# Playwright CLI

> Automates browser interactions for web testing, form filling, screenshots, and data extraction. Use when the user needs to navigate websites, interact with web pages, fill forms, take screenshots, test web applications, or extract information from web pages.

- Skill: `cercova-studios/playwright-cli` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 9 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add cercova-studios/playwright-cli`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/cercova-studios/playwright-cli/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: cercova-studios (https://skillmd.com/u/cercova-studios)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/cercova-studios/playwright-cli

---


# Browser Automation with playwright-cli

Drive a real browser from the terminal using `playwright-cli`.
Treat this skill as CLI-first automation. Do not pivot to `@playwright/test` unless the user explicitly asks for test files.

## Quick start

```bash
playwright-cli open https://playwright.dev
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli click e15
playwright-cli type "page.click"
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli screenshot
playwright-cli close
```

If `playwright-cli` is not found globally, fall back to `bunx playwright-cli`:

```bash
bunx playwright-cli open https://example.com
bunx playwright-cli click e1
```

## Core workflow

1. Open the page.
2. Snapshot to get stable element refs.
3. Interact using refs from the latest snapshot.
4. Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes.
5. Capture artifacts (screenshot, pdf, traces) when useful.

Minimal loop:

```bash
playwright-cli open https://example.com
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli click e3
playwright-cli snapshot
```

## When to snapshot again

Snapshot again after:

- Navigation (`goto`, `go-back`, `go-forward`, `reload`)
- Clicking elements that change the UI substantially
- Opening/closing modals or menus
- Tab switches

Refs can go stale. When a command fails due to a missing ref, snapshot again.

## Snapshots

After each command, playwright-cli provides a snapshot of the current browser state:

```bash
> playwright-cli goto https://example.com
### Page
- Page URL: https://example.com/
- Page Title: Example Domain
### Snapshot
[Snapshot](.playwright-cli/page-2026-02-14T19-22-42-679Z.yml)
```

You can also take a snapshot on demand. If `--filename` is not provided, a new snapshot file is created with a timestamp. Default to automatic file naming; use `--filename=` when the artifact is part of the workflow result.

```bash
playwright-cli snapshot
playwright-cli snapshot --filename=after-login.yaml
```

## Commands

### Core

```bash
playwright-cli open
playwright-cli open https://example.com/
playwright-cli goto https://playwright.dev
playwright-cli type "search query"
playwright-cli click e3
playwright-cli dblclick e7
playwright-cli fill e5 "user@example.com"
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 dialog-accept
playwright-cli dialog-accept "confirmation text"
playwright-cli dialog-dismiss
playwright-cli resize 1920 1080
playwright-cli close
```

### Navigation

```bash
playwright-cli go-back
playwright-cli go-forward
playwright-cli reload
```

### Keyboard

```bash
playwright-cli press Enter
playwright-cli press ArrowDown
playwright-cli keydown Shift
playwright-cli keyup Shift
```

### Mouse

```bash
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

```bash
playwright-cli screenshot
playwright-cli screenshot e5
playwright-cli screenshot --filename=page.png
playwright-cli pdf --filename=page.pdf
```

### Tabs

```bash
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

```bash
playwright-cli state-save
playwright-cli state-save auth.json
playwright-cli state-load auth.json

# Cookies
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

# LocalStorage
playwright-cli localstorage-list
playwright-cli localstorage-get theme
playwright-cli localstorage-set theme dark
playwright-cli localstorage-delete theme
playwright-cli localstorage-clear

# SessionStorage
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

```bash
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

```bash
playwright-cli console
playwright-cli console warning
playwright-cli network
playwright-cli run-code "async page => await page.context().grantPermissions(['geolocation'])"
playwright-cli tracing-start
playwright-cli tracing-stop
playwright-cli video-start
playwright-cli video-stop video.webm
```

## Open parameters

```bash
# Browser selection
playwright-cli open --browser=chrome
playwright-cli open --browser=firefox
playwright-cli open --browser=webkit
playwright-cli open --browser=msedge
# Connect to browser via extension
playwright-cli open --extension

# Persistent profiles (default is in-memory)
playwright-cli open --persistent
playwright-cli open --profile=/path/to/profile

# Config file
playwright-cli open --config=my-config.json

# Delete user data for default session
playwright-cli delete-data
```

## Browser sessions

```bash
# Named session with persistent profile
playwright-cli -s=mysession open example.com --persistent
# Named session with custom profile directory
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
```

## Example: Form submission

```bash
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

```bash
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

```bash
playwright-cli open https://example.com
playwright-cli tracing-start
playwright-cli click e4
playwright-cli fill e7 "test"
playwright-cli console
playwright-cli network
playwright-cli tracing-stop
playwright-cli close
```

## Guardrails

- Always snapshot before referencing element ids like `e12`.
- Re-snapshot when refs seem stale.
- Prefer explicit commands over `eval` and `run-code` unless needed.
- When you do not have a fresh snapshot, use placeholder refs like `eX` and say why; do not bypass refs with `run-code`.
- Use `--headed` when a visual check will help.
- Default to CLI commands and workflows, not Playwright test specs.

## References

* **Request mocking** [references/request-mocking.md](references/request-mocking.md)
* **Running Playwright code** [references/running-code.md](references/running-code.md)
* **Browser session management** [references/session-management.md](references/session-management.md)
* **Storage state (cookies, localStorage)** [references/storage-state.md](references/storage-state.md)
* **Test generation** [references/test-generation.md](references/test-generation.md)
* **Tracing** [references/tracing.md](references/tracing.md)
* **Video recording** [references/video-recording.md](references/video-recording.md)