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Agent browser infrastructure

BrowserOS neo vs Playwright MCP

Both hand an agent a real browser over MCP. The difference is whose browser, and whose logins.

Playwright MCP is Microsoft’s official MCP server wrapping Playwright. Any MCP client can drive it, it runs Chromium, Firefox or WebKit, it launches headed by default, and it feeds the agent accessibility-tree snapshots with a ref on every element rather than screenshots.

BrowserOS neo is a browser rather than a server. It is the one you sign in to, it keeps agent tabs away from your own, and every run is recorded so you can watch it live or scrub back through it later.

[ 01 ]

The short version

Choose BrowserOS neo when

  • The work is behind a login and you want it there already, not scripted.
  • You want agent tabs separated from the ones you are using.
  • You want the cockpit and a replay of every run.
  • Several agents should work at the same time without colliding.

Choose Playwright MCP when

  • Firefox or WebKit matter to you.
  • You want one command and a config entry, with no second browser installed.
  • The targets are public pages with no sign-in.
  • You want it containerised, in continuous integration.
[ 02 ]

Side by side

BrowserOS neo compared with Playwright MCP, row by row.
DimensionBrowserOS neoPlaywright MCP
ProtocolBrowserOS neoMCP.Playwright MCPMCP. No difference here: on protocol and shape these two are the same idea.
What you installBrowserOS neoA browser, beside the one you already use.Playwright MCPAn npx command and a config entry. Nothing new to keep open.
Logged-in sitesBrowserOS neoImport your Chrome logins once, into a profile kept for agents.Playwright MCPA persistent profile is the default, and an extension can attach to Chrome or Edge tabs you are already signed into.
Browser enginesBrowserOS neoChromium only.Playwright MCPChromium, Firefox and WebKit.
Whose windowBrowserOS neoIts own. Agents cannot touch the tab you are typing in.Playwright MCPIts own browser too, though the extension path puts it in the one you are using.
Several at onceBrowserOS neoSeveral agents, own tabs each, one cockpit showing all of them.Playwright MCPOne server, one browser. More means more servers.
Seeing what happenedBrowserOS neoLive cockpit and a scrubbable replay, on by default.Playwright MCPWhatever your MCP client shows in its transcript.

The row worth pausing on is several at once. Playwright MCP gives one agent one browser, which is the right shape for one assistant doing one job.

That is the assumption worth testing before you pick. Most people who start with one agent are running two within a month, and at two the shapes diverge: neo puts each in its own tabs inside one browser and shows you all of them, where the server approach needs another of everything.

[ 03 ]

One agent is not how this stays.

Playwright MCP hands one agent one browser, which is the right shape right up until you are running a second. Then it is another server, another browser, and nowhere to watch them together.

neo assumes the plural case from the start. Several agents work in their own tabs inside one browser, the cockpit shows all of them at once, and every session replays afterwards.

Both speak MCP and both give an agent a real browser. The difference shows up the day you stop running just one.

[ 04 ]

Common questions

Is Playwright MCP the same as Playwright?

No. Playwright is the automation library. Playwright MCP is a server that exposes a browser to MCP clients, so an agent can drive it without writing Playwright code.

Can Playwright MCP use my logins?

Yes. It keeps a persistent profile by default, and its extension can attach to Chrome or Edge tabs you are already signed into.

Why install a whole browser instead?

For tab isolation, several agents at once, and session replay. If none of those matter to you, Playwright MCP is the smaller thing to run.

Do both work with Claude Code and Codex?

Yes. Both speak MCP, so any MCP client can drive either one.

[ 05 ]

Check it yourself

Every claim about Playwright MCP here was read off these pages on 16 September 2026. If something has gone stale, tell us.

What we could not confirm

  • We did not set up the Playwright MCP browser extension ourselves; the attach-to-existing-tabs behaviour comes from its documentation.
[ 06 ]

Other comparisons

Give your agent a browser it can sign into.

Free, open source, and it sits beside the browser you already use.