Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Playwright MCP Server

Q: What is the Playwright MCP Server? A: The Playwright MCP Server is a server that provides Playwright web page content retrieval functionality using the Model Context Protocol (MCP). It allows AI models to access and interact with web content.

Q: What are the key features of the Playwright MCP Server? A: Key features include page navigation, full page content retrieval, visible content retrieval, interactive elements detection, mouse operation simulation, and echo functionality for testing.

Q: How do I install the Playwright MCP Server? A: You can install it via Smithery using the command npx -y @smithery/cli install @showfive/playwright-mcp-server --client claude, or manually using npm with the commands npm install.

Q: How do I start the Playwright MCP Server? A: After installation, start the server by running npm run build followed by npm start.

Q: What MCP tools are available in the server? A: Available tools include navigate, get_all_content, get_visible_content, get_interactive_elements, move_mouse, mouse_click, mouse_wheel, drag_and_drop, and echo.

Q: What is the purpose of the navigate tool? A: The navigate tool navigates to a specified URL. It takes a url argument and returns a navigation result.

Q: How can I retrieve all the content from a web page? A: Use the get_all_content tool. It retrieves all text content from the entire page and returns it as a string.

Q: What is the difference between get_all_content and get_visible_content? A: get_all_content retrieves all text content from the entire page, while get_visible_content retrieves only the currently visible content.

Q: How can I find interactive elements on a web page? A: Use the get_interactive_elements tool. It returns coordinates and boundary information of interactive elements like buttons and links.

Q: How can I simulate mouse operations using the server? A: You can use the move_mouse, mouse_click, and mouse_wheel tools to simulate mouse movements, clicks, and scrolling.

Q: What is the echo tool used for? A: The echo tool is used for testing. It simply returns the message it receives, allowing you to verify that the server is functioning correctly.

Q: How do I run tests for the Playwright MCP Server? A: You can run all tests using npm test, run tests in watch mode using npm run test:watch, and generate a coverage report using npm run test:coverage.

Q: What are some important notes to consider when using the Playwright MCP Server? A: Ensure necessary environment variables are set, follow the terms of service of target websites, maintain appropriate intervals when sending multiple requests, and maintain appropriate intervals when performing mouse operations.

Q: What license is the Playwright MCP Server released under? A: The server is released under the ISC license.

Q: How does the Playwright MCP Server integrate with UBOS? A: Integrating with UBOS allows seamless connection of AI agents with web data, enabling the building of sophisticated AI agents with web interaction capabilities and enhancing the context-awareness of AI agents.

Q: What is MCP (Model Context Protocol) and how does it relate to the server? A: MCP is an open protocol that standardizes how applications provide context to LLMs. The server uses MCP to allow AI models to access and interact with external data sources and tools on the web.