Safari Technology Preview 247: Introducing the Safari MCP Server

Safari Technology Preview 247: Introducing the Safari MCP Server

Apple has introduced the the Safari MCP server in Safari Technology Preview 247. This Model Context Protocol (MCP) server allows AI agents to connect directly to a Safari browser window, enabling them to inspect the DOM, analyze network requests, and capture screenshots to debug web applications autonomously.

Automated Debugging and Browser Interaction

The Safari MCP server eliminates the manual "debugging dance"—the repetitive cycle of switching between the browser, developer tools, and a code editor—by giving AI agents direct visibility into how code renders in Safari. Instead of a developer manually describing a bug to an agent, the agent can now independently verify the issue by interacting with the live browser session.

Core Capabilities

AI agents using the Safari MCP server can perform the following tasks:

  • Cross-Browser Compatibility Testing: Agents can inspect computed styles and layouts in Safari to ensure a site renders correctly across different browsers without the developer needing to switch windows.
  • Performance Analysis: Agents can evaluate JavaScript on the page to extract navigation timing and resource load times to identify performance bottlenecks.
  • Performance and Accessibility Audits: The server allows agents to check for missing labels, improper ARIA attributes, and poor color contrast to identify accessibility failures.
  • State Verification: Agents can query elements using selectors, confirm interaction flows (such as checkout processes), and verify the state of forms.

Technical Toolset

The Safari MCP server provides a comprehensive set of tools that agents can use to manipulate and inspect the browser:

Tool Description
browser_console_messages Returns buffered console logs for the current or specified tab
browser_dialogs Manages browser dialogs (accept, dismiss, or input text)
close_tab Closes a browser tab by its handle
create_tab Creates a new browser tab, optionally loading a URL
evaluate_javascript Executes JavaScript code within the page and returns the result
get_network_request Retrieves full details for a specific network request (headers, body, timing)
get_page_content Extracts page text in formats like Markdown, HTML, or JSON
list_network_requests Lists network request summaries (URL, method, status, timing)
list_tabs Lists all open browser tabs with handles and URLs
navigate_to_url Navigates to a URL and returns the loaded content
page_info Retrieves the current page's URL, title, and loading state
page_interactions Performs DOM interactions (click, type, scroll, hover, keyPress)
screenshot Capture a screenshot of the current page as a PNG
set_emulated_media Emulates CSS media types (e.g., "print") for responsive testing
set_viewport_size Sets the browser viewport size in CSS pixels
switch_tab Switches to a different browser tab by its handle
wait_for_navigation Waits for the page to finish loading

Installation and Configuration

To use the Safari MCP server, users must install Safari Technology Preview and enable "Show features for web developers" and "Enable remote automation and external agents" in the Safari settings.

Configuration Examples

For Claude users, the following command is used:

claude mcp add safari-mcp-stp -- "/Applications/Safari Technology Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/safaridriver" --mcp

For Codex users:

codex mcp add safari-mcp-stp -- "/Applications/Safari Technology Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/safaridriver" --mcp

For other MCP-compatible agents, the configuration in mcp.json or config.json should be:

"safari-mcp-stp": {
  "command": "/Applications/Safari Technology Preview.app/Contents/MacOS/safaridriver",
  "args": ["--mcp"]
}

Privacy and Security

The Safari MCP server runs locally on the user's machine and does not make external network calls. It does not have access to personal information such as AutoFill data or general browser activity. Data captured by the server (screenshots, logs, and page content) is sent directly to the agent being used, not to Apple.

Community Perspectives

Developer discussions highlight that this tool joins a growing ecosystem of browser-based MCP servers, with similar tools already existing for Chrome and Firefox.

I have been using Chrome's official MCP devtools server since Nov 2025... I also instruct LLMs to test my pages on Firefox using its official MCP to make sure they work in Firefox too. Now I will add Safari to the compatibility tests.

Other developers have noted that while safaridriver has existed for years as a WebDriver W3C implementation, the MCP integration provides a more streamlined interface for AI agents to operate autonomously.

Sources