playwright-cli

name	playwright-cli
description	Playwright CLI for browser automation, code generation, screenshots, tracing, and test running via npx playwright

Playwright CLI

There are two distinct tools — use the right one for the job:

Tool	Binary	Best for
playwright-cli	~/.local/share/mise/installs/node/25.3.0/bin/playwright-cli	Live browser automation, connecting to existing sessions, interactive CLI control
npx playwright	via mise/npx	Test running, codegen recording, tracing, CI

---

playwright-cli — Interactive CLI Automation

Activation Triggers

• Automating an existing logged-in browser session
• Clicking/filling forms without writing scripts
• Connecting to a running Brave/Chrome via CDP
• Any browser task that benefits from step-by-step CLI control

Connecting to Existing Brave Session (CDP)

Create a config file to point at the running Brave CDP endpoint:

// playwright-cli.json  (in cwd, or specify with --config)
{
  "browser": {
    "cdpEndpoint": "http://localhost:9222"
  }
}

Then all playwright-cli commands talk to the live Brave session automatically. No scripts needed.

Alternatively use the env var: PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_ENDPOINT=http://localhost:9222 playwright-cli snapshot

Core Workflow: snapshot → click

playwright-cli snapshot              # get current page state + element refs (e1, e2, ...)
playwright-cli click e42             # click element by ref
playwright-cli click 'text=Submit'   # click by text
playwright-cli fill e7 "hello"       # fill input by ref
playwright-cli screenshot            # screenshot current page
playwright-cli go-back               # navigate back
playwright-cli goto https://...      # navigate to URL
playwright-cli eval "document.title" # run JS on page
playwright-cli run-code "<playwright code snippet>"  # run arbitrary Playwright JS

Always snapshot first — it returns element refs (e1, e2, ...) and page structure so you know exactly what to click without guessing selectors.

All Core Commands

playwright-cli open [url]            # open browser
playwright-cli goto <url>            # navigate
playwright-cli close                 # close page
playwright-cli snapshot              # capture page snapshot → element refs
playwright-cli click <ref>           # click element
playwright-cli dblclick <ref>        # double click
playwright-cli fill <ref> <text>     # fill input
playwright-cli type <text>           # type into focused element
playwright-cli hover <ref>           # hover
playwright-cli select <ref> <val>    # dropdown select
playwright-cli check <ref>           # check checkbox/radio
playwright-cli uncheck <ref>         # uncheck
playwright-cli drag <ref1> <ref2>    # drag and drop
playwright-cli press <key>           # keyboard: 'Enter', 'Tab', 'ArrowLeft'
playwright-cli keydown / keyup <key>
playwright-cli mousemove <x> <y>
playwright-cli mousewheel <dx> <dy>
playwright-cli eval <func> [ref]     # evaluate JS
playwright-cli run-code <code>       # run playwright code snippet
playwright-cli dialog-accept [text]  # accept dialog
playwright-cli dialog-dismiss        # dismiss dialog
playwright-cli resize <w> <h>        # resize window

Tabs

playwright-cli tab-list
playwright-cli tab-new [url]
playwright-cli tab-select <index>
playwright-cli tab-close [index]

Sessions (Multiple Browsers)

playwright-cli -s=myapp open https://example.com   # named session
playwright-cli -s=myapp snapshot
playwright-cli list                                  # list all sessions
playwright-cli close-all
playwright-cli kill-all                              # force kill stale sessions

Use PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION=name env var to set session for all commands.

Visual Dashboard

playwright-cli show    # opens live screencast dashboard of all sessions

Lets you watch and take over control from any running session.

Save / Screenshot

playwright-cli screenshot                        # stdout
playwright-cli screenshot --filename=out.png     # save to file
playwright-cli screenshot e5                     # screenshot specific element
playwright-cli pdf --filename=page.pdf

Storage & State

playwright-cli state-save auth.json     # save cookies + localStorage
playwright-cli state-load auth.json     # restore auth state
playwright-cli cookie-list
playwright-cli cookie-set name value
playwright-cli localstorage-list
playwright-cli localstorage-set key val

Config File (playwright-cli.json)

Full config schema highlights:

{
  "browser": {
    "cdpEndpoint": "http://localhost:9222",
    "browserName": "chromium",
    "userDataDir": "/tmp/my-profile",
    "launchOptions": { "headless": false }
  },
  "outputDir": "./playwright-output",
  "outputMode": "file",
  "timeouts": {
    "action": 5000,
    "navigation": 60000
  }
}

---

npx playwright — Test Runner & Codegen

Activation Triggers

• Writing/running Playwright tests (.spec.ts)
• Recording codegen scripts
• CI pipelines
• Trace viewer

Code Generation

npx playwright codegen https://example.com
npx playwright codegen --target=javascript -o actions.js https://example.com
npx playwright codegen --browser=firefox https://example.com

Screenshots & PDF

npx playwright screenshot --full-page https://example.com full.png
npx playwright pdf https://example.com output.pdf

Test Running

npx playwright test
npx playwright test tests/login.spec.ts
npx playwright test --project=chromium
npx playwright test --headed
npx playwright test --ui
npx playwright test --trace on
npx playwright show-report

Tracing

npx playwright show-trace trace.zip

Browser Installation

npx playwright install
npx playwright install chromium
npx playwright install --with-deps chromium

---

Connecting to Existing Brave Session (Node.js scripts)

When you need full Playwright API control in a script (e.g., loops, complex logic):

// Must run from a dir with playwright installed: cd /tmp/play_test && npm install playwright
const { chromium } = require('playwright');

const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP('http://localhost:9222');
const context = browser.contexts()[0];
const page = context.pages()[0];
// ... interact with page
await browser.close(); // disconnects, does not close Brave

Note: playwright is not globally installed. Either:

• Run from /tmp/play_test/ (has it installed)
• Or use playwright-cli with CDP config instead — no scripting needed

---

Best Practices

• Prefer playwright-cli + CDP config over writing Node.js scripts for live session automation — it's faster and requires no boilerplate
• Always snapshot before clicking — gets accurate element refs, avoids selector guessing
• Use playwright-cli show to visually monitor what the automation is doing
• Use npx playwright codegen to bootstrap test scripts, then refine manually
• Use --trace on during test development for failure debugging

Related Skills

• brave: Launch Brave (Flatpak) with remote debugging for CDP connection (--remote-debugging-port=9222)