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To add Playwright MCP to Cherry Studio, open Settings → MCP Server → Add Server, create a STDIO server, set Command to npx, and set Arguments to @playwright/mcp@latest. Save it, then enable the MCP Server control in the chat before asking the model to use a browser. Make sure Node.js 20 or newer is installed and available to Cherry Studio.
What you need before configuring it
Playwright MCP connects browser automation to an AI client through the Model Context Protocol. In this setup, Cherry Studio is the client and runs the Playwright MCP server as a local STDIO process. Playwright’s official getting-started guidance lists Node.js 20 or newer and an MCP-capable client as prerequisites.
- Cherry Studio: installed and able to open its MCP Server settings.
- Node.js: version 20 or newer, with
npxavailable to the process Cherry Studio launches. - Network access: the first launch may need to download the npm package and browser components.
Microsoft’s Playwright documentation describes the server as providing browser automation capabilities through the Model Context Protocol. This guide uses the manual Cherry Studio form; the exact appearance of settings can vary between Cherry Studio builds.
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- Open Settings in Cherry Studio.
- Select MCP Server.
- Click Add Server.
- Choose STDIO as the server type.
- Enter a name, for example
playwright. The name is a label you can recognize in the client. - Set Command to
npx. - Set Arguments to
@playwright/mcp@latest. - Save the server.
Cherry Studio’s documented manual form asks for a name, type, command, and arguments, then saves the entry. In a tokenized argument editor, keep the package name as one argument. Do not put npx in the Arguments field: it belongs in Command.
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The equivalent conceptual configuration is:
{
"mcpServers": {
"playwright": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@playwright/mcp@latest"]
}
}
}This JSON illustrates the command and argument values. For the manual Cherry Studio workflow, enter them in the form rather than saving this as a separate configuration file.
Enable the server and check that it works
Saving a server entry does not necessarily enable its tools in an existing conversation. Open the chat and turn on the MCP Server control in the chat box; make sure the Playwright entry is enabled for that conversation.
- Start a new chat or reopen the conversation after saving the server.
- Turn on the chat’s MCP Server control and select or enable
playwright, if the client shows a per-server choice. - Ask the model to navigate to
https://example.comand report the page title. - As a separate check, ask it to take a screenshot of that page.
If the model answers without using browser tools, first check the chat-level MCP control and the server’s active status. A connected server is not the same as a tool being enabled in the current conversation.
Choose display mode, browser, and profile options
Optional command-line flags go after the package name in the arguments sequence. Cherry Studio builds may display arguments as a single text field or as separate tokens; follow the form’s format while preserving this order.
| Goal | Argument sequence | What it changes |
|---|---|---|
| Run without a visible browser window | @playwright/mcp@latest --headless |
Uses headless mode. The default is headed mode, which opens a visible browser window. |
| Select Firefox | @playwright/mcp@latest --browser=firefox |
Uses Firefox rather than the default browser selection. |
| Use a fresh browser context | @playwright/mcp@latest --isolated |
Starts an isolated context instead of the persistent default profile. |
| Load advanced settings | @playwright/mcp@latest --config path/to/config.json |
Loads browser, context, or network settings from a JSON configuration file. |
| Combine headless mode and Firefox | @playwright/mcp@latest --headless --browser=firefox |
Applies both options in one launch. |
Playwright documents chrome, firefox, webkit, and msedge as supported browser values. Use the spelling and --browser=VALUE form exactly. If Cherry Studio provides one argument per row or token, enter the package, each flag, and the config path as separate arguments; if it provides one text field, use spaces between them.
A persistent profile retains browser state between runs, which can be useful when a workflow depends on an existing session. It can also stop a new server from starting if another Playwright or Chromium process holds the profile lock. Use --isolated when you need a clean independent context or cannot release a stale lock.
Manual setup, automatic installation, or HTTP transport
Manual STDIO setup
The manual form is the straightforward choice when you want to control the exact command and flags or when automatic installation has not produced a usable server entry. STDIO means Cherry Studio launches and communicates with a local child process.
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Cherry Studio automatic MCP installation
Cherry Studio documents automatic MCP installation for version 1.1.18 or higher, but identifies it as beta and notes that manual parameter edits may still be needed. If the automatically added entry is missing, inactive, or configured incorrectly, use the manual STDIO form and verify Command and Arguments.
HTTP transport
Use HTTP when the client cannot manage a local STDIO child process. Start the server separately with:
npx @playwright/mcp@latest --port 8931Then configure the client with an MCP URL ending in /mcp. The separate process must remain running while Cherry Studio needs the connection. This is a different transport from the manual STDIO setup above; do not enter the HTTP command into the STDIO Command field and expect it to create an HTTP connection automatically.
Or skip the browser setup
If you need a screenshot file or PDF rather than an interactive browser session in Cherry Studio, ScreenshotNeo offers a one-request screenshot API and an MCP server for AI agents. It is not a replacement for Playwright workflows that need to interact with a live page, but it can avoid configuring a browser process for capture-only tasks. Its capture can accept cookie or consent banners and remove 60+ known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets before the shot; each step can be turned off. Bot checks or CAPTCHAs, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, with the response identifying the page verdict and billing status in headers. ScreenshotNeo has an MCP server for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.
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curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://example.com -o shot.webpSee the ScreenshotNeo documentation for API parameters and response details. The same request in Python is:
import requests
r = requests.get(
"https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot",
params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://example.com"},
timeout=90,
)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)And in Node.js:
const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://example.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);
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Cherry Studio says the server will not start
Check Node.js before changing Cherry Studio settings. Confirm Node.js 20 or newer is installed, then check that npx is available to the environment Cherry Studio uses. A terminal where npx works does not guarantee the desktop application inherits the same PATH. Restart Cherry Studio after changing environment variables. If your build offers an MCP environment-installation screen, check it for its platform-specific managed runtime or environment details.
The server starts but no browser tools appear in chat
Reopen the conversation, enable its MCP Server control, and confirm the Playwright entry is saved and active. If the server was added while a chat was already open, create a fresh conversation to make the client reload available tools.
Startup reports a profile lock
Another Playwright or Chromium process may still be using the persistent profile. Close the stale browser/server process and retry. If you do not need the persistent profile, add --isolated after the package in Arguments to use a fresh context instead.
The package downloads but launch fails
Verify network access for npm package retrieval and check that the argument field has not combined command and package incorrectly. The expected split is Command npx, Arguments beginning with @playwright/mcp@latest. In a list editor, enter each flag and its associated value as the form expects; for example, --config and path/to/config.json may need to be separate tokens.
Firefox or headless mode is not applied
Check that the option follows the package, and that it is spelled --browser=firefox or --headless. A single-field form should contain the package and flags separated by spaces; a token editor should contain separate arguments. For a different engine, substitute a documented value such as webkit or msedge.
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For a local STDIO setup, Cherry Studio and its launched Node.js process need to remain available during the browser session. The first launch may take longer than subsequent use because package or browser components may need to be retrieved; the actual wait depends on the local machine and network, and no fixed startup time is established here. Headless mode removes the visible browser window, but does not by itself make a failing page or unavailable browser executable work.
Use persistent state only when the task needs it, and prefer an isolated context for clean reproducible runs or to avoid profile contention. Browser automation is a poor fit for a task that only needs a static image or PDF; in that case an API capture can reduce local setup. Conversely, a screenshot API does not replace the browser interaction and inspection that Playwright MCP is configured to provide.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to create a separate Playwright project first?
No. In the manual Cherry Studio configuration, the client launches the npm-distributed MCP server through npx; this setup does not ask you to scaffold an application project.
Can I use this setup to control a logged-in browser session?
The Playwright MCP server uses a persistent default profile unless you choose an isolated context. Whether that profile already has the site session you need depends on the browser state available to the server.
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