Browser Library Skill
Quick Reference
Browser Library uses Playwright for fast, reliable browser automation with built-in auto-waiting and powerful assertion capabilities.
Installation
pip install robotframework-browser
rfbrowser init
Library Import
*** Settings ***
Library Browser auto_closing_level=KEEP
Import options:
auto_closing_level=KEEP- Keep browser open between tests (faster)auto_closing_level=TEST- Close after each test (clean state)timeout=30s- Default timeout for operationsenable_presenter_mode=true- Slow down for demos
Essential Concepts
Browser -> Context -> Page Hierarchy
Browser (chromium/firefox/webkit)
└── Context (isolated session: cookies, storage)
└── Page (single tab/window)
- Browser: The browser process (Chrome, Firefox, or WebKit)
- Context: Isolated browser session with its own cookies, localStorage, and cache
- Page: A single tab or popup window within a context
New Browser chromium headless=false
New Context viewport={'width': 1920, 'height': 1080}
New Page https://example.com
Auto-Waiting
Browser Library automatically waits for elements to be actionable before interacting. No explicit waits needed in most cases.
- Waits for element to be visible
- Waits for element to be stable (not animating)
- Waits for element to be enabled
- Waits for element to receive events
Core Keywords Quick Reference
Navigation
New Browser chromium headless=false
New Context viewport={'width': 1920, 'height': 1080}
New Page https://example.com
Go To https://example.com/login
Reload
Go Back
Go Forward
Locators (Selector Syntax)
# CSS (default)
Click button.submit
Click #login-btn
Click [data-testid="submit"]
# Text
Click text=Login
Click "Login" # Exact text match
# XPath
Click xpath=//button[@type='submit']
# Chained selectors (powerful!)
Click .form >> button.submit
Click #container >> text=Save
# nth-match
Click button >> nth=0 # First button
Click button >> nth=-1 # Last button
# Role selectors (accessibility)
Click role=button[name="Submit"]
Input
Fill Text input#username myuser
Type Text input#password secret123 delay=50ms
Check Checkbox #remember-me
Uncheck Checkbox #newsletter
Select Options By select#country value US
Select Options By select#country label United States
Clear Text input#search
Getting Content
${text}= Get Text h1.title
${value}= Get Property input#email value
${attr}= Get Attribute a.link href
${count}= Get Element Count li.item
${states}= Get Element States button#submit
Assertions (built-in!)
Get Text h1 == Welcome
Get Text .message contains Success
Get Text .message *= Success # Alternative
Get Element Count li.item > 5
Get Url contains /dashboard
Get Title == Home Page
Screenshots
Take Screenshot # Current viewport
Take Screenshot fullPage=true # Full page
Take Screenshot selector=#main # Specific element
Take Screenshot filename=test.png # Named file
Waiting (when auto-wait isn't enough)
Wait For Elements State .results visible timeout=10s
Wait For Elements State .spinner hidden
Wait For Response **/api/data timeout=30s
Wait For Navigation url=*/success
Wait For Load State networkidle
Locator Strategy Priority
data-testid,data-test,data-cyattributes - Most stable- Accessible roles and labels -
role=button[name="Submit"] - CSS selectors -
button.submit,#login-btn - Text content -
text=Login,"Exact Text" - XPath - Last resort:
xpath=//button[@type='submit']
Common Patterns
Login Flow
*** Keywords ***
Login As User
[Arguments] ${username} ${password}
New Page ${LOGIN_URL}
Fill Text input[name="username"] ${username}
Fill Text input[name="password"] ${password}
Click button[type="submit"]
Get Url contains /dashboard
Wait for Network
Click button#load-data
Wait For Response **/api/data timeout=10s
Get Text .data-container != ${EMPTY}
Handle Loading States
Click button#submit
Wait For Elements State .loading-spinner hidden timeout=30s
Get Text .result contains Success
Form Validation
Fill Text input#email invalid-email
Click button[type="submit"]
Get Text .error-message contains valid email
Clear Text input#email
Fill Text input#email valid@example.com
Click button[type="submit"]
Get Url contains /success
Screenshot on Failure
*** Settings ***
Library Browser auto_closing_level=TEST
Test Teardown Run Keyword If Test Failed Take Screenshot
Additional Important Keywords
Text Input
# Fill Text - set input value directly (fast, fires change event)
Fill Text input#username myuser
# Fill Secret - same as Fill Text but value is NOT logged (for passwords)
Fill Secret input#password $password
# Type Text - simulate real keystrokes with optional delay
Type Text input#search query delay=50ms
# Type Secret - simulate keystrokes without logging the value
Type Secret input#password $password delay=50ms
Keyboard Interaction
# Keyboard Key - press, hold, or release a key (no selector needed, browser-level)
Keyboard Key press Enter
Keyboard Key press Control+c
Keyboard Key down Shift
Keyboard Key up Shift
# Keyboard Input - type text at browser level (no selector needed)
Keyboard Input type Hello World
Keyboard Input insertText pasted content
Advanced Waiting
# Wait For Condition - custom JavaScript wait condition
Wait For Condition Element States h1 contains visible
# Wait Until Network Is Idle - wait for all network requests to complete
Wait Until Network Is Idle timeout=10s
Element Collections
# Get Elements - returns a list of matching element handles
@{buttons}= Get Elements button.action
Length Should Be ${buttons} 3
File Upload With Promise
# Promise To Upload File - handle file dialogs triggered by non-input clicks
${promise}= Promise To Upload File ${CURDIR}/myfile.txt
Click button#custom-upload
${upload}= Wait For ${promise}
Click With Options
# Click With Options - click with modifiers, position, force, etc.
Click With Options button#action delay=100ms
Click With Options canvas#game position_x=100 position_y=200
Click With Options button#submit force=true
Click With Options a#link button=right
Click With Options div#item clickCount=2
When to Load Additional References
Load these reference files when you need deeper knowledge:
| Need | Reference File |
|---|---|
| Complex locators, chaining, nth-match | references/locators.md |
| Assertion operators, retry logic | references/assertion-engine.md |
| Browser/Context/Page management | references/browser-context-page.md |
| Complete keyword reference | references/keywords-reference.md |
| iframes and Shadow DOM | references/iframes-shadow-dom.md |
| Multiple tabs/windows | references/tabs-windows.md |
| Session persistence, cookies | references/authentication-storage.md |
| File download/upload | references/downloads-uploads.md |
| Debugging test failures | references/troubleshooting.md |
Companion Skills
| Need | Skill |
|---|---|
| Generate user keywords | rf-keyword-builder |
| Generate test cases | rf-testcase-builder |
| Design resource file layout | rf-resource-architect |
| Search for keywords across libraries | rf-libdoc-search |
| Explain keyword arguments in detail | rf-libdoc-explain |
| Parse test results from output.xml | rf-results |
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