# CloakBrowser MCP (MCP server) > CloakBrowser MCP is an MCP server that adds web browsing tools to AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor. Playwright MCP-compatible browser automation bridge for CloakBrowser Chromium. It has 161 GitHub stars, is released under the MIT license and runs locally with npx -y cloakbrowser-mcp. cloakbrowser-mcp is a drop-in Playwright MCP-compatible browser automation server with unchanged upstream tools, CloakBrowser Chromium, and production-ready npm, Docker, and Streamable HTTP packaging. It runs upstream @playwright/mcp as the canonical tool surface and points that runtime at CloakBrowser. ## Key facts | Fact | Value | |---|---| | Repository | https://github.com/swimmwatch/cloakbrowser-mcp | | GitHub stars | 161 | | License | MIT | | Language | TypeScript | | Transport | stdio | | Packages | npm: cloakbrowser-mcp; docker: ghcr.io/swimmwatch/cloakbrowser-mcp:1.14.1; docker: docker.io/swimmwatch/cloakbrowser-mcp:1.14.1 | | Remote URL | none | | Needs API key | no | | Official | no | | Works with | Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code | | Category | Web & browsing | | Latest release | v1.14.1 (Sep 27, 2026) | | Last commit | Sep 29, 2026 | | MCP registry name | io.github.swimmwatch/cloakbrowser-mcp | ## Install ### Claude Desktop (claude_desktop_config.json) ```json { "mcpServers": { "cloakbrowser-mcp": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "cloakbrowser-mcp" ], "env": { "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER_ENGINE": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SNAPSHOT_BOXES": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_SETTLE": "your-value" } } } } ``` Settings > Developer > Edit Config. macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/, Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\. Restart Claude Desktop afterwards. ### Claude Code ```sh claude mcp add --env PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER_ENGINE=your-value --env PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS=your-value --env PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR=your-value --env PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN=your-value --env PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SNAPSHOT_BOXES=your-value --env PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_SETTLE=your-value --transport stdio cloakbrowser-mcp -- npx -y cloakbrowser-mcp ``` ### Cursor (.cursor/mcp.json) ```json { "mcpServers": { "cloakbrowser-mcp": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "cloakbrowser-mcp" ], "env": { "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER_ENGINE": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SNAPSHOT_BOXES": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_SETTLE": "your-value" } } } } ``` Project file; use ~/.cursor/mcp.json to enable it in every project. ### VS Code (.vscode/mcp.json) ```json { "servers": { "cloakbrowser-mcp": { "type": "stdio", "command": "npx", "args": [ "-y", "cloakbrowser-mcp" ], "env": { "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER_ENGINE": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SNAPSHOT_BOXES": "your-value", "PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_SETTLE": "your-value" } } } } ``` Config formats checked against the official docs on 2026-10-07. ## Environment variables - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER_ENGINE`: Bridge browser engine: cloak or playwright. - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS`: Run the browser in headless mode. - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR`: Directory where upstream Playwright MCP writes artifacts. - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN`: Generate code in typescript, python, java, csharp, or none. - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SNAPSHOT_BOXES`: Include element bounding boxes in browser snapshots. - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_SETTLE`: Milliseconds to wait after actions for triggered work to settle. - `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_DATA_DIR`: Persistent Chromium profile directory. The bridge resolves it to an absolute path and writes it to generated Playwright MCP config. - `CLOAK_PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONTEXT_OPTIONS`: JSON object with validated Playwright context options such as viewport, locale, timezoneId, permissions, geolocation, and headers. - `CLOAK_PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTENSION_PATHS`: JSON array or comma-separated list of Chrome extension directories. Requires PLAYWRIGHTMCPUSERDATADIR. - `CLOAK_PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONSOLE_FALLBACK`: Patch upstream console message collection for CloakBrowser compatibility. - `CLOAK_PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_GEOIP_PROXY_MATCH`: Resolve proxy GeoIP and match CloakBrowser timezone/locale fingerprint flags when PLAYWRIGHTMCPPROXY_SERVER is set. - `CLOAK_PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTRA_ARGS`: Comma-separated or JSON array of extra Chromium launch arguments. ## Tools - `cloakbrowser_binary_info`: returns CloakBrowser package, platform, cache, and resolved binary data. - `cloakbrowser_bridge_info`: returns bridge metadata, upstream package/version, and local tool names. ## Similar MCP servers - [Browser Use](https://appsgit.com/mcp-servers/browser-use): Control a real Chrome browser to complete any task: fill forms, extract data, book flights. (117,307 stars, MIT, official) - [Scrapling MCP Server](https://appsgit.com/mcp-servers/scrapling-mcp-server): Web scraping with stealth HTTP, real browsers, and Cloudflare bypass. 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