playwright-cli

Playwright CLI with SKILLS

Playwright CLI vs Playwright MCP

This package provides CLI interface into Playwright. If you are using coding agents, that is the best fit.

• CLI: Modern coding agents increasingly favor CLI–based workflows exposed as SKILLs over MCP because CLI invocations are more token-efficient: they avoid loading large tool schemas and verbose accessibility trees into the model context, allowing agents to act through concise, purpose-built commands. This makes CLI + SKILLs better suited for high-throughput coding agents that must balance browser automation with large codebases, tests, and reasoning within limited context windows.

• MCP: MCP remains relevant for specialized agentic loops that benefit from persistent state, rich introspection, and iterative reasoning over page structure, such as exploratory automation, self-healing tests, or long-running autonomous workflows where maintaining continuous browser context outweighs token cost concerns. Learn more about Playwright MCP.

Key Features

• Token-efficient. Does not force page data into LLM.

Requirements

• Node.js 18 or newer
• Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or any other coding agent.

Getting Started

Installation

npm install -g @playwright/mcp@latest
playwright-cli --help

Demo

> Use playwright skills to test https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/.
  Take screenshots for all successful and failing scenarios. 

Your agent will be running commands, but it does not mean you can't play with it manually:

playwright-cli open https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/ --headed
playwright-cli type "Buy groceries"
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli type "Water flowers"
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli check e21
playwright-cli check e35
playwright-cli screenshot

Skills-less operation

Point your agent at the CLI and let it cook. It'll read the skill off playwright-cli --help on its own:

Test the "add todo" flow on https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc using playwright-cli.
Check playwright-cli --help for available commands.

Installing skills

Claude Code, GitHub copilot and others will let you install the Playwright skills into the agentic loop.

plugin (recommended)

/plugin marketplace add microsoft/playwright-cli
/plugin install playwright-cli

manual

mkdir -p .claude/skills/playwright-cli
curl -o .claude/skills/playwright-cli/SKILL.md \
  https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/playwright-cli/main/skills/playwright-cli/SKILL.md

Headed operation

Playwright CLI is headless by default. If you'd like to see the browser, pass --headed to open:

playwright-cli open https://playwright.dev --headed

Sessions

Playwright CLI will use a dedicated persistent profile by default. It means that your cookies and other storage state will be preserved between the calls. You can use different instances of the browser for different projects with sessions.

Following will result in two browsers with separate profiles being available. Pass --session to the invocation to talk to a specific browser.

playwright-cli open https://playwright.dev
playwright-cli --session=example open https://example.com
playwright-cli session-list

You can run your coding agent with the PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION environment variable:

PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION=todo-app claude .

Or instruct it to prepend --session to the calls.

Manage your sessions as follows:

playwright-cli session-list             # list all sessions
playwright-cli session-stop [name]      # stop session
playwright-cli session-stop-all         # stop all sessions
playwright-cli session-delete [name]    # delete session data along with the profiles

Commands

Core

playwright-cli open <url>               # open url
playwright-cli close                    # close the page
playwright-cli type <text>              # type text into editable element
playwright-cli click <ref> [button]     # perform click on a web page
playwright-cli dblclick <ref> [button]  # perform double click on a web page
playwright-cli fill <ref> <text>        # fill text into editable element
playwright-cli drag <startRef> <endRef> # perform drag and drop between two elements
playwright-cli hover <ref>              # hover over element on page
playwright-cli select <ref> <val>       # select an option in a dropdown
playwright-cli upload <file>            # upload one or multiple files
playwright-cli check <ref>              # check a checkbox or radio button
playwright-cli uncheck <ref>            # uncheck a checkbox or radio button
playwright-cli snapshot                 # capture page snapshot to obtain element ref
playwright-cli eval <func> [ref]        # evaluate javascript expression on page or element
playwright-cli dialog-accept [prompt]   # accept a dialog
playwright-cli dialog-dismiss           # dismiss a dialog
playwright-cli resize <w> <h>           # resize the browser window

Navigation

playwright-cli go-back                  # go back to the previous page
playwright-cli go-forward               # go forward to the next page
playwright-cli reload                   # reload the current page

Keyboard

playwright-cli press <key>              # press a key on the keyboard, `a`, `arrowleft`
playwright-cli keydown <key>            # press a key down on the keyboard
playwright-cli keyup <key>              # press a key up on the keyboard

Mouse

playwright-cli mousemove <x> <y>        # move mouse to a given position
playwright-cli mousedown [button]       # press mouse down
playwright-cli mouseup [button]         # press mouse up
playwright-cli mousewheel <dx> <dy>     # scroll mouse wheel

Save as

playwright-cli screenshot [ref]         # screenshot of the current page or element
playwright-cli pdf                      # save page as pdf

Tabs

playwright-cli tab-list                 # list all tabs
playwright-cli tab-new [url]            # create a new tab
playwright-cli tab-close [index]        # close a browser tab
playwright-cli tab-select <index>       # select a browser tab

DevTools

playwright-cli console [min-level]      # list console messages
playwright-cli network                  # list all network requests since loading the page
playwright-cli run-code <code>          # run playwright code snippet
playwright-cli tracing-start            # start trace recording
playwright-cli tracing-stop             # stop trace recording

Configuration file

The Playwright CLI can be configured using a JSON configuration file. You can specify the configuration file using the --config command line option:

playwright-cli --config path/to/config.json open example.com

Playwright CLI will load config from playwright-cli.json by default so that you did not need to specify it every time.

Configuration file schema

{
  /**
   * The browser to use.
   */
  browser?: {
    /**
     * The type of browser to use.
     */
    browserName?: 'chromium' | 'firefox' | 'webkit';

    /**
     * Keep the browser profile in memory, do not save it to disk.
     */
    isolated?: boolean;

    /**
     * Path to a user data directory for browser profile persistence.
     * Temporary directory is created by default.
     */
    userDataDir?: string;

    /**
     * Launch options passed to
     * @see https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-browsertype#browser-type-launch-persistent-context
     *
     * This is useful for settings options like `channel`, `headless`, `executablePath`, etc.
     */
    launchOptions?: playwright.LaunchOptions;

    /**
     * Context options for the browser context.
     *
     * This is useful for settings options like `viewport`.
     */
    contextOptions?: playwright.BrowserContextOptions;

    /**
     * Chrome DevTools Protocol endpoint to connect to an existing browser instance in case of Chromium family browsers.
     */
    cdpEndpoint?: string;

    /**
     * CDP headers to send with the connect request.
     */
    cdpHeaders?: Record<string, string>;

    /**
     * Timeout in milliseconds for connecting to CDP endpoint. Defaults to 30000 (30 seconds). Pass 0 to disable timeout.
     */
    cdpTimeout?: number;

    /**
     * Remote endpoint to connect to an existing Playwright server.
     */
    remoteEndpoint?: string;

    /**
     * Paths to TypeScript files to add as initialization scripts for Playwright page.
     */
    initPage?: string[];

    /**
     * Paths to JavaScript files to add as initialization scripts.
     * The scripts will be evaluated in every page before any of the page's scripts.
     */
    initScript?: string[];
  },

  /**
   * If specified, saves the Playwright video of the session into the output directory.
   */
  saveVideo?: {
    width: number;
    height: number;
  };

  /**
   * The directory to save output files.
   */
  outputDir?: string;

  /**
   * Whether to save snapshots, console messages, network logs and other session logs to a file or to the standard output. Defaults to "stdout".
   */
  outputMode?: 'file' | 'stdout';

  console?: {
    /**
     * The level of console messages to return. Each level includes the messages of more severe levels. Defaults to "info".
     */
    level?: 'error' | 'warning' | 'info' | 'debug';
  },

  network?: {
    /**
     * List of origins to allow the browser to request. Default is to allow all. Origins matching both `allowedOrigins` and `blockedOrigins` will be blocked.
     */
    allowedOrigins?: string[];

    /**
     * List of origins to block the browser to request. Origins matching both `allowedOrigins` and `blockedOrigins` will be blocked.
     */
    blockedOrigins?: string[];
  };

  /**
   * Specify the attribute to use for test ids, defaults to "data-testid".
   */
  testIdAttribute?: string;

  timeouts?: {
    /*
     * Configures default action timeout: https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-page#page-set-default-timeout. Defaults to 5000ms.
     */
    action?: number;

    /*
     * Configures default navigation timeout: https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-page#page-set-default-navigation-timeout. Defaults to 60000ms.
     */
    navigation?: number;
  };

  /**
   * Whether to allow file uploads from anywhere on the file system.
   * By default (false), file uploads are restricted to paths within the MCP roots only.
   */
  allowUnrestrictedFileAccess?: boolean;

  /**
   * Specify the language to use for code generation.
   */
  codegen?: 'typescript' | 'none';
}

Environment

Environment
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS comma-separated list of hosts this server is allowed to serve from. Defaults to the host the server is bound to. Pass '*' to disable the host check.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS semicolon-separated list of TRUSTED origins to allow the browser to request. Default is to allow all. Important: does not serve as a security boundary and does not affect redirects.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOW_UNRESTRICTED_FILE_ACCESS allow access to files outside of the workspace roots. Also allows unrestricted access to file:// URLs. By default access to file system is restricted to workspace root directories (or cwd if no roots are configured) only, and navigation to file:// URLs is blocked.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BLOCKED_ORIGINS semicolon-separated list of origins to block the browser from requesting. Blocklist is evaluated before allowlist. If used without the allowlist, requests not matching the blocklist are still allowed. Important: does not serve as a security boundary and does not affect redirects.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BLOCK_SERVICE_WORKERS block service workers
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER browser or chrome channel to use, possible values: chrome, firefox, webkit, msedge.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS comma-separated list of additional capabilities to enable, possible values: vision, pdf.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_ENDPOINT CDP endpoint to connect to.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_HEADER CDP headers to send with the connect request, multiple can be specified.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN specify the language to use for code generation, possible values: "typescript", "none". Default is "typescript".
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONFIG path to the configuration file.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONSOLE_LEVEL level of console messages to return: "error", "warning", "info", "debug". Each level includes the messages of more severe levels.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_DEVICE device to emulate, for example: "iPhone 15"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXECUTABLE_PATH path to the browser executable.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTENSION Connect to a running browser instance (Edge/Chrome only). Requires the "Playwright MCP Bridge" browser extension to be installed.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_GRANT_PERMISSIONS List of permissions to grant to the browser context, for example "geolocation", "clipboard-read", "clipboard-write".
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS run browser in headless mode, headed by default
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HOST host to bind server to. Default is localhost. Use 0.0.0.0 to bind to all interfaces.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_IGNORE_HTTPS_ERRORS ignore https errors
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_INIT_PAGE path to TypeScript file to evaluate on Playwright page object
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_INIT_SCRIPT path to JavaScript file to add as an initialization script. The script will be evaluated in every page before any of the page's scripts. Can be specified multiple times.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ISOLATED keep the browser profile in memory, do not save it to disk.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_IMAGE_RESPONSES whether to send image responses to the client. Can be "allow" or "omit", Defaults to "allow".
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_NO_SANDBOX disable the sandbox for all process types that are normally sandboxed.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR path to the directory for output files.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_MODE whether to save snapshots, console messages, network logs to a file or to the standard output. Can be "file" or "stdout". Default is "stdout".
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PORT port to listen on for SSE transport.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PROXY_BYPASS comma-separated domains to bypass proxy, for example ".com,chromium.org,.domain.com"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PROXY_SERVER specify proxy server, for example "http://myproxy:3128" or "socks5://myproxy:8080"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_SESSION Whether to save the Playwright MCP session into the output directory.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_TRACE Whether to save the Playwright Trace of the session into the output directory.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_VIDEO Whether to save the video of the session into the output directory. For example "--save-video=800x600"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SECRETS path to a file containing secrets in the dotenv format
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SHARED_BROWSER_CONTEXT reuse the same browser context between all connected HTTP clients.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SNAPSHOT_MODE when taking snapshots for responses, specifies the mode to use. Can be "incremental", "full", or "none". Default is incremental.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_STORAGE_STATE path to the storage state file for isolated sessions.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TEST_ID_ATTRIBUTE specify the attribute to use for test ids, defaults to "data-testid"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_ACTION specify action timeout in milliseconds, defaults to 5000ms
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_NAVIGATION specify navigation timeout in milliseconds, defaults to 60000ms
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_AGENT specify user agent string
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_DATA_DIR path to the user data directory. If not specified, a temporary directory will be created.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE specify browser viewport size in pixels, for example "1280x720"