Playwright Fetch MCP Server

What is Playwright Fetch MCP Server?

A Model Context Protocol server that uses Playwright browser automation to fetch and extract JavaScript-rendered web content. It converts HTML to clean markdown for easier consumption by large language models. Created by Wyatt Roersma.

How to use Playwright Fetch MCP Server?

Install via uv or Docker, then configure it as an MCP server in your client (e.g., Claude.app or VS Code). Use the playwright-fetch tool with a required url argument and optional parameters like max_length, start_index, raw, and wait_for_js.

Key features of Playwright Fetch MCP Server

• Full browser automation with Playwright for JavaScript rendering
• Automatic identification and extraction of main content areas
• Conversion of HTML to clean, readable markdown
• Supports pagination for large content
• Respects robots.txt directives (configurable)
• Proxy support via --proxy-url command-line option
• Available as a pre-built Docker image

Use cases of Playwright Fetch MCP Server

• Fetching content from modern single-page applications (SPAs)
• Extracting readable text from JavaScript-heavy documentation sites
• Automating web research for LLM applications requiring rendered page data
• Testing and debugging web scraping workflows with a visible browser option

FAQ from Playwright Fetch MCP Server

What makes this server different from the standard fetch MCP server?

It uses Playwright for browser automation, can render JavaScript-heavy pages, attempts to extract main content from common page structures, and offers configurable page loading strategies (e.g., networkidle, domcontentloaded). It can also run with a visible browser for debugging.

What are the runtime requirements?

Python 3.13.2 or newer, the uv package manager, and Playwright browsers installed. A pre-built Docker image is also available for containerized environments.

How do I install Playwright Fetch MCP Server?

Install via uv: uv pip install git+https://github.com/ThreatFlux/playwright-fetch.git then run uv pip exec playwright install. Or use the Docker image: docker pull threatflux/playwright-fetch.

How do I configure it for Claude.app or VS Code?

Add the server to your MCP configuration. For uvx, use: { "command": "uvx", "args": ["mcp-server-playwright-fetch"] }. For Docker, use: { "command": "docker", "args": ["run", "-i", "--rm", "threatflux/playwright-fetch"] }.

Can I set a custom user agent or proxy?

Yes. Use command-line options --user-agent, --proxy-url, --ignore-robots-txt, --headless, and --wait-until when starting the server.