6 ms·

The Safari MCP server for web developers

272 points by coloneltcb 3mo ago

croisillon 3mo ago
so it's a crossover of dev tools and LLM? sounds sane enough i'd say
Onavo 3mo ago
I wonder if it supports Private Relay. Private Relay is great for getting around scraping blocks because they explicitly whitelist apple private Relay ips.
- reader9274 3mo ago
  Which sites explicitly whitelist Private Relay IPs?
  - hnav 3mo ago
    https://developer.apple.com/icloud/prepare-your-network-for-icloud-private-relay/ https://developer.apple.com/icloud/prepare-your-network-for-... has a guide for web server operators, including a GeoIP CSV which could conceivably be used for whitelisting. More concerning is that they're plugging private access tokens there, which allows Apple to vouch that you're a human running their hardware.
- greggsy 3mo ago
  Should do. Private relay really would be a sweet alternative to residential scraping proxies, but I’d expect sites to put in additionally checks and captchas before too long.
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
keepamovin 3mo ago
Building something similar for Chrome and Firefox browsers: https://github.com/DO-SAY-GO/WebCLI https://github.com/DO-SAY-GO/WebCLI - a CLI not MCP. Tho am considering MCP for distribution, even tho agents love the CLI and the proof demos speak for themselves. The reason I did not include Safari was there wasn't enough parity between its Safaridriver surface and what Bidi/CDP give now. Safari is doing Bidi tho, iirc. So ...soon perhaps. ;) ;p xx ;p
- greggsy 3mo ago
  Not really sure why your project needs to be so… edgy?
  - keepamovin 3mo ago
    Marketing iterations. Plus dang downweighted my posts after I got the biggest Show HN of last year, so I'm trying harder to get attn. HN maybe isn't the big launch - but it's kinda a legacy thing for me. Can't blame a guy for tryin The actual site is: https://duetbrowser.com/ https://duetbrowser.com/
- olmo23 3mo ago
  Not sure you want to hear this but there is 0% chance I will ever bring up a product with a vulgar name at work.
  - keepamovin 3mo ago
    I understand that. Hence the name ‘correction’
  - lynndotpy 3mo ago
    Introducing a new Linux distribution which comes with the yiff sound server, the GIMP image editor, and provides for web browsing entirely using FuckUI.
    - keepamovin 2mo ago
      Hahahaha lol. That’s a good point.
AIorNot 3mo ago
Does this support mobile simulator safari too
bel8 3mo ago
I have been using Chrome's official MCP devtools server since Nov 2025. https://github.com/ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp https://github.com/ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp Before that I used Chrome web drivers but MCP is faster and more capable. I also instruct LLMs to test my pages on Firefox using its official MCP to make sure they work in Firefox too: https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-devtools-mcp https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-devtools-mcp Now I will add Safari to the compatibility tests. cool
- Raed667 3mo ago
  Is there a difference between using these and using the playwright mcp with Chrome/Firefox config?
  - bel8 3mo ago
    I can speak for Chrome's MCP which I have more experience. devtools MCP will have access to more deep level fetures such as performance profiling, lighthouse and network requests in details (headers, auth, cookies...). For example, I had success using chrome devtools mcp to debug frontend performance issues. The LLM captured and analyzed some nice traces and was able to isolate bottlenecks and unnecessary repaints and reflows.
    - elAhmo 3mo ago
      Network request access is really helpful! When having access to both backend and frontend, and then seeing what actual code is requesting and returning can really help with hunting bugs or doing basic QA.
  - Syntaf 3mo ago
    I used the chrome MCP to profile a slow react page at my company, set a /goal and had it iterate until it achieved under 100ms responsiveness to actions. Claude was able to identify the slowness and use various react tricks to fix the specific issues, all without my input. I don’t think the playwright MCP can do this, unless I’m mistaken
- 3mo ago
N_Lens 3mo ago
[flagged]
jkwang 3mo ago
[dead]
demetris 3mo ago
But does Apple really care about web developers? How do you test on Safari if you don’t have Apple devices? How difficult can it be for Apple to make barebones virtual machines with just Safaris?
- Terretta 3mo ago
  Even in the Chrome hegemony you don't want to be missing Edge and many others, so you test chromium. Similarly, while not perfect you can test WebKit, and if you like, on Linux or Windows, for example: https://orionbrowser.com/platforms/linux https://orionbrowser.com/platforms/linux Apple wouldn't be in the business of VMs with Safari, but if you're looking for MacOS VMs, turn to a CSP: https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/mac/ https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/mac/ Many have software testing orchestration pre-wired.
  - demetris 3mo ago
    I know of the solutions. I use a few of them. I have multiple Playwright webkits on both Windows and Linux. I have Epiphany on Linux (not 100% same webkit). I have subscriptions for testing on real hardware. This is why it seems to me that Apple does not really care about web developers.
  - Alifatisk 3mo ago
    No way, is Orion Browser available on other platforms as well now? Does it mean I can finally do tests for Safari (webkit) without owning an Apple product or paying for a vm? Incredible.
- pjmlp 3mo ago
  Just like you would test IE on Linux or OS X.
  - demetris 3mo ago
    ### THIS FILE IS AUTOMATICALLY CONFIGURED ### # Changes to this file will not be preserved. # This file will not be recreated if removed. X-Repolib-Name: Microsoft Edge Types: deb URIs: https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge-stable Suites: stable Components: main Architectures: amd64 Architectures: amd64 Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-edge.gpg Come on! The year is not 2001.
egeozcan 3mo ago
I'd personally suggest Playwright-CLI: https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli It works much faster for me than the MCP servers I tried.
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
- jwr 3mo ago
  Also, spel (https://github.com/Blockether/spel https://github.com/Blockether/spel) for persistent browser sessions (through a daemon) and Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit engines.
- deleted 3mo ago
  [deleted]
- frb 3mo ago
  All this felt heavy to me. Full browser, debug protocol, DOM dump on every read. MCP vs CLI is the smaller question, what sits underneath matters more. So I built a small Rust binary that drives the system webview directly and returns state tokens and deltas instead of the DOM. Loading the HN front page costs the agent about 50 tokens. It speaks both MCP and CLI, pick whichever your agent prefers. https://github.com/frane/vibesurfer https://github.com/frane/vibesurfer
- jeffyaw 3mo ago
  playwright is AWESOME for e2e testing (works great with electron!). although, i use the playwright mcp. :)
  - robbs 3mo ago
    The CLI is, IME, faster and less buggy than the MCP.
    - beaugunderson 3mo ago
      the CLI is also Microsoft's preferred way to use it with agents: > playwright-cli is best for coding agents (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, etc.) that favor token-efficient, skill-based workflows. CLI commands avoid loading large tool schemas and verbose accessibility trees into the model context. they do still recommend the MCP for long-running autonomous workflows (e.g. a UAT agent).
aniketsaini777 3mo ago
[flagged]
quantumHazer 3mo ago
> There are many ways to build for the web, both with and without AI. If AI is a part of your workflow, we think this tool will help make it even more productive. And if it isn’t, that’s OK too. Crazy thing to say in 2026 where if you write code and not delegate every bit to an agent you're considered a noob by some people.
- siva7 3mo ago
  The opposite was considered two years ago a crazy thing to say. I'm glad this changed and people using ai don't have to hide in the closet anymore for doing so.
  - dofm 3mo ago
    When have people using AI to develop ever had to hide in any closet? It's the most public "new hotness" ever.
    - Alifatisk 3mo ago
      That’s the point I think. Remember the controversy when Github Copilot came out? Not because where it got its data from, but because people didn’t feel like they wrote code anymore, they just tabbed the autocompleted snippets and was finished with a task in much shorter time.
  - hbn 3mo ago
    It wasn't nearly as good 2 years ago.
- llm_nerd 3mo ago
  Which part makes it crazy? The fact that they felt the need to add this disclaimer to try to assuage the fanatical anti-AI contingent? Like this is specifically a tool for AI-augmented development, and they had to add this "but also, thoughts and prayers for you non-AI people" is incredibly weird, but not in the way you seem to think it is.
adam12345 3mo ago
should say "see how my website performs on safari"
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
jickmao 3mo ago
MCP for browser automation is interesting because Safari's WebKit engine is the one most AI agents can't easily drive (Playwright and Puppeteer are Chromium-first). Having an MCP server for it could fill a real gap in cross-browser testing for agent workflows.
mrtksn 3mo ago
Does the websites get some flag or clue that this is an AI bot interacting?
defied 3mo ago
There has been the (Apple provided) safaridriver for a couple of years. It speaks WebDriver W3C and can be used to interact with a Safari instance.
simonw 3mo ago
I've been telling agents to run Chrome and talk to it directly via the CDP recently and finding that to work very well.
- michelb 3mo ago
  Indeed. This works much better and faster than the mcp route.
- motoroco 3mo ago
  I'll have to try that. how does it compare to using playwright? it seems like one advantage of playwright is being able to use it with multiple browsers, at least as far as web development goes. if these browser-specific tools end up being faster or more token efficient then it's probably the better pick for task automation and claws
  - simonw 3mo ago
    Yeah, the big advantage of playwright is that it's cross-browser. It's still my go-to tool for automated testing - I use the CDP trick for one-off automation tasks.
atonse 3mo ago
I am especially hopeful for this for my daily stuff, not just testing. Meaning, having a hopefully seamless way to perform some automations in the browser on my behalf but since it’s the browser I’m logged in to, it just makes the handoff between myself and the agent feel more seamless. And that’s because I’ve used safari as my main browser, not chrome, because it isn’t as much of a battery hog.
- kordlessagain 3mo ago
  I'm working on Hyperia and it has full agentic control of a webpane (Electron based) for doing crazy things with it: https://github.com/deepbluedynamics/hyperia https://github.com/deepbluedynamics/hyperia. Uses an agent container orchestrator as well, which has MCP tools to expose ports in the container (and thus can display the work in the webpane): https://github.com/DeepBlueDynamics/nemesis8 https://github.com/DeepBlueDynamics/nemesis8 I'll add the Safari MCP wiring to n8 today... New releases landing tonight with more features.
- ccouzens 3mo ago
  > It also does not have access to your personal information in Safari (e.g. AutoFill or other browser activity). I read this as meaning you won't be logged into the instance the agent interacts with
- mooreds 3mo ago
  > it just makes the handoff between myself and the agent feel more seamless. This terrifies me because there's no way for the services on the other side of the browser to know who is doing what. How do you constrain the agent? How do you keep track of what you have done vs the agent? What am I missing? Am I just behind the times? Edit, added reference to what terrifies me.
  - tangweigang 2mo ago
    [flagged]
runjake 3mo ago
Federico Viticci went into a little more detail about what this means on MacStories, Mastodon, and the latest episode of the Connected podcast. It is also more approachable for laypeople. Be sure to visit the links from the story, as well. https://www.macstories.net/linked/safaris-new-mcp-server-is-great-for-agents/ https://www.macstories.net/linked/safaris-new-mcp-server-is-... https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/116847167023618099 https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/116847167023618099 https://relay.fm/connected/610 https://relay.fm/connected/610
efitz 3mo ago
How are the MCP servers compared to Playwright?
- noiv 3mo ago
  PLayWright is not built into browsers...?
  - efitz 3mo ago
    What is the difference in functionality?
    - noiv 2mo ago
      With PlayWright you find bugs and with MCP you remove them.
cadamsdotcom 2mo ago
Why waste tokens letting your agent use an MCP? Have it write playwright code to debug. (for those who don’t know, Playwright is a system and API that lets you write code to drive a headless (invisible) browser - “click the button with this DOM id, scroll to here, choose this dropdown option, click Submit, etc.) Once it tracks down the bugs - boom! You have an end to end test to add to your suite.

272 points by coloneltcb 3mo ago

so it's a crossover of dev tools and LLM? sounds sane enough i'd say

Onavo 3mo ago

I wonder if it supports Private Relay. Private Relay is great for getting around scraping blocks because they explicitly whitelist apple private Relay ips.

reader9274 3mo ago
Which sites explicitly whitelist Private Relay IPs?
- hnav 3mo ago
  https://developer.apple.com/icloud/prepare-your-network-for-icloud-private-relay/ https://developer.apple.com/icloud/prepare-your-network-for-... has a guide for web server operators, including a GeoIP CSV which could conceivably be used for whitelisting. More concerning is that they're plugging private access tokens there, which allows Apple to vouch that you're a human running their hardware.
greggsy 3mo ago
Should do. Private relay really would be a sweet alternative to residential scraping proxies, but I’d expect sites to put in additionally checks and captchas before too long.

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

keepamovin 3mo ago

Building something similar for Chrome and Firefox browsers: https://github.com/DO-SAY-GO/WebCLI https://github.com/DO-SAY-GO/WebCLI - a CLI not MCP. Tho am considering MCP for distribution, even tho agents love the CLI and the proof demos speak for themselves. The reason I did not include Safari was there wasn't enough parity between its Safaridriver surface and what Bidi/CDP give now. Safari is doing Bidi tho, iirc. So ...soon perhaps. ;) ;p xx ;p

greggsy 3mo ago
Not really sure why your project needs to be so… edgy?
- keepamovin 3mo ago
  Marketing iterations. Plus dang downweighted my posts after I got the biggest Show HN of last year, so I'm trying harder to get attn. HN maybe isn't the big launch - but it's kinda a legacy thing for me. Can't blame a guy for tryin The actual site is: https://duetbrowser.com/ https://duetbrowser.com/
olmo23 3mo ago
Not sure you want to hear this but there is 0% chance I will ever bring up a product with a vulgar name at work.
- keepamovin 3mo ago
  I understand that. Hence the name ‘correction’
- lynndotpy 3mo ago
  Introducing a new Linux distribution which comes with the yiff sound server, the GIMP image editor, and provides for web browsing entirely using FuckUI.
  - keepamovin 2mo ago
    Hahahaha lol. That’s a good point.

AIorNot 3mo ago

Does this support mobile simulator safari too

bel8 3mo ago

I have been using Chrome's official MCP devtools server since Nov 2025. https://github.com/ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp https://github.com/ChromeDevTools/chrome-devtools-mcp Before that I used Chrome web drivers but MCP is faster and more capable. I also instruct LLMs to test my pages on Firefox using its official MCP to make sure they work in Firefox too: https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-devtools-mcp https://github.com/mozilla/firefox-devtools-mcp Now I will add Safari to the compatibility tests. cool

Raed667 3mo ago
Is there a difference between using these and using the playwright mcp with Chrome/Firefox config?
- bel8 3mo ago
  I can speak for Chrome's MCP which I have more experience. devtools MCP will have access to more deep level fetures such as performance profiling, lighthouse and network requests in details (headers, auth, cookies...). For example, I had success using chrome devtools mcp to debug frontend performance issues. The LLM captured and analyzed some nice traces and was able to isolate bottlenecks and unnecessary repaints and reflows.
  - elAhmo 3mo ago
    Network request access is really helpful! When having access to both backend and frontend, and then seeing what actual code is requesting and returning can really help with hunting bugs or doing basic QA.
- Syntaf 3mo ago
  I used the chrome MCP to profile a slow react page at my company, set a /goal and had it iterate until it achieved under 100ms responsiveness to actions. Claude was able to identify the slowness and use various react tricks to fix the specific issues, all without my input. I don’t think the playwright MCP can do this, unless I’m mistaken
3mo ago

N_Lens 3mo ago

[flagged]

jkwang 3mo ago

[dead]

demetris 3mo ago

But does Apple really care about web developers? How do you test on Safari if you don’t have Apple devices? How difficult can it be for Apple to make barebones virtual machines with just Safaris?

Terretta 3mo ago
Even in the Chrome hegemony you don't want to be missing Edge and many others, so you test chromium. Similarly, while not perfect you can test WebKit, and if you like, on Linux or Windows, for example: https://orionbrowser.com/platforms/linux https://orionbrowser.com/platforms/linux Apple wouldn't be in the business of VMs with Safari, but if you're looking for MacOS VMs, turn to a CSP: https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/mac/ https://aws.amazon.com/ec2/instance-types/mac/ Many have software testing orchestration pre-wired.
- demetris 3mo ago
  I know of the solutions. I use a few of them. I have multiple Playwright webkits on both Windows and Linux. I have Epiphany on Linux (not 100% same webkit). I have subscriptions for testing on real hardware. This is why it seems to me that Apple does not really care about web developers.
- Alifatisk 3mo ago
  No way, is Orion Browser available on other platforms as well now? Does it mean I can finally do tests for Safari (webkit) without owning an Apple product or paying for a vm? Incredible.
pjmlp 3mo ago
Just like you would test IE on Linux or OS X.
- demetris 3mo ago
  ### THIS FILE IS AUTOMATICALLY CONFIGURED ### # Changes to this file will not be preserved. # This file will not be recreated if removed. X-Repolib-Name: Microsoft Edge Types: deb URIs: https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/edge-stable Suites: stable Components: main Architectures: amd64 Architectures: amd64 Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft-edge.gpg Come on! The year is not 2001.

egeozcan 3mo ago

I'd personally suggest Playwright-CLI: https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli It works much faster for me than the MCP servers I tried.

deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
jwr 3mo ago
Also, spel (https://github.com/Blockether/spel https://github.com/Blockether/spel) for persistent browser sessions (through a daemon) and Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit engines.
deleted 3mo ago
[deleted]
frb 3mo ago
All this felt heavy to me. Full browser, debug protocol, DOM dump on every read. MCP vs CLI is the smaller question, what sits underneath matters more. So I built a small Rust binary that drives the system webview directly and returns state tokens and deltas instead of the DOM. Loading the HN front page costs the agent about 50 tokens. It speaks both MCP and CLI, pick whichever your agent prefers. https://github.com/frane/vibesurfer https://github.com/frane/vibesurfer
jeffyaw 3mo ago
playwright is AWESOME for e2e testing (works great with electron!). although, i use the playwright mcp. :)
- robbs 3mo ago
  The CLI is, IME, faster and less buggy than the MCP.
  - beaugunderson 3mo ago
    the CLI is also Microsoft's preferred way to use it with agents: > playwright-cli is best for coding agents (Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, etc.) that favor token-efficient, skill-based workflows. CLI commands avoid loading large tool schemas and verbose accessibility trees into the model context. they do still recommend the MCP for long-running autonomous workflows (e.g. a UAT agent).

aniketsaini777 3mo ago

[flagged]

quantumHazer 3mo ago

> There are many ways to build for the web, both with and without AI. If AI is a part of your workflow, we think this tool will help make it even more productive. And if it isn’t, that’s OK too. Crazy thing to say in 2026 where if you write code and not delegate every bit to an agent you're considered a noob by some people.

siva7 3mo ago
The opposite was considered two years ago a crazy thing to say. I'm glad this changed and people using ai don't have to hide in the closet anymore for doing so.
- dofm 3mo ago
  When have people using AI to develop ever had to hide in any closet? It's the most public "new hotness" ever.
  - Alifatisk 3mo ago
    That’s the point I think. Remember the controversy when Github Copilot came out? Not because where it got its data from, but because people didn’t feel like they wrote code anymore, they just tabbed the autocompleted snippets and was finished with a task in much shorter time.
- hbn 3mo ago
  It wasn't nearly as good 2 years ago.
llm_nerd 3mo ago
Which part makes it crazy? The fact that they felt the need to add this disclaimer to try to assuage the fanatical anti-AI contingent? Like this is specifically a tool for AI-augmented development, and they had to add this "but also, thoughts and prayers for you non-AI people" is incredibly weird, but not in the way you seem to think it is.

adam12345 3mo ago

should say "see how my website performs on safari"

deleted 3mo ago

[deleted]

jickmao 3mo ago

MCP for browser automation is interesting because Safari's WebKit engine is the one most AI agents can't easily drive (Playwright and Puppeteer are Chromium-first). Having an MCP server for it could fill a real gap in cross-browser testing for agent workflows.

mrtksn 3mo ago

Does the websites get some flag or clue that this is an AI bot interacting?

defied 3mo ago

There has been the (Apple provided) safaridriver for a couple of years. It speaks WebDriver W3C and can be used to interact with a Safari instance.

simonw 3mo ago

I've been telling agents to run Chrome and talk to it directly via the CDP recently and finding that to work very well.

michelb 3mo ago
Indeed. This works much better and faster than the mcp route.
motoroco 3mo ago
I'll have to try that. how does it compare to using playwright? it seems like one advantage of playwright is being able to use it with multiple browsers, at least as far as web development goes. if these browser-specific tools end up being faster or more token efficient then it's probably the better pick for task automation and claws
- simonw 3mo ago
  Yeah, the big advantage of playwright is that it's cross-browser. It's still my go-to tool for automated testing - I use the CDP trick for one-off automation tasks.

atonse 3mo ago

I am especially hopeful for this for my daily stuff, not just testing. Meaning, having a hopefully seamless way to perform some automations in the browser on my behalf but since it’s the browser I’m logged in to, it just makes the handoff between myself and the agent feel more seamless. And that’s because I’ve used safari as my main browser, not chrome, because it isn’t as much of a battery hog.

kordlessagain 3mo ago
I'm working on Hyperia and it has full agentic control of a webpane (Electron based) for doing crazy things with it: https://github.com/deepbluedynamics/hyperia https://github.com/deepbluedynamics/hyperia. Uses an agent container orchestrator as well, which has MCP tools to expose ports in the container (and thus can display the work in the webpane): https://github.com/DeepBlueDynamics/nemesis8 https://github.com/DeepBlueDynamics/nemesis8 I'll add the Safari MCP wiring to n8 today... New releases landing tonight with more features.
ccouzens 3mo ago
> It also does not have access to your personal information in Safari (e.g. AutoFill or other browser activity). I read this as meaning you won't be logged into the instance the agent interacts with
mooreds 3mo ago
> it just makes the handoff between myself and the agent feel more seamless. This terrifies me because there's no way for the services on the other side of the browser to know who is doing what. How do you constrain the agent? How do you keep track of what you have done vs the agent? What am I missing? Am I just behind the times? Edit, added reference to what terrifies me.
- tangweigang 2mo ago
  [flagged]

runjake 3mo ago

Federico Viticci went into a little more detail about what this means on MacStories, Mastodon, and the latest episode of the Connected podcast. It is also more approachable for laypeople. Be sure to visit the links from the story, as well. https://www.macstories.net/linked/safaris-new-mcp-server-is-great-for-agents/ https://www.macstories.net/linked/safaris-new-mcp-server-is-... https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/116847167023618099 https://mastodon.macstories.net/@viticci/116847167023618099 https://relay.fm/connected/610 https://relay.fm/connected/610

efitz 3mo ago

How are the MCP servers compared to Playwright?

noiv 3mo ago
PLayWright is not built into browsers...?
- efitz 3mo ago
  What is the difference in functionality?
  - noiv 2mo ago
    With PlayWright you find bugs and with MCP you remove them.

cadamsdotcom 2mo ago

Why waste tokens letting your agent use an MCP? Have it write playwright code to debug. (for those who don’t know, Playwright is a system and API that lets you write code to drive a headless (invisible) browser - “click the button with this DOM id, scroll to here, choose this dropdown option, click Submit, etc.) Once it tracks down the bugs - boom! You have an end to end test to add to your suite.