open a codegen session, reproduce the bug through the browser, and end the session — the test file is the output of the investigation.
02
Testing a flow that lives inside an iframe
Address the frame and the element separately, so an embedded payment or consent widget is reachable rather than a dead end.
03
Setting up state through the API and checking it in the UI
Create the record with a POST carrying your bearer token, then load the page and read the visible text to confirm it shows.
04
Proving what the page actually requested
Register the wait for the response before the action, take the action, then assert on what came back.
05
Checking a layout on a phone
Resize with a device preset so the user agent, scale factor and touch behaviour change together, then capture the screenshot.
06
Working out why a page misbehaves
Read the console filtered to errors, run a snippet in the page to inspect state, and take the cleaned HTML for the selector you suspect.
33 tools
Counted once with only startup setup. Other versions, modes or optional credentials may expose a different list.
end_codegen_session
End a code generation session and generate the test file
get_codegen_session
Get information about a code generation session
playwright_assert_response
Wait for and validate a previously initiated HTTP response wait operation.
playwright_click
Click an element on the page
playwright_click_and_switch_tab
Click a link and switch to the newly opened tab
playwright_close
Close the browser and release all resources
playwright_console_logs
Retrieve console logs from the browser with filtering options
playwright_custom_user_agent
Set a custom User Agent for the browser
playwright_delete
Perform an HTTP DELETE request
playwright_drag
Drag an element to a target location
playwright_evaluate
Execute JavaScript in the browser console
playwright_expect_response
Ask Playwright to start waiting for a HTTP response. This tool initiates the wait operation but does not wait for its completion.
playwright_fill
fill out an input field
playwright_get
Perform an HTTP GET request
playwright_get_visible_html
Get the HTML content of the current page. By default, all <script> tags are removed from the output unless removeScripts is explicitly set to false.
playwright_get_visible_text
Get the visible text content of the current page
playwright_go_back
Navigate back in browser history
playwright_go_forward
Navigate forward in browser history
playwright_hover
Hover an element on the page
playwright_iframe_click
Click an element in an iframe on the page
playwright_iframe_fill
Fill an element in an iframe on the page
playwright_navigate
Navigate to a URL
playwright_patch
Perform an HTTP PATCH request
playwright_post
Perform an HTTP POST request
playwright_press_key
Press a keyboard key
playwright_put
Perform an HTTP PUT request
playwright_resize
Resize the browser viewport using manual dimensions or device presets. Supports 143+ device presets including iPhone, iPad, Android devices, and desktop browsers with proper user-agent and touch emulation.
playwright_save_as_pdf
Save the current page as a PDF file
playwright_screenshot
Take a screenshot of the current page or a specific element
playwright_select
Select an element on the page with Select tag
playwright_upload_file
Upload a file to an input[type='file'] element on the page
start_codegen_session
Start a new code generation session to record Playwright actions
BEFORE YOU INSTALL
What to know first
Tools you get
33 tools when we connected. The documentation writes some names with a capital Playwright_ prefix; the server registers every name in lower case, such as playwright_navigate. The 143 device presets are values for playwright_resize, not tools.
Requires
npx on PATH
CONTEXT COST
Light Standing cost
Rated by the size of the 33 tool definitions that ride along on every turn, not by how many there are
INSTALLATION
Connect your client
Server setup
TERMINAL
npm install -g @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-serverMCP Clients
Claude Desktop — npx
CLAUDE DESKTOP — NPX · JSON
{
"mcpServers": {
"playwright": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server"
]
}
}
}The first time a browser tool needs a browser that is missing, the server downloads and installs it (Chromium, Firefox or WebKit) and retries the request. To install them ahead of time, or if the automatic install fails, run npx playwright install — or npx playwright install chromium for one browser.
Claude Code
CLAUDE CODE · TERMINAL
claude mcp add --transport stdio playwright npx @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-serverThe first time a browser tool needs a browser that is missing, the server downloads and installs it (Chromium, Firefox or WebKit) and retries the request. To install them ahead of time, or if the automatic install fails, run npx playwright install — or npx playwright install chromium for one browser.
Any MCP client — mcp-get
ANY MCP CLIENT — MCP-GET · TERMINAL
npx @michaellatman/mcp-get@latest install @executeautomation/playwright-mcp-serverThe first time a browser tool needs a browser that is missing, the server downloads and installs it (Chromium, Firefox or WebKit) and retries the request. To install them ahead of time, or if the automatic install fails, run npx playwright install — or npx playwright install chromium for one browser.
VS Code Insiders
VS CODE INSIDERS · TERMINAL
code-insiders --add-mcp '{"name":"playwright","command":"npx","args":["@executeautomation/playwright-mcp-server"]}'The first time a browser tool needs a browser that is missing, the server downloads and installs it (Chromium, Firefox or WebKit) and retries the request. To install them ahead of time, or if the automatic install fails, run npx playwright install — or npx playwright install chromium for one browser.
