Browser Recording

Browser Recording Skill

Record browser sessions using Playwright to create video captures of web UI interactions for tutorials and documentation.

Overview

This skill uses Playwright's built-in video recording to capture browser interactions. The workflow:

1. Validate Playwright installation
2. Execute a Playwright spec with video recording enabled
3. Retrieve the recorded video (WebM format)
4. Convert to GIF using the gif-generation skill

💡 Note: Claude Code 2.0.72+ includes native Chrome integration for interactive browser control. This skill (Playwright) is designed for automated recording workflows, CI/CD, and cross-browser support. For interactive debugging and live testing, consider using native Chrome integration. Both approaches complement each other - develop interactively with Chrome, then automate with Playwright specs.

Required TodoWrite Items

When invoking this skill, create todos for:

- [ ] Validate Playwright is installed and configured
- [ ] Check spec file exists at specified path
- [ ] Execute Playwright spec with video recording
- [ ] Locate and verify video output
- [ ] Convert video to GIF using gif-generation skill

Process

Step 1: Validate Playwright Installation

Check that Playwright is available:

npx playwright --version

If not installed, the user should run:

npm install -D @playwright/test
npx playwright install chromium

Step 2: Check Spec File

Verify the Playwright spec file exists. Spec files should:

• Be located in a specs/ or tests/ directory
• Have .spec.ts or .spec.js extension
• Include video configuration (see spec-execution module)

Step 3: Execute Recording

Run the spec with video enabled:

npx playwright test <spec-file> --config=playwright.config.ts

The config must enable video recording. See the spec-execution module for configuration details.

Step 4: Convert to GIF

After recording completes, use the gif-generation skill to convert the WebM video to an optimized GIF:

Invoke scry:gif-generation with:
- input: <path-to-webm>
- output: <desired-gif-path>
- fps: 10 (recommended for tutorials)
- width: 800 (adjust based on content)

Example Playwright Spec

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('demo workflow', async ({ page }) => {
  // Navigate to the application
  await page.goto('http://localhost:3000');

  // Wait for page to be ready
  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');

  // Perform demo actions
  await page.click('button[data-testid="start"]');
  await page.waitForTimeout(500); // Allow animation to complete

  await page.fill('input[name="query"]', 'example search');
  await page.waitForTimeout(300);

  await page.click('button[type="submit"]');
  await page.waitForSelector('.results');

  // Final pause to show results
  await page.waitForTimeout(1000);
});

Playwright Configuration

Create or update playwright.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';

export default defineConfig({
  use: {
    video: {
      mode: 'on',
      size: { width: 1280, height: 720 }
    },
    viewport: { width: 1280, height: 720 },
    launchOptions: {
      slowMo: 100 // Slow down actions for visibility
    }
  },
  outputDir: './test-results',
});

Exit Criteria

• Playwright spec executed successfully (exit code 0)
• Video file exists in output directory
• Video has non-zero file size
• GIF conversion completed (if requested)

Error Handling

Output Locations

Default output paths:

• Videos: ./test-results/<test-name>/video.webm
• Screenshots: ./test-results/<test-name>/screenshot.png

See Also

• spec-execution module: Detailed Playwright execution options
• video-capture module: Video format and quality settings
• scry:gif-generation: Convert video to optimized GIF