🎭 Playwright MCP Actor - AI-Powered Browser Automation

Transform any AI agent into a powerful web scraper in seconds. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, or custom AI systems directly to browsers for intelligent automation, data extraction, and testing—no coding required for basic tasks.

This Actor enables AI agents to control browsers through the Model Context Protocol (MCP), making web automation as simple as giving natural language instructions. Perfect for scraping dynamic websites, automating workflows, and building AI-powered browser bots that can navigate, extract, and interact with any website.

🚀 Why Choose This Actor?

• AI-Native Design: Built specifically for AI agents using the Model Context Protocol (MCP)
• 20+ Pre-built Actions: Navigate, click, fill forms, extract data, screenshots—everything you need
• 5 Ready-to-Use Templates: Amazon, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Maps automation out-of-the-box
• Enterprise-Ready: Apify Proxy integration, anti-detection stealth mode, unlimited scaling
• Multiple Export Formats: JSON, CSV, and Excel exports for business intelligence
• Zero Setup: Run immediately with templates or customize for specific needs

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📊 What You Can Build

• E-commerce Price Monitoring: Track competitor prices on Amazon, eBay, Shopify
• Lead Generation: Extract business data from Google Maps, LinkedIn, Yellow Pages
• Social Media Monitoring: Scrape Twitter feeds, LinkedIn profiles, Instagram posts
• SEO & Market Research: Analyze Google search results, track rankings, competitor analysis
• Testing & QA Automation: Automated browser testing for web applications
• Data Migration: Extract data from legacy systems without APIs

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What You Get with Apify Platform

Platform Feature	Benefit
Apify Proxy	Rotate IPs automatically, bypass rate limits ($0.10/GB)
Cloud Storage	Automatic data storage in datasets, no downloads needed
API Access	Integrate with any system via REST API
Scheduling	Run daily, hourly, or on-demand
Monitoring	Email alerts, success/failure tracking
Scaling	Handle 1 or 1 million requests seamlessly

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🎯 Quick Start (3 Minutes)

Option 1: Use a Pre-built Template (Easiest)

{
  "template": "amazon_product_search",
  "template_params": {
    "product_name": "laptop",
    "max_results": 10
  },
  "export_format": "csv"
}

Available Templates:

• amazon_product_search - Search Amazon and extract product details
• google_search - Google search with result extraction
• linkedin_profile - LinkedIn profile data scraping
• twitter_scrape - Twitter/X timeline scraping
• google_maps_business - Extract business info from Google Maps

Option 2: Custom Automation

{
  "browser_type": "chromium",
  "headless": true,
  "stealth_mode": true,
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "navigate",
      "value": "https://example.com"
    },
    {
      "type": "fill",
      "selector": "#search-box",
      "value": "your search query"
    },
    {
      "type": "click",
      "selector": "button[type='submit']"
    },
    {
      "type": "extract_text",
      "selector": ".results"
    },
    {
      "type": "screenshot"
    }
  ]
}

Option 3: Run via Apify API

curl https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/aluminum_jam~playwright-mcp-actor/runs \
  -X POST \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "template": "google_search",
    "template_params": {"search_query": "web scraping"}
  }'

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📋 Input Schema

Basic Configuration

Field	Type	Required	Description
browser_type	string	No	Browser engine: chromium, firefox, or webkit (default: chromium)
headless	boolean	No	Run browser in headless mode (default: true)
stealth_mode	boolean	No	Enable anti-detection features (default: false)
export_format	string	No	Export format: json, csv, or excel (default: json)

Template Mode (Recommended for Beginners)

Field	Type	Required	Description
template	string	No	Pre-built template name (see list above)
template_params	object	No	Template-specific parameters

Example:

{
  "template": "amazon_product_search",
  "template_params": {
    "product_name": "wireless mouse",
    "max_results": 20
  }
}

Custom Actions (Advanced Users)

Field	Type	Required	Description
actions	array	Yes*	Array of automation actions (*Required if not using template)

Action Object Schema:

{
  "type": "click",           // Action type (see full list below)
  "selector": "#button",     // CSS selector, XPath, or text
  "value": "text to input",  // Value for fill/type actions
  "selector_type": "auto",   // auto, css, xpath, text, role
  "timeout": 10000           // Timeout in milliseconds
}

Proxy Configuration

Field	Type	Required	Description
proxy.use_apify_proxy	boolean	No	Use Apify's residential proxies
proxy.apify_proxy_groups	array	No	Proxy groups: RESIDENTIAL, GOOGLE_SERP, etc.
proxy.custom_proxy_url	string	No	Custom proxy URL (http://user:pass@host:port)

Example with Proxy:

{
  "proxy": {
    "use_apify_proxy": true,
    "apify_proxy_groups": ["RESIDENTIAL"]
  },
  "template": "google_search",
  "template_params": {
    "search_query": "best laptops 2025"
  }
}

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📤 Output Data

JSON Output (Default)

{
  "success": true,
  "total_actions": 5,
  "successful_actions": 5,
  "failed_actions": 0,
  "total_execution_time_ms": 12450,
  "average_action_time_ms": 2490,
  "screenshots_captured": 1,
  "actions": [
    {
      "type": "navigate",
      "success": true,
      "output": "https://example.com",
      "execution_time_ms": 2340,
      "timestamp": "2025-12-23T16:28:06.123Z"
    },
    {
      "type": "extract_text",
      "selector": ".product-title",
      "success": true,
      "output": "Premium Wireless Mouse - $29.99",
      "execution_time_ms": 145,
      "timestamp": "2025-12-23T16:28:08.468Z"
    }
  ]
}

CSV Export

Set "export_format": "csv" to get tabular data:

type,selector,success,execution_time_ms,timestamp,output
navigate,,true,2340,2025-12-23T16:28:06.123Z,https://example.com
extract_text,.product-title,true,145,2025-12-23T16:28:08.468Z,Premium Wireless Mouse
screenshot,,true,892,2025-12-23T16:28:09.360Z,Screenshot captured (48094 bytes)

Access Exports: Check the "Key-Value Store" tab for OUTPUT_CSV.csv or OUTPUT_EXCEL.xlsx

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🎬 Action Types (Complete List)

Navigation Actions

• navigate - Go to URL
• go_back - Browser back button
• go_forward - Browser forward button
• reload - Refresh page
• get_url - Get current URL
• get_title - Get page title

Interaction Actions

• click - Click element
• fill - Fill input (replace content)
• type - Type text (append content)
• select - Select dropdown option
• check - Check checkbox
• uncheck - Uncheck checkbox
• hover - Hover over element
• focus - Focus element
• press_key - Press keyboard key (Enter, Escape, etc.)

Data Extraction

• extract_text - Get text content
• extract_attributes - Get all element attributes
• get_html - Get HTML content
• screenshot - Capture full-page screenshot

Advanced Actions

• evaluate - Execute custom JavaScript
• wait - Wait for specified time (ms)
• wait_for_element - Wait for element to appear
• scroll - Scroll page by pixels

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🛡️ Anti-Detection Features

Enable stealth_mode: true to activate:

• WebDriver Property Removal: Hides automation signals
• Plugin Mocking: Simulates real browser plugins
• Language Spoofing: Sets realistic language preferences
• Chrome Object Injection: Adds genuine Chrome properties
• Permission API Override: Mimics human permission patterns
• Custom User Agent: Realistic browser fingerprint

Best for: Social media scraping, e-commerce sites with bot detection, Google search

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📸 Screenshots & Examples

Input Configuration Example

Configure your automation with simple JSON or use templates for instant results

Output Data Example

Get structured data in JSON, CSV, or Excel format - ready for analysis

Apify Console View

Monitor execution in real-time with detailed progress tracking

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🎓 Common Use Cases

1. E-commerce Price Monitoring

Track competitor prices across multiple stores:

{
  "template": "amazon_product_search",
  "template_params": {
    "product_name": "iPhone 15 Pro",
    "max_results": 50
  },
  "stealth_mode": true,
  "export_format": "excel"
}

2. Lead Generation from Google Maps

Extract business contact information:

{
  "template": "google_maps_business",
  "template_params": {
    "search_query": "coffee shops in San Francisco",
    "max_results": 100
  },
  "proxy": {
    "use_apify_proxy": true,
    "apify_proxy_groups": ["GOOGLE_SERP"]
  }
}

3. Social Media Monitoring

Track brand mentions on Twitter:

{
  "template": "twitter_scrape",
  "template_params": {
    "username": "your_brand",
    "max_tweets": 200
  },
  "stealth_mode": true
}

Schedule: Run every 6 hours Cost: ~$0.10 per run

4. SEO Competitor Analysis

Analyze Google search rankings:

{
  "template": "google_search",
  "template_params": {
    "search_query": "your target keyword",
    "max_results": 100
  },
  "export_format": "csv"
}

Use: Track ranking positions, analyze SERP features Cost: ~$0.05 per keyword

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🔧 Advanced Configuration

Using Custom JavaScript

Execute custom logic with the evaluate action:

{
  "type": "evaluate",
  "value": "document.querySelectorAll('.product').length"
}

Handling Dynamic Content

Wait for elements to load:

{
  "type": "wait_for_element",
  "selector": ".product-list",
  "timeout": 30000
}

Taking Targeted Screenshots

Capture specific elements:

{
  "type": "screenshot",
  "selector": ".product-card"
}

Form Automation

Complete multi-step forms:

{
  "actions": [
    {"type": "fill", "selector": "#email", "value": "user@example.com"},
    {"type": "fill", "selector": "#password", "value": "secretpass"},
    {"type": "check", "selector": "#terms"},
    {"type": "click", "selector": "button[type='submit']"},
    {"type": "wait", "value": "3000"},
    {"type": "screenshot"}
  ]
}

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🔗 Integration Examples

Integrate with Make.com (Integromat)

1. Add "HTTP Request" module
2. URL: \https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/aluminum_jam~playwright-mcp-actor/runs?token=xxxxxxxxxx
3. Method: POST
4. Headers: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_TOKEN
5. Body: Your input JSON

Integrate with Zapier

1. Use "Webhooks by Zapier" action
2. Choose "POST" request
3. URL: https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/aluminum_jam~playwright-mcp-actor/runs?token=xxxxxxxxx
4. Add Authorization header
5. Map your data to input schema

Integrate with Google Sheets

1. Run Actor via API
2. Use Apify Google Sheets integration
3. Auto-export results to spreadsheet
4. Schedule for automatic updates

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📊 Performance & Limits

Speed Benchmarks

• Simple navigation: 2-4 seconds
• Form filling: 0.5-1 second per field
• Data extraction: 0.1-0.5 seconds per element
• Screenshot: 0.5-2 seconds

Recommended Limits

• Max actions per run: 100 (for optimal performance)
• Timeout per action: 30 seconds (default: 10 seconds)
• Max run time: 300 seconds (5 minutes)
• Concurrent runs: Up to 100 (depending on plan)

Resource Usage

• Memory: 512MB - 1GB per run
• CPU: 1 core per run
• Storage: 100MB per run (includes screenshots)

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🆘 Troubleshooting & Support

Common Issues

Element Not Found

Problem: Element not found or timeout error

Solutions:

1. Increase timeout: "timeout": 30000
2. Try different selector: Use browser DevTools to find correct selector
3. Wait for element: Add wait_for_element action first
4. Use text selector: "selector": "Button Text", "selector_type": "text"

Proxy Errors

Problem: Proxy connection failed

Solutions:

1. Verify Apify Proxy is enabled in your account
2. Check proxy group availability: Try RESIDENTIAL or remove groups for auto
3. Test without proxy first to isolate issue

Rate Limiting / Blocked

Problem: Website blocks requests

Solutions:

1. Enable stealth mode: "stealth_mode": true
2. Use Apify Proxy: "use_apify_proxy": true
3. Add delays: Insert wait actions between requests
4. Reduce concurrent runs

Data Export Issues

Problem: Export file not found

Solutions:

1. Check "Key-Value Store" tab in Apify console
2. File is named OUTPUT_CSV.csv or OUTPUT_EXCEL.xlsx
3. Ensure export_format is set correctly

Need Help?

1. GitHub Issues: Report bugs or request features
2. Apify Forum: Community support
3. Email Support: anuju760@gmail.com (for paid users)

Known Limitations

• CAPTCHA: Cannot solve CAPTCHAs automatically (use CAPTCHA solving integration)
• Login Required: Some sites require authenticated sessions (use cookies)
• Heavy JavaScript: Complex SPAs may need additional wait times
• Bot Detection: Some sites actively block automation (use stealth mode + proxies)

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⚖️ Legal & Compliance

Terms of Service Compliance

Important: This tool automates browser interactions. You are responsible for complying with:

• Website Terms of Service you're accessing
• Robots.txt directives
• Rate limiting policies
• Data protection laws (GDPR, CCPA)
• Copyright and intellectual property rights

Best Practices

✅ DO:

• Respect robots.txt files
• Use reasonable request rates
• Add proper User-Agent headers
• Cache results to minimize requests
• Review website ToS before scraping

❌ DON'T:

• Scrape personal data without consent
• Bypass authentication without permission
• Ignore rate limits
• Redistribute scraped data commercially without rights
• Use for malicious purposes

Disclaimer: The authors are not responsible for misuse of this tool. Users must ensure compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

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🚀 Related Actors & Tools

Maximize your workflows with these complementary Actors:

Actor	Use Case	Link
Cheerio Scraper	Fast HTML parsing	View Actor
Puppeteer Scraper	Alternative browser automation	View Actor
Web Scraper	Point-and-click scraping	View Actor
Google Sheets Export	Export to spreadsheets	View Integration
CAPTCHA Solver	Solve CAPTCHAs	View Actor

Build a complete workflow: Use this Actor for data extraction → Process with custom scripts → Export to Google Sheets → Visualize in Tableau

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💬 Custom Solutions & Enterprise Support

Need something more tailored to your business?

We Offer:

• Custom Template Development: We build templates for your specific use case
• Integration Services: Connect with your existing tools and databases
• Dedicated Support: Priority support with SLA guarantees
• Training & Consulting: Team training on web scraping best practices
• Managed Scraping: We handle everything for you

Contact: anuju760@gmail.com

📈 Changelog

v1.0.0 (December 2025)

• ✅ Initial release
• ✅ 20+ action types
• ✅ 5 pre-built templates
• ✅ CSV/Excel export
• ✅ Apify Proxy integration
• ✅ Anti-detection stealth mode

Upcoming Features

• 🔜 AI action generator (natural language → actions)
• 🔜 CAPTCHA solving integration
• 🔜 Cookie session management
• 🔜 Advanced scheduling options
• 🔜 Webhook notifications

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📞 Contact

• Email: anuju760@gmail.com
• Twitter: @anuj123upadhyay
• GitHub: @anuj123upadhyay

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Made with ❤️ for the Apify community | Report Issues | Request Features | ⭐ Star on GitHub

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