Bug Description

After upgrading from @playwright/mcp@0.0.60 to @playwright/mcp@0.0.70 (via @latest), the MCP server fails with:

Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, mkdir '/.playwright-mcp'

This happens on macOS where / is a read-only filesystem (SIP/APFS sealed system volume). The navigate, click, and other state-mutating tools fail, while snapshot and run_code work since they don't trigger outputFile().

Root Cause

The outputDir() function was refactored between v0.0.60 and v0.0.70, removing the fallback to os.tmpdir().

v0.0.60 (playwright/lib/mcp/browser/config.js:293) — has proper fallback:

function outputDir(config, clientInfo) {
  const rootPath = firstRootPath(clientInfo);
  return config.outputDir 
    ?? (rootPath ? path.join(rootPath, ".playwright-mcp") : void 0) 
    ?? path.join(tmpDir(), String(clientInfo.timestamp));
  //   ↑ safe fallback to tmpdir
}

v0.0.70 (playwright-core/lib/tools/backend/context.js:272) — no fallback:

function outputDir(options) {
  if (options.config.outputDir)
    return path.resolve(options.config.outputDir);
  return path.resolve(options.cwd, ".playwright-mcp");
  //                   ↑ options.cwd is "/" when launched as MCP server without explicit CWD
}

When the MCP server is spawned by an IDE (e.g. Windsurf/VS Code) without an explicit cwd, options.cwd resolves to /, leading to mkdir('/.playwright-mcp') which fails on macOS.

Expected Behavior

outputDir() should fall back to os.tmpdir() or os.homedir() when the CWD-based path is not writable, as it did in v0.0.60.

Environment

• OS: macOS 15 (Sequoia) — APFS sealed system volume, / is read-only
• Node: v22.x
• Package: @playwright/mcp@0.0.70 (latest as of April 2, 2026)
• Working version: @playwright/mcp@0.0.60
• IDE: Windsurf (Codeium)
• MCP config:

{
  "args": ["-y", "@playwright/mcp@latest"],
  "command": "npx",
  "env": { "HOME": "/Users/username" }
}

Workaround

Pin to @playwright/mcp@0.0.60 in the MCP config.

Suggested Fix

Restore the fallback chain in outputDir():

function outputDir(options) {
  if (options.config.outputDir)
    return path.resolve(options.config.outputDir);
  const cwdPath = path.resolve(options.cwd, options.config.skillMode ? ".playwright-cli" : ".playwright-mcp");
  // Fallback if CWD is root or not writable
  if (options.cwd === '/' || options.cwd === '')
    return path.join(os.tmpdir(), 'playwright-mcp-output');
  return cwdPath;
}