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Codex desktop ignores configured Playwright MCP server and falls back to Chrome-launching Playwright path #16696
Description
What version of the Codex App are you using (From “About Codex” dialog)?
26.325.31654
What subscription do you have?
Plus
What platform is your computer?
Windows 11 x64
What issue are you seeing?
Codex desktop appears to ignore my configured Playwright MCP server and instead uses a separate Playwright path that tries to launch local Chrome.
I configured Playwright in ~/.codex/config.toml like this:
[mcp_servers.playwright]
enabled = true
command = "npx"
args = ["@playwright/mcp@latest", "--extension"]
[mcp_servers.playwright.env]
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTENSION_TOKEN = "<redacted>"I have the Playwright MCP Bridge extension installed in Microsoft Edge, and the token matches the extension id.
I verified that:
codex mcp listshowsplaywrightenabledcodex mcp get playwrightshows the expectednpx @playwright/mcp@latest --extensionconfig- running node processes on my machine show
@playwright/mcp@latest --extensionis actually being launched
However, Playwright tool calls in the desktop app fail with:
Error: "chrome" executable not found. Make sure it is installed at a standard location.
Chrome is not installed on this machine, but Edge is installed.
Because this setup is using the extension bridge, a local Chrome install should not be required. This makes it look like the desktop app is not routing Playwright tool calls through the configured MCP server, even though that server is configured and running.
What steps can reproduce the bug?
- On Windows, configure Playwright MCP in
~/.codex/config.toml:
[mcp_servers.playwright]
enabled = true
command = "npx"
args = ["@playwright/mcp@latest", "--extension"]
[mcp_servers.playwright.env]
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTENSION_TOKEN = "<matching extension id>"- Install the Playwright MCP Bridge extension in Microsoft Edge.
- Restart Codex desktop.
- Confirm the MCP server is recognized with:
codex mcp listcodex mcp get playwright
- Confirm
@playwright/mcp@latest --extensionprocesses are running. - In Codex desktop, ask it to do a Playwright action such as opening
http://example.comand reading the page title. - Observe the failure:
Error: "chrome" executable not found. Make sure it is installed at a standard location.
What is the expected behavior?
Codex desktop should use the configured Playwright MCP server (npx @playwright/mcp@latest --extension) through the Edge extension bridge. A local Chrome install should not be required for this setup.
Additional information
No response
Activity
github-actions commentedon Apr 3, 2026
Potential duplicates detected. Please review them and close your issue if it is a duplicate.
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jeff162 commentedon Apr 3, 2026
I reviewed the suggested potential duplicates and do not think this is an exact duplicate.
/.playwright-mcp/ ENOENT)Browser is already in useMy repro is different:
Error: "chrome" executable not foundcodex mcp listshows the configuredplaywrightMCP server enabled@playwright/mcp@latest --extensionprocesses are actually runningAdditional testing on the same Windows machine:
I also reproduced the same initial failure in an interactive Codex CLI session.
Prompt:
Use Playwright to open http://example.com and tell me the page title.
The Codex Playwright tool call failed with:
Error: "chrome" executable not found. Make sure it is installed at a standard location.
As a control, I then ran Playwright directly against the installed Edge binary outside the built-in Codex Playwright tool path, and that succeeded and returned the page title:
Example Domain
So:
This means the problem is probably broader than just the desktop UI, since I saw the same initial Playwright failure from Codex CLI as well.
jeff162 commentedon Apr 3, 2026
Repro update: I initially reproduced this in Codex desktop on April 3, 2026 with the error:
Error: "chrome" executable not found. Make sure it is installed at a standard location.
After additional setup, Playwright worked correctly in Codex. The steps were:
npm install -g @playwright/mcp
npx playwright install chromium
set MCP config to:
args = ["--extension"]
After that, the same task succeeded: Codex used Playwright to open http://example.com and returned the title Example Domain.
So the issue seems narrower than a general Playwright failure. The problem appears to be that the default setup failed on missing Chrome and did not automatically use the Playwright-installed Chromium. This looks like either a fallback problem or a setup/discoverability problem.
Expected behavior:
Codex should either automatically use Playwright-managed Chromium, or surface clearer setup guidance when that extra configuration is required.