h3y6e Playwright CLI
Terminal-based browser automation using npx playwright. This skill covers the CLI surface: running tests, generating test code via codegen, taking screenshots/PDFs, and CI sharding flags.
Scope boundary
| I want to... | Use |
|---|---|
| Run E2E tests | npx playwright test (this skill) |
| Record a browser session → test code | npx playwright codegen (this skill) |
| One-off screenshot / PDF from a URL | npx playwright screenshot / pdf (this skill) |
| Write / review / tune a Playwright test suite | playwright-test skill |
| Agent-driven real-time browser control (navigate → click → read → assert) | mcp__claude-in-chrome__* tools (not this skill) |
| Interactive data scraping / SPA exploration | claude-in-chrome MCP tools or a Playwright script executed via npx playwright test |
For data scraping / SPA flows where you need to programmatically navigate, click "Load More", extract DOM, and save JSON: write a tests/*.spec.ts and run npx playwright test. See playwright-test skill for the test-authoring patterns.
Quick Reference
# Interactive codegen (generates test code from browser actions)
npx playwright codegen https://example.com
# Run all tests
npx playwright test
# Run specific file
npx playwright test tests/login.spec.ts
# Run specific test by title
npx playwright test -g "should login"
# Debug mode (opens Playwright Inspector)
npx playwright test --debug
# UI mode (visual test runner with time-travel)
npx playwright test --ui
# Headed mode (see the browser)
npx playwright test --headed
# Specific browser
npx playwright test --project=chromium
# Generate trace
npx playwright test --trace on
# View report
npx playwright show-report
# Install browsers
npx playwright install
npx playwright install chromium --with-deps # CI-optimized
Sharding for CI
npx playwright test --shard=1/3
npx playwright test --shard=2/3
npx playwright test --shard=3/3
Screenshot / PDF
# Screenshot from CLI
npx playwright screenshot --browser=chromium https://example.com screenshot.png
# PDF (Chromium only)
npx playwright pdf https://example.com page.pdf