| name | playwright-cli |
| description | Drive a real Google Chrome browser interactively through the Patchright-backed playwright-cli compatibility surface. |
| allowed-tools | Bash(playwright-cli:*) |
Browser Automation with playwright-cli
Runtime note
playwright-cli is a browser-control CLI backed by patchright-cli and the built-in Google Chrome browser. It is for interactive browser driving: open pages, inspect snapshots, click, type, fill forms, evaluate page state, capture screenshots, and manage browser sessions.
The runtime launches headful Chrome sessions by default and routes automation through Patchright, which helps agents keep a Playwright-style command workflow without presenting as stock Playwright/CDP automation on sites that detect that shape.
It is not Playwright, not the Playwright npm package, and not a Playwright test runner. Its presence does not mean playwright or @playwright/test is available to project code.
Use playwright-cli ... commands directly. For custom in-session page snippets, use playwright-cli run-code. Do not add browser install/setup steps or browser-selection flags for normal use. If a workspace needs Playwright package APIs or Playwright tests, add Playwright to that project with the project's package manager and run its project scripts separately from this CLI.
Quick start
playwright-cli open
playwright-cli goto https://example.com
playwright-cli click e15
playwright-cli type "search query"
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli screenshot
playwright-cli close
Commands
Core
playwright-cli open
playwright-cli open https://example.com/
playwright-cli goto https://example.com
playwright-cli type "search query"
playwright-cli click e3
playwright-cli dblclick e7
playwright-cli fill e5 "user@example.com" --submit
playwright-cli drag e2 e8
playwright-cli hover e4
playwright-cli select e9 "option-value"
playwright-cli upload ./document.pdf
playwright-cli check e12
playwright-cli uncheck e12
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli eval "document.title"
playwright-cli eval "el => el.textContent" e5
playwright-cli eval "el => el.id" e5
playwright-cli eval "el => el.getAttribute('data-testid')" e5
playwright-cli dialog-accept
playwright-cli dialog-accept "confirmation text"
playwright-cli dialog-dismiss
playwright-cli resize 1920 1080
playwright-cli close
Navigation
playwright-cli go-back
playwright-cli go-forward
playwright-cli reload
Keyboard
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli press ArrowDown
playwright-cli keydown Shift
playwright-cli keyup Shift
Mouse
playwright-cli mousemove 150 300
playwright-cli mousedown
playwright-cli mousedown right
playwright-cli mouseup
playwright-cli mouseup right
playwright-cli mousewheel 0 100
Save as
playwright-cli screenshot
playwright-cli screenshot e5
playwright-cli screenshot --filename=page.png
playwright-cli pdf --filename=page.pdf
Tabs
playwright-cli tab-list
playwright-cli tab-new
playwright-cli tab-new https://example.com/page
playwright-cli tab-close
playwright-cli tab-close 2
playwright-cli tab-select 0
Storage
playwright-cli state-save
playwright-cli state-save auth.json
playwright-cli state-load auth.json
playwright-cli cookie-list
playwright-cli cookie-list --domain=example.com
playwright-cli cookie-get session_id
playwright-cli cookie-set session_id abc123
playwright-cli cookie-set session_id abc123 --domain=example.com --httpOnly --secure
playwright-cli cookie-delete session_id
playwright-cli cookie-clear
playwright-cli localstorage-list
playwright-cli localstorage-get theme
playwright-cli localstorage-set theme dark
playwright-cli localstorage-delete theme
playwright-cli localstorage-clear
playwright-cli sessionstorage-list
playwright-cli sessionstorage-get step
playwright-cli sessionstorage-set step 3
playwright-cli sessionstorage-delete step
playwright-cli sessionstorage-clear
Network
playwright-cli route "**/*.jpg" --status=404
playwright-cli route "https://api.example.com/**" --body='{"mock": true}'
playwright-cli route-list
playwright-cli unroute "**/*.jpg"
playwright-cli unroute
DevTools
playwright-cli console
playwright-cli console warning
playwright-cli network
playwright-cli run-code "async page => await page.context().grantPermissions(['geolocation'])"
playwright-cli run-code --filename=script.js
playwright-cli tracing-start
playwright-cli tracing-stop
playwright-cli video-start video.webm
playwright-cli video-chapter "Chapter Title" --description="Details" --duration=2000
playwright-cli video-stop
Open parameters
playwright-cli open --extension
playwright-cli open --persistent
playwright-cli open --profile=/path/to/profile
playwright-cli open --config=my-config.json
playwright-cli close
playwright-cli delete-data
Snapshots
After each command, playwright-cli provides a snapshot of the current browser state.
> playwright-cli goto https://example.com
- Page URL: https://example.com/
- Page Title: Example Domain
[Snapshot](.playwright-cli/page-2026-02-14T19-22-42-679Z.yml)
You can also take a snapshot on demand using playwright-cli snapshot command. All the options below can be combined as needed.
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli snapshot --filename=after-click.yaml
playwright-cli snapshot "#main"
playwright-cli snapshot --depth=4
playwright-cli snapshot e34
Targeting elements
By default, use refs from the snapshot to interact with page elements.
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli click e15
You can also use CSS selectors or locator strings accepted by the CLI.
playwright-cli click "#main > button.submit"
playwright-cli click "getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })"
playwright-cli click "getByTestId('submit-button')"
Browser Sessions
playwright-cli -s=mysession open example.com --persistent
playwright-cli -s=mysession open example.com --profile=/path/to/profile
playwright-cli -s=mysession click e6
playwright-cli -s=mysession close
playwright-cli -s=mysession delete-data
playwright-cli list
playwright-cli close-all
playwright-cli kill-all
Runtime availability
In this runtime, playwright-cli should already be on PATH. If it is missing or cannot find its runtime bundle, report the command, exact error, and PATH.
Do not install playwright-cli, run npx playwright-cli, run npx playwright install, or install browser packages to make this CLI work. Project-level Playwright dependencies are separate and should be added only when the project itself requires them.
Example: Form submission
playwright-cli open https://example.com/form
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli fill e1 "user@example.com"
playwright-cli fill e2 "password123"
playwright-cli click e3
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli close
Example: Multi-tab workflow
playwright-cli open https://example.com
playwright-cli tab-new https://example.com/other
playwright-cli tab-list
playwright-cli tab-select 0
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli close
Example: Debugging with DevTools
playwright-cli open https://example.com
playwright-cli click e4
playwright-cli fill e7 "test"
playwright-cli console
playwright-cli network
playwright-cli close
playwright-cli open https://example.com
playwright-cli tracing-start
playwright-cli click e4
playwright-cli fill e7 "test"
playwright-cli tracing-stop
playwright-cli close
Specific tasks
