The Safari MCP server for web developers • Hacker News Board

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#51

Post by hbn » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:03 PM UTC

siva7 wrote: post #25

quantumHazer wrote: post #24

> 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.

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.

It wasn't nearly as good 2 years ago.

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#52

Post by keepamovin » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:07 PM UTC

olmo23 wrote: post #28

keepamovin wrote: post #5

Building something similar for Chrome and Firefox browsers: 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

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.

I understand that. Hence the name ‘correction’

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#53

Post by defied » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:12 PM UTC

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.

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#54

Post by simonw » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:19 PM UTC

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

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#55

Post by mrtksn » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:20 PM UTC

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

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#56

Post by demetris » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:35 PM UTC

pjmlp wrote: post #49

demetris wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think pjmlp is just being contrarian. First, the Microsoft browser these days is Edge, not IE. IE is dead. Second, if you want, or wanted in the past, to test on Internet Explorer without a Windows computer, you could just virtualize Windows. Windows can be legally virtualized on any hardware and on any host operating system. Starting from 2013, you didn’t even need to pay for a Windows license to do that: https://…

Nope, making a point. You would still need a VM for that. Just like you can get a macOS VM, plenty of ways to get them.

What plenty of ways?

How can I run a macOS virtual machine LEGALLY on my Linux or Windows machine?

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#57

Post by atonse » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:52 PM UTC

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.

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#58

Post by simondotau » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:52 PM UTC

hbn wrote: post #48

embedding-shape wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How do you test on Safari if you don’t have Apple devices? How do you test a Playstation game without a Playstation (dev kit)? How do you test some hardware firmware without having the hardware? How can you run a program without the hardware required to run the program, if no emulator/simulator is available? I'm almost lost at words how these are questions, unless they're theoretical and some diatribe comes afterwa…

I don't think it's fair to compare development for web, which is supposed to be an open standard, with developing for a proprietary piece of hardware like the Playstation. If you want to develop a game for the Switch and ignore the Playstation entirely, you can, and then you don't need a Playstation (dev kit). When you're developing for the web, you're ideally making something that runs regardless of the user's brows…

Having access to a representative spread of devices is the reality of web development. As a web developer that doesn't own any Android devices, I was "forced" to buy a couple of Android devices so that I could squash bugs (some of which couldn't be replicated in emulators) and to refine aspects of the physical touch experience that emulators cannot emulate. I don't resent these purchases, because I understand it's the reality of developing for a diverse open web.

And yet, oh how often I hear developers resent having to buy an Apple device. Every time, I look at my little stack of Android devices and instinctively roll my eyes.

> Cheapest option is detect if they're a Safari user and tell them to use another browser

I suppose the cheapest option for me was to detect if they're an Android user and tell them to use another device. It sounds silly to say it — it is silly to say it — but that's exactly the same logic.

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#59

Post by elAhmo » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:56 PM UTC

bel8 wrote: post #40

Raed667 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is there a difference between using these and using the playwright mcp with Chrome/Firefox config?

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 an…

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.

Re: The Safari MCP server for web developers

#60

Post by simondotau » Fri, Jul 03, 2026, 2:59 PM UTC

demetris wrote: post #56

pjmlp wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, making a point. You would still need a VM for that. Just like you can get a macOS VM, plenty of ways to get them.

What plenty of ways? How can I run a macOS virtual machine LEGALLY on my Linux or Windows machine?

Are seriously asking with a straight face? Just do what a generation of people have done with Windows and run an unlicensed version of macOS. There's a whole generation of people who can recite Windows product keys off by heart. (FCKGW, anyone?) Entire empires of indie web development will have been done on improperly licensed versions of Windows.

As for people working in a serious professional corporation that cannot condone casual piracy, buy a Mac mini and expense it, or get an account on MacStadium.