bowser

name	bowser
description	Automates browsers with Playwright CLI for UI testing, screenshots, navigation, scraping, and parallel browser sessions. Use when a task requires headless browser interaction or verification without a user-driven browser.
compatibility	Requires the playwright-cli executable, an installed supported browser, network access for remote pages, and writable local storage for screenshots and persistent profiles.
metadata	{"category":"browser-automation"}

Browser Automation with Playwright CLI

Use playwright-cli for background browser work without loading a browser-tool schema into context.

Preflight

Before opening a browser, run:

command -v playwright-cli
playwright-cli --version

If either command fails, stop and report the missing dependency. Do not install packages or download browsers without approval.

Workflow

1. Choose a named session. Derive a short kebab-case name from the task, such as checkout-test or pricing-scrape. Use -s=<session-name> on every session-scoped command.

2. Open the target. Use a reproducible desktop viewport by default; change it when the task specifies another device or size.

   PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE=1440x900 playwright-cli -s=<session-name> open <url> --persistent
   

   Add --headed only when a visible browser is useful. Add PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS=vision only when screenshots should be returned for visual analysis.

3. Inspect the page. Obtain current element references before interacting:

   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> snapshot
   

4. Interact using current references. Refresh the snapshot after navigation or major DOM changes.

   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> click <ref>
   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> fill <ref> "text"
   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> press Enter
   

5. Verify the result. Inspect the resulting state and capture evidence when useful:

   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> snapshot
   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> screenshot --filename=output.png
   

6. Close the session even after failure.

   playwright-cli -s=<session-name> close
   

Do not expose cookies, storage values, credentials, or private page content in the response. Delete persistent session data when the user requests cleanup:

playwright-cli -s=<session-name> delete-data

Configuration

If playwright-cli.json exists in the working directory, let the CLI use it. If the user provides another configuration, pass --config path/to/config.json. Do not create or replace configuration unless the task requires it.

Command reference

Read references/commands.md when the task needs tabs, storage, network routing, tracing, video, mouse input, or other commands beyond the workflow above. For exact installed-version syntax, run playwright-cli --help <command>.