wcgw vs Playwright MCP Server

A side-by-side comparison of two Developer Tools servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	wcgw Shell and coding agent for Claude and other MCP clients with tightly integrated shell and file-editing tools. Unverified stdio (local) No auth Python	Playwright MCP Server Microsoft's official browser-automation MCP using Playwright's accessibility tree (no vision model). Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript
Category	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Language	Python	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	665	24k
Last commit	1 month ago	21 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`uvx --python 3.12 wcgw@latest`	`npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick wcgw if you prefer its approach (shell and coding agent for claude and other mcp clients with tightly integrated shell and file-editing tools).

Pick Playwright MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add wcgw

Install / run

uvx --python 3.12 wcgw@latest

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "wcgw": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--python",
        "3.12",
        "wcgw@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Requires `uv` (the Python package runner). Install it from https://docs.astral.sh/uv/ if `uvx` is not found.

Add Playwright MCP Server

Install / run

npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

wcgw or Playwright MCP Server — which is better?

Pick wcgw if you prefer its approach (shell and coding agent for claude and other mcp clients with tightly integrated shell and file-editing tools). Pick Playwright MCP Server if you want the official, vendor-maintained server, and you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both wcgw and Playwright MCP Server?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do wcgw and Playwright MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View wcgw →View Playwright MCP Server →More comparisons →