Claude Code Browser Automation: Control Chrome with AI

Problem: Manually testing web applications, scraping data, and automating repetitive browser tasks wastes hours of development time.

Quick Win: Install the Puppeteer MCP server and automate your first browser task in 2 minutes:

npx @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer
claude mcp add puppeteer @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer

Now tell Claude: "Open a browser, navigate to example.com, and take a screenshot" - it'll handle the rest automatically.

Why Browser Automation with Claude Code?

Traditional browser automation requires writing complex scripts, handling selectors, and managing browser states. Claude Code with browser MCP servers turns natural language into browser actions.

Instead of writing 50 lines of Puppeteer code, you simply describe what you want: "Fill out this contact form with test data and submit it."

Setting Up Browser Automation

Install Puppeteer MCP Server

# Install the Puppeteer MCP server
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer
 
# Add to Claude Code configuration
claude mcp add puppeteer @modelcontextprotocol/server-puppeteer
 
# Test the connection
claude "Launch a browser and navigate to google.com"

Alternative: Playwright MCP Setup

# For more advanced browser testing
npm install -g @modelcontextprotocol/server-playwright
 
# Configure in Claude Code
claude mcp add playwright @modelcontextprotocol/server-playwright
 
# Install browser dependencies
npx playwright install chromium

Common Browser Automation Tasks

Web Scraping Made Simple

claude "Open amazon.com, search for 'wireless headphones', and extract the first 5 product titles and prices into a CSV file"

Claude Code handles:

• Opening the browser
• Finding search elements
• Extracting structured data
• Formatting as CSV

Form Testing Automation

claude "Open my local development site at localhost:3000, fill out the signup form with test data, submit it, and verify the success message appears"

This replaces manual testing with one command that:

• Navigates to your site
• Generates realistic test data
• Fills all form fields
• Validates success states

Visual Regression Testing

claude "Take screenshots of my homepage at different screen sizes (mobile, tablet, desktop) and compare them to the baseline screenshots in ./screenshots/baseline/"

Advanced Browser Automation Patterns

Multi-Step User Journeys

Claude Code excels at complex workflows:

claude "Simulate a complete e-commerce purchase flow: browse products, add to cart, go through checkout with test payment details, and verify the order confirmation page"

Cross-Browser Testing

claude "Run my login test in Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, then generate a report showing any differences in behavior"

Performance Monitoring

claude "Open my app, measure page load times for the dashboard, generate a Lighthouse report, and alert me if Core Web Vitals scores drop below 90"

Troubleshooting Browser Automation

Error: "Browser launch failed" Fix: Install required dependencies

sudo apt-get install -y chromium-browser

Error: "Element not found" Fix: Tell Claude to wait for elements:

claude "Wait for the login button to be visible, then click it"

Error: "Timeout waiting for page" Fix: Increase timeout in your request:

claude "Navigate to the slow-loading page and wait up to 30 seconds for it to fully load"

Integration with Development Workflow

Browser automation works seamlessly with your existing development process:

• Testing: Automate regression tests during builds
• Debugging: Capture visual proof of bugs
• Monitoring: Check production sites continuously
• Development: Test features across browsers instantly

Next Steps

Master browser automation by exploring these areas:

• Learn about MCP server configuration for customizing browser settings
• Set up custom integration patterns for your specific testing needs
• Explore popular MCP servers for additional automation capabilities
• Check out troubleshooting tips if you encounter browser-specific issues

Start with simple tasks like taking screenshots, then progress to complex user journey testing as you get comfortable with natural language browser control.