# Setup

> Verify the playwright plugin's runtime prerequisites: the playwright-cli binary and a resolvable browser for this machine. Use when: 'set up playwright', 'configure playwright', 'is playwright working', 'install playwright-cli', a browser flow reports the CLI is missing, or before a first E2E run. Actions: check (read-only verification, default) | apply (resolve what check found; apply install-cli performs the global CLI install). Re-runnable and safe.

- Skill: `melodic-software/setup-20` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add melodic-software/setup-20`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/melodic-software/setup-20/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: melodic-software (https://skillmd.com/u/melodic-software)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/melodic-software/setup-20

---


## Purpose

Thin check-centric setup per the uniform setup contract (`docs/PLUGIN-PHILOSOPHY.md`
"Setup is explicit and repeatable" in the marketplace repository): `check` inspects and
reports, `apply` resolves. This plugin owns no consumer-project configuration and no
`userConfig`. It recommends `@playwright/cli`'s own defaults, so the only tunable
prerequisite is the CLI binary itself. `apply` is guidance-and-verify with exactly one
write path: the explicitly invoked `apply install-cli` global npm install described
below.

Action routing: no argument or `check` runs the check; `apply` runs the check first, then
offers the resolution for each finding; `apply install-cli` additionally authorizes the global
CLI install. All are non-interactive. Never prompt when the action is given.

## `check` (read-only)

The main skill and its reference files are the single source of truth for what the CLI
requires: `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/playwright/SKILL.md` (Prerequisite + quick start) and
`${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/playwright/reference/` (`commands.md`, `windows-quirks.md`).

**Read it first.** Probe what it actually does, don't recite this file. Then run each probe via
Bash and report a PASS/FAIL/INFO table with one remediation line per FAIL. Do not modify anything.

1. **`playwright-cli` binary**. `command -v playwright-cli` (the binary name the skill drives;
   the npm package is `@playwright/cli`). FAIL if absent. Remediation is `apply install-cli`
   below. When present, report the version (`playwright-cli --version`).
2. **Browser availability**. The CLI needs a browser beyond its own install. Per the plugin's
   own `skills/playwright/reference/windows-quirks.md`, local sessions on Windows/macOS/Linux auto-detect system
   Chrome, while a sandboxed/cloud session must run `playwright-cli install-browser` and that
   download can be egress-blocked. INFO: state whether a system browser is resolvable on this
   host and, when it is not, surface the `playwright-cli install-browser` step and the
   sandbox-egress caveat from that reference. Do not assert a browser requirement the shipped
   docs do not; read them and report what they say.
3. **Artifact directory**. INFO: artifacts land in `.playwright-cli/` relative to the working
   directory; note whether it is gitignored in the current project (the skill recommends
   adding it). No write. Reporting only.

## `apply` (idempotent)

Run `check`, then for each FAIL offer the resolution. `apply install-cli` is the one write
path. State the change before running it:

- **CLI absent**. `apply install-cli` runs `npm install -g @playwright/cli`. This is a
  **global install that mutates the user's machine** (the global npm prefix), stated before it
  runs; without the `install-cli` argument, `apply` only prints this command for the user to
  run. After the install, re-run `command -v playwright-cli` and report the actual result.
  Never claim success on npm's exit code alone.
- **browser not resolvable**. Point at `playwright-cli install-browser` per the plugin's
  reference, and note the sandbox-egress caveat when relevant. Guidance only. This skill does
  not provision browsers.
- **`.playwright-cli/` not gitignored**. Suggest adding it to the project `.gitignore`;
  guidance only, no edit.

The vendored-baseline update flow (`/playwright:playwright update`) is **not** this skill's
job. Point at it, do not wrap it. Re-running `apply` when everything already passes changes
nothing and reports "already configured".

## What this skill does NOT do

- Write the plugin cache, Claude Code user settings, or `pluginConfigs`. Nor project files. The
  one explicitly invoked `apply install-cli` global npm install is the only write it performs.
- Provision browsers, run E2E flows, or take screenshots. That is `/playwright:playwright`.
- Run or wrap the maintainer update flow (`/playwright:playwright update`).