JetBrains MCP Proxy vs Playwright MCP Server

A side-by-side comparison of two Developer Tools servers — tools, transport, auth, maintenance, and copy-paste config for each.

	JetBrains MCP Proxy Connect MCP clients to a running JetBrains IDE (IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, Android Studio). Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript	Playwright MCP Server Microsoft's official browser-automation MCP using Playwright's accessibility tree (no vision model). Verified stdio (local) No auth TypeScript
Category	Developer Tools	Developer Tools
Language	TypeScript	TypeScript
Transport	stdio (local)	stdio (local)
Auth	None	None
GitHub stars	5.0k	24k
Last commit	4 months ago	11 days ago
Verified
Actively maintained
Install	`npx -y @jetbrains/mcp-proxy`	`npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest`
Repo	Open	Open

Verdict

Pick JetBrains MCP Proxy if you prefer its approach (connect mcp clients to a running jetbrains ide (intellij, pycharm, webstorm, android studio)).

Pick Playwright MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Add JetBrains MCP Proxy

Install / run

npx -y @jetbrains/mcp-proxy

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "jetbrains-mcp-proxy": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@jetbrains/mcp-proxy"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Add Playwright MCP Server

Install / run

npx -y @playwright/mcp@latest

Paste into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright-mcp-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@playwright/mcp@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

FAQ

JetBrains MCP Proxy or Playwright MCP Server — which is better?

Pick JetBrains MCP Proxy if you prefer its approach (connect mcp clients to a running jetbrains ide (intellij, pycharm, webstorm, android studio)). Pick Playwright MCP Server if you prefer the more popular, battle-tested option.

Can I use both JetBrains MCP Proxy and Playwright MCP Server?

Yes — MCP clients let you enable multiple servers at once. Add both configs to your client's mcpServers and use whichever tool fits the task.

Do JetBrains MCP Proxy and Playwright MCP Server work with Claude, Cursor and Windsurf?

Both do. Copy the per-client config below into Claude Desktop, Cursor, or Windsurf.

View JetBrains MCP Proxy →View Playwright MCP Server →More comparisons →