# 🎭 Playwright
[](https://www.npmjs.com/package/playwright) <!-- GEN:chromium-version-badge -->[](https://www.chromium.org/Home)<!-- GEN:stop --> <!-- GEN:firefox-version-badge -->[](https://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/new/)<!-- GEN:stop --> <!-- GEN:webkit-version-badge -->[](https://webkit.org/)<!-- GEN:stop --> [](https://aka.ms/playwright/discord)
## [Documentation](https://playwright.dev) | [API reference](https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-playwright)
Playwright is a framework for web automation and testing. It drives Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit with a single API — in your tests, in your scripts, and as a tool for AI agents.
## Get Started
Choose the path that fits your workflow:
| | Best for | Install |
|---|---|---|
| **[Playwright Test](#playwright-test)** | End-to-end testing | `npm init playwright@latest` |
| **[Playwright CLI](#playwright-cli)** | Coding agents (Claude Code, Copilot) | `npm i -g @playwright/cli@latest` |
| **[Playwright MCP](#playwright-mcp)** | AI agents and LLM-driven automation | `npx @playwright/mcp@latest` |
| **[Playwright Library](#playwright-library)** | Browser automation scripts | `npm i playwright` |
| **[VS Code Extension](#vs-code-extension)** | Test authoring and debugging in VS Code | [Install from Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-playwright.playwright) |
---
## Playwright Test
Playwright Test is a full-featured test runner built for end-to-end testing. It runs tests across Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit with full browser isolation, auto-waiting, and web-first assertions.
### Install
```bash
npm init playwright@latest
```
Or add manually:
```bash
npm i -D @playwright/test
npx playwright install
```
### Write a test
```TypeScript
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
test('has title', async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Playwright/);
});
test('get started link', async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
await page.getByRole('link', { name: 'Get started' }).click();
await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Installation' })).toBeVisible();
});
```
### Run tests
```bash
npx playwright test
```
Tests run in parallel across all configured browsers, in headless mode by default. Each test gets a fresh browser context — full isolation with near-zero overhead.
### Key capabilities
**Auto-wait and web-first assertions.** No artificial timeouts. Playwright waits for elements to be actionable, and assertions automatically retry until conditions are met.
**Locators.** Find elements with resilient locators that mirror how users see the page:
```TypeScript
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })
page.getByLabel('Email')
page.getByPlaceholder('Search...')
page.getByTestId('login-form')
```
**Test isolation.** Each test runs in its own browser context — equivalent to a fresh browser profile. Save authentication state once and reuse it across tests:
```TypeScript
// Save state after login
await page.context().storageState({ path: 'auth.json' });
// Reuse in other tests
test.use({ storageState: 'auth.json' });
```
**Tracing.** Capture execution traces, screenshots, and videos on failure. Inspect every action, DOM snapshot, network request, and console message in the [Trace Viewer](https://playwright.dev/docs/trace-viewer):
```TypeScript
// playwright.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
use: {
trace: 'on-first-retry',
},
});
```
```bash
npx playwright show-trace trace.zip
```
<!-- TODO: screenshot of trace viewer -->
**Parallelism.** Tests run in parallel by default across all configured browsers.
[Full testing documentation](https://playwright.dev/docs/intro)
---
## Playwright CLI
[Playwright CLI](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli) is a command-line interface for browser automation designed for coding agents. It's more token-efficient than MCP — commands avoid loading large tool schemas and accessibility trees into the model context.
### Install
```bash
npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest
```
Optionally install skills for richer agent integration:
```bash
playwright-cli install --skills
```
### Usage
Point your coding agent at a task:
```
Test the "add todo" flow on https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc using playwright-cli.
Take screenshots for all successful and failing scenarios.
```
Or run commands directly:
```bash
playwright-cli open https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/ --headed
playwright-cli type "Buy groceries"
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli screenshot
```
### Session monitoring
Use `playwright-cli show` to open a visual dashboard with live screencast previews of all running browser sessions. Click any session to zoom in and take remote control.
```bash
playwright-cli show
```
<!-- TODO: screenshot of playwright-cli show dashboard -->
[Full CLI documentation](https://playwright.dev/agent-cli/introduction) | [GitHub](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli)
---
## Playwright MCP
The [Playwright MCP server](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp) gives AI agents full browser control through the [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io). Agents interact with pages using structured accessibility snapshots — no vision models or screenshots required.
### Setup
Add to your MCP client (VS Code, Cursor, Claude Desktop, Windsurf, etc.):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"playwright": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["@playwright/mcp@latest"]
}
}
}
```
**One-click install for VS Code:**
[<img src="https://img.shields.io/badge/VS_Code-VS_Code?style=flat-square&label=Install%20MCP%20Server&color=0098FF" alt="Install in VS Code" />](https://insiders.vscode.dev/redirect?url=vscode%3Amcp%2Finstall%3F%257B%2522name%2522%253A%2522playwright%2522%252C%2522command%2522%253A%2522npx%2522%252C%2522args%2522%253A%255B%2522%2540playwright%252Fmcp%2540latest%2522%255D%257D)
**For Claude Code:**
```bash
claude mcp add playwright npx @playwright/mcp@latest
```
### How it works
Ask your AI assistant to interact with any web page:
```
Navigate to https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc and add a few todo items.
```
The agent sees the page as a structured accessibility tree:
```
- heading "todos" [level=1]
- textbox "What needs to be done?" [ref=e5]
- listitem:
- checkbox "Toggle Todo" [ref=e10]
- text: "Buy groceries"
```
It uses element refs like `e5` and `e10` to click, type, and interact — deterministically and without visual ambiguity. Tools cover navigation, form filling, screenshots, network mocking, storage management, and more.
[Full MCP documentation](https://playwright.dev/mcp/introduction) | [GitHub](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp)
---
## Playwright Library
Use `playwright` as a library for browser automation scripts — web scraping, PDF generation, screenshot capture, and any workflow that needs programmatic browser control without a test runner.
### Install
```bash
npm i playwright
```
### Examples
**Take a screenshot:**
```TypeScript
import { chromium } from 'playwright';
const browser = await chromium.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' });
await browser.close();
```
**Generate a PDF:**
```TypeScript
import { chromium } from 'playwright';
const browser = await chromium.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
await page.pdf({ path: 'page.pdf', format: 'A4' });
await browser.close();
```
**Emulate a mobile device:**
```TypeScript
import { chromium, devices } from 'playwright';
const browser = await chromium.launch();
const context = await browser.newContext(devices['iPhone 15']);
const page = await context.newPage();
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
await page.screenshot({ path: 'mobile.png' });
await browser.close();
```
**Intercept network requests:**
```TypeScript
import { chromium } from 'playwright';
const browser = await chromium.launch();
const page = await browser.newPage();
await page.route('**/*.{png,jpg,jpeg}', route => route.abort());
await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
await browser.close();
```
[Library documentation](https://playwright.dev/docs/library) | [API reference](https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-playwright)
---
## VS Code Extension
The [Playwright VS Code extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-playwright.playwright) brings test running, debugging, and code generation directly into your editor.
<!-- TODO: hero screenshot of VS Code with Playwright sidebar -->
**Run and debug tests** from the editor with a single click. Set breakpoints, inspect variables, and step through test execution with a live browser view.
**Generate tests with CodeGen.** Click "Record new" to open a browser — navigate and interact with your app while Playwright writes the test code for you.
**Pick locators.** Hover over any element in the browser to see the best available locator, then click to copy it to your clipboard.
**Trace Viewer integration.** Enable "Show Trace Viewer" in the sidebar to get a full execution trace after each test run — DOM snapshots, network requests, console logs, and screenshots at every step.
[Install the extension](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-playwright.playwright) | [VS Code guide](https://playwright.dev/docs/getting-started-vscode)
---
## Cross-Browser Support
| | Linux | macOS | Windows |
| :--- | :---: | :---: | :---: |
| Chromium<sup>1</sup> <!-- GEN:chromium-version -->158.0.8127.18<!-- GEN:stop --> | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |
| WebKit <!-- GEN:webkit-version -->27.2<!-- GEN:stop --> | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |
| Firefox <!-- GEN:firefox-version -->159.0<!-- GEN:stop --> | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: | :white_check_mark: |
Headless and headed execution on all platforms. <sup>1</sup> Uses [Chrome for Testing](https://developer.chrome.com/blog/chrome-for-testing) by default.
## Other Languages
Playwright is also available for [Python](https://playwright.dev/python/docs/intro), [.NET](https://playwright.dev/dotnet/docs/intro), and [Java](https://playwright.dev/java/docs/intro).
## Resources
* [Documentation](https://playwright.dev)
* [API reference](https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-playwright)
* [MCP server](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp)
* [CLI for coding agents](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-cli)
* [VS Code extension](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-vscode)
* [Contribution guide](CONTRIBUTING.md)
* [Changelog](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright/releases)
* [Discord](https://aka.ms/playwright/discord)