# Playwright Bowser

> Headless browser automation using Playwright CLI. Use when you need headless browsing, parallel browser sessions, UI testing, screenshots, web scraping, or browser automation that can run in the background. Keywords - playwright, headless, browser, test, screenshot, scrape, parallel.

- Skill: `rooseveltadvisors-claude-agent-stack/playwright-bowser` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add rooseveltadvisors-claude-agent-stack/playwright-bowser`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/rooseveltadvisors-claude-agent-stack/playwright-bowser/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Coding & Dev Tools
- Author: RooseveltAdvisors (https://skillmd.com/u/rooseveltadvisors-claude-agent-stack)
- Updated: 2026-09-10
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/rooseveltadvisors-claude-agent-stack/playwright-bowser

---


# Playwright Bowser

## Purpose

Automate browsers using `playwright-cli` — a token-efficient CLI for Playwright. Runs headless by default, supports parallel sessions via named sessions (`-s=`), and doesn't load tool schemas into context.

## Key Details

- **Headless by default** — pass `--headed` to `open` to see the browser
- **Parallel sessions** — use `-s=<name>` to run multiple independent browser instances
- **Persistent profiles** — cookies and storage state preserved between calls
- **Token-efficient** — CLI-based, no accessibility trees or tool schemas in context
- **Vision mode** (opt-in) — set `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS=vision` to receive screenshots as image responses in context instead of just saving to disk

## Sessions

**Always use a named session.** Derive a short, descriptive kebab-case name from the user's prompt.

```bash
playwright-cli -s=mystore-checkout open https://mystore.com --persistent
playwright-cli -s=mystore-checkout snapshot
playwright-cli -s=mystore-checkout click e12
playwright-cli -s=mystore-checkout close
```

Managing sessions:
```bash
playwright-cli list          # list all sessions
playwright-cli close-all     # close all sessions
playwright-cli -s=<name> close
playwright-cli -s=<name> delete-data
```

## Quick Reference

```
Core:       open [url], goto <url>, click <ref>, fill <ref> <text>, type <text>, snapshot, screenshot [ref], close
Navigate:   go-back, go-forward, reload
Keyboard:   press <key>, keydown <key>, keyup <key>
Mouse:      mousemove <x> <y>, mousedown, mouseup, mousewheel <dx> <dy>
Tabs:       tab-list, tab-new [url], tab-close [index], tab-select <index>
Save:       screenshot [ref], pdf, screenshot --filename=f
Storage:    state-save, state-load, cookie-*, localstorage-*, sessionstorage-*
Network:    route <pattern>, route-list, unroute, network
DevTools:   console, run-code <code>, tracing-start/stop, video-start/stop
Sessions:   -s=<name> <cmd>, list, close-all, kill-all
Config:     open --headed, open --browser=chrome, resize <w> <h>
```

## Workflow

1. Derive a session name from context and open with `--persistent`:
```bash
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE=1440x900 playwright-cli -s=<session-name> open <url> --persistent
# headed:
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE=1440x900 playwright-cli -s=<session-name> open <url> --persistent --headed
# vision mode:
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE=1440x900 PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS=vision playwright-cli -s=<session-name> open <url> --persistent
```

2. Get element references:
```bash
playwright-cli -s=<session-name> snapshot
```

3. Interact using refs:
```bash
playwright-cli -s=<session-name> click <ref>
playwright-cli -s=<session-name> fill <ref> "text"
playwright-cli -s=<session-name> press Enter
```

4. Capture results:
```bash
playwright-cli -s=<session-name> screenshot --filename=output.png
```

5. **Always close when done:**
```bash
playwright-cli -s=<session-name> close
```