| FMRS | 50 / 100 · D | 66 / 100 · C |
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| Reliability | 8 / 20 | 9 / 20 |
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| Security and permissions | 6 / 20 | 11 / 20 |
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| Maintenance | 12 / 20 | 15 / 20 |
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| Documentation | 13 / 20 | 17 / 20 |
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| Setup experience | 11 / 20 | 14 / 20 |
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| Best for | - AI coding agents running on macOS with Safari
- Automation that must reuse real Safari logins, cookies, and sessions
- Users who want background browser operation with lower additional CPU usage
- Developers validating Safari, WebKit, or iOS pages
| - Developers who need browser automation from Claude Desktop, VS Code, and similar clients
- Users doing web testing and scraping
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| Not for | - Non-macOS environments
- Tasks requiring Chrome-specific debugging, Lighthouse, or performance tracing
- Clean, isolated WebDriver sessions without the user's browser state
- Users unwilling to grant Safari automation, screen-recording, or accessibility permissions
| - Environments requiring strict sandboxing that disallow AI-controlled browsers
- Claude Desktop users needing HTTP/SSE mode (Claude Desktop currently requires stdio mode)
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| Required permissions | - Safari: Allow JavaScript from Apple Events
- macOS Automation access to Safari for the parent app running the MCP server
- Screen Recording for screenshots
- Accessibility for safari_native_* tools and safari_save_pdf
| - Runs real browsers (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit) locally
- Automatically downloads and installs browser binaries on first use
- Writes log files to ~/playwright-mcp-server.log
- Binds a local port in HTTP mode (default 8931)
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| Risks and side effects | - The tools can operate the real logged-in Safari and may access accounts, cookies, clipboard contents, and page data
- safari_evaluate and related script tools can execute arbitrary JavaScript in the current page
- Exported or imported storage may contain session information
- Native input tools can produce real click, keyboard, and hover events in a non-frontmost Safari window
- Automation of financial, social, or other sensitive sites should be reviewed before execution
| - AI can execute JavaScript in a real browser, potentially accessing and manipulating sensitive web content
- Automatic browser downloads consume disk space and bandwidth
- HTTP mode binds to localhost only; exposing it via SSH tunnels still requires caution
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| Supported clients | Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Windsurf, VS Code, Cline, Continue, Goose, LM Studio, Zed | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cline, Cursor, VS Code |
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| Tools | 97 | 1 |
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