Use when the task requires automating a real browser from the terminal (navigation, form filling, snapshots, screenshots, data extraction, UI-flow debugging) via `playwright-cli` or the bundled wrapper script. Originally from OpenAI's curated skills catalog.
Drive a real browser from the terminal using playwright-cli. Prefer the bundled wrapper script so the CLI works even when it is not globally installed.
Treat this skill as CLI-first automation. Do not pivot to @playwright/test unless the user explicitly asks for test files.
Before proposing commands, check whether npx is available (the wrapper depends on it):
command -v npx >/dev/null 2>&1
If it is not available, pause and ask the user to install Node.js/npm (which provides npx). Provide these steps verbatim:
# Verify Node/npm are installed
node --version
npm --version
# If missing, install Node.js/npm, then:
npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest
playwright-cli --help
Once npx is present, proceed with the wrapper script. A global install of playwright-cli is optional.
Scripts and references are located under {baseDir}/.
Use the wrapper script:
"$PWCLI" open https://playwright.dev --headed
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" click e15
"$PWCLI" type "Playwright"
"$PWCLI" press Enter
"$PWCLI" screenshot
If the user prefers a global install, this is also valid:
npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest
playwright-cli --help
Minimal loop:
"$PWCLI" open https://example.com
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" click e3
"$PWCLI" snapshot
Snapshot again after:
Refs can go stale. When a command fails due to a missing ref, snapshot again.
"$PWCLI" open https://example.com/form
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" fill e1 "[email protected]"
"$PWCLI" fill e2 "password123"
"$PWCLI" click e3
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" open https://example.com --headed
"$PWCLI" tracing-start
# ...interactions...
"$PWCLI" tracing-stop
"$PWCLI" tab-new https://example.com
"$PWCLI" tab-list
"$PWCLI" tab-select 0
"$PWCLI" snapshot
The wrapper script uses npx --package @playwright/cli playwright-cli so the CLI can run without a global install:
"$PWCLI" --help
Prefer the wrapper unless the repository already standardizes on a global install.
Open only what you need:
references/cli.mdreferences/workflows.mde12.eval and run-code unless needed.eX and say why; do not bypass refs with run-code.--headed when a visual check will help.output/playwright/ and avoid introducing new top-level artifact folders.