Playwright Browser Automation

Browser automation skill. Write custom Playwright code for any task and execute via run.js.

Setup

Dependencies are installed automatically on first run. Uses system Chrome by default (channel: 'chrome'). If Chrome not found, run npx playwright install chromium.

Note: Must use node to run scripts. Playwright is incompatible with bun runtime due to pipe/child_process API differences.

Workflow

1. Detect dev servers (for localhost testing):

cd <skill directory> && node -e "require('./lib/helpers').detectDevServers().then(s => console.log(JSON.stringify(s)))"

• 1 server found → use it automatically
• Multiple servers → ask user which one
• No servers → ask for URL

2. Write script to /tmp with parameterized URL:

// /tmp/playwright-test-example.js
const { chromium } = require("playwright");
const TARGET_URL = "http://localhost:3001"; // detected or user-provided

(async () => {
  const browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: false, channel: "chrome" });
  const page = await browser.newPage();
  await page.goto(TARGET_URL);
  // ... automation code ...
  await browser.close();
})();

3. Execute:

cd <skill directory> && node run.js /tmp/playwright-test-example.js

Key Rules

• Always execute via run.js — never run scripts directly with node /tmp/script.js; run.js resolves dependencies from skill directory
• Always detect servers first for localhost testing
• Write to /tmp - never to skill directory or user's project
• Use headless: false by default — Playwright is typically used when sites have Cloudflare/bot protection that blocks simpler fetch methods; headless browsers are easily detected
• Parameterize URLs with TARGET_URL constant

Helpers

Optional utilities in lib/helpers.js:

const helpers = require("./lib/helpers");

await helpers.detectDevServers(); // Find running dev servers
await helpers.safeClick(page, selector); // Click with retry
await helpers.safeType(page, selector, text); // Type with clear
await helpers.takeScreenshot(page, name); // Timestamped screenshot
await helpers.handleCookieBanner(page); // Dismiss cookie popups
await helpers.extractTableData(page, selector); // Get table as JSON

Patterns

See references/patterns.md for common patterns:

• Basic page test
• Responsive design testing
• Login flow
• Form submission
• Broken links check
• Screenshot with error handling
• Inline execution

Tips

• Use slowMo: 100 to make actions visible
• Use waitForURL, waitForSelector instead of fixed timeouts
• Always use try-catch for robust automation
• Use console.log() to track progress

Troubleshooting