Copilot CLI docs appear inconsistent about whether Playwright is a built-in MCP server

[aosama]

Code of Conduct

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What article on docs.github.com is affected?

Body:
The Copilot CLI command reference appears internally inconsistent about built-in MCP servers.

Docs page:
https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/reference/copilot-cli-reference/cli-command-reference#built-in-mcp-servers

What the docs currently say:

• The “Built-in MCP servers” table lists:
  • github-mcp-server
  • playwright
  • fetch
  • time
• The description for playwright says:
  • “Browser automation: navigate, click, type, screenshot, and form handling.”
• On the same page, the --disable-builtin-mcps option says:
  • “Disable all built-in MCP servers (currently: github-mcp-server).”

Why this looks wrong:

• Those two statements conflict with each other. If playwright, fetch, and time are built in, the --disable-builtin-mcps text should not say “currently: github-mcp-server”.
• Other Copilot CLI docs also describe the GitHub MCP server as already configured, while showing Playwright as something users add themselves with npx @playwright/mcp@latest.

Local verification:

• Environment: macOS, GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.5

• I temporarily removed my user-configured playwright MCP server from my global Copilot MCP config.

• Then I ran Copilot CLI with this prompt:

  “Use built-in browser automation only. Open https://example.com in a browser and tell me the page title. If browser automation is unavailable, say exactly that and do not substitute shell commands or web fetch.”

• The CLI response was exactly:

  “Browser automation is unavailable.”

This suggests that, at least in this environment, Playwright browser automation is not actually available as a built-in MCP server once the user-added Playwright config is removed.

Requested fix:
Please clarify which MCP servers are truly built into Copilot CLI by default, and then align:

• the “Built-in MCP servers” table
• the --disable-builtin-mcps option text
• any Copilot CLI how-to pages that imply Playwright must be added manually

If Playwright is only available in some environments, behind a feature flag, or through a separate MCP setup, the docs should say that explicitly instead of presenting it as unconditionally built in.

What part(s) of the article would you like to see updated?

The “Built-in MCP servers” table lists:

• github-mcp-server
• playwright
• fetch
• time

it should say:

• github-mcp-server

Additional information

No response

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