playwright-auto-bootstrap

name	playwright-auto-bootstrap
description	Make .NET/xUnit Playwright integration tests self-install missing Chromium browsers and skip cleanly if bootstrap cannot complete.

Playwright Auto-Bootstrap

Use this when Playwright integration tests fail locally or in CI with Microsoft.Playwright.PlaywrightException messages such as Executable doesn't exist or Please run ... playwright install.

Pattern

1. Put all Playwright-consuming test classes in an xUnit collection, for example [Collection("PlaywrightBootstrap")].
2. Add an ICollectionFixture<T> fixture that runs once per test process.
3. In InitializeAsync, guard with a static SemaphoreSlim and static bool so parallel discovery/classes do not install browsers more than once.
4. Probe availability by launching headless Chromium:

using var playwright = await Playwright.CreateAsync().ConfigureAwait(false);
await using var browser = await playwright.Chromium.LaunchAsync(new() { Headless = true }).ConfigureAwait(false);

5. On missing-browser exceptions only, run:

var exitCode = Microsoft.Playwright.Program.Main(["install", "chromium"]);

6. If install exits non-zero or throws, call Assert.Skip(...) so environmental gaps do not red-bar the suite.

Notes

• Keep any CI-level playwright install chromium step; it remains idempotent and makes the fixture a fast probe.
• Do not catch all Playwright exceptions as missing browsers. Only bootstrap for messages that indicate the executable/cache is missing; real browser/test failures should stay red.
• For headed-browser tests, installing chromium also provides the headed executable; headless tests use the headless shell cache.