stealth-web-cli

Stealth Browser CLI with SKILLS

Stealth Browser CLI vs Playwright MCP

This package provides CLI interface into Playwright. If you are using coding agents, that is the best fit.

• CLI: Modern coding agents increasingly favor CLI–based workflows exposed as SKILLs over MCP because CLI invocations are more token-efficient: they avoid loading large tool schemas and verbose accessibility trees into the model context, allowing agents to act through concise, purpose-built commands. This makes CLI + SKILLs better suited for high-throughput coding agents that must balance browser automation with large codebases, tests, and reasoning within limited context windows.

• MCP: MCP remains relevant for specialized agentic loops that benefit from persistent state, rich introspection, and iterative reasoning over page structure, such as exploratory automation, self-healing tests, or long-running autonomous workflows where maintaining continuous browser context outweighs token cost concerns. Learn more about Playwright MCP.

Key Features

• Token-efficient. Does not force page data into LLM.

Requirements

• Node.js 20 or newer
• Claude Code, GitHub Copilot, or any other coding agent.

Getting Started

Installation

npm install -g stealth-web-cli
stealth-web-cli --help

Installing skills

Claude Code, GitHub Copilot and others will use the locally installed skills.

stealth-web-cli install --skills

Skills-less operation

Point your agent at the CLI and let it cook. It'll read the skill off stealth-web-cli --help on its own:

Test the "add todo" flow on https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc using stealth-web-cli.
Check stealth-web-cli --help for available commands.

Demo

> Use playwright skills to test https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/.
  Take screenshots for all successful and failing scenarios.

Your agent will be running commands, but it does not mean you can't play with it manually:

stealth-web-cli open https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/ --headed
stealth-web-cli type "Buy groceries"
stealth-web-cli press Enter
stealth-web-cli type "Water flowers"
stealth-web-cli press Enter
stealth-web-cli check e21
stealth-web-cli check e35
stealth-web-cli screenshot

Headed operation

Stealth Browser CLI is headless by default. If you'd like to see the browser, pass --headed to open:

stealth-web-cli open https://playwright.dev --headed

Sessions

Stealth Browser CLI keeps the browser profile in memory by default. Your cookies and storage state are preserved between CLI calls within the session, but lost when the browser closes. Use --persistent to save the profile to disk for persistence across browser restarts.

You can use different instances of the browser for different projects with sessions. Pass -s= to the invocation to talk to a specific browser.

stealth-web-cli open https://playwright.dev
stealth-web-cli -s=example open https://example.com --persistent
stealth-web-cli list

For login-walled sites, keep a named persistent session so cookies survive browser restarts. After finishing a manual login in headed mode, save a portable storage-state backup as well:

stealth-web-cli -s=social open https://example.com/login --headed --persistent
# complete the login in the browser window, then:
stealth-web-cli -s=social state-save auth.json
# later, reuse the persistent session or restore the backup with state-load auth.json

You can run your coding agent with the PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION environment variable:

PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION=todo-app claude .

Or instruct it to prepend -s= to the calls.

Manage your sessions as follows:

stealth-web-cli list                     # list all sessions
stealth-web-cli close-all                # close all browsers
stealth-web-cli kill-all                 # forcefully kill all browser processes

Monitoring

Use stealth-web-cli show to open a visual dashboard that lets you see and control all running browser sessions. This is useful when your coding agents are running browser automation in the background and you want to observe their progress or step in to help.

stealth-web-cli show

The dashboard opens a window with two views:

• Session grid — shows all active sessions grouped by workspace, each with a live screencast preview, session name, current URL, and page title. Click any session to zoom in.
• Session detail — shows a live view of the selected session with a tab bar, navigation controls (back, forward, reload, address bar), and full remote control. Click into the viewport to take over mouse and keyboard input; press Escape to release.

From the grid you can also close running sessions or delete data for inactive ones.

Known limitations

• Browser-engine fetch is origin-bound. fetch --engine=browser performs the request inside the current tab, so it inherits that page's origin policy: a cross-origin response without CORS headers cannot be read (the request reaches the server, but the browser refuses to expose it). The CLI reports this explicitly; use the default --engine=wreq (or --engine=httpcloak) for cross-origin targets, which are not CORS-bound.
• Console capture is unavailable under CloakBrowser. Current CloakBrowser builds do not deliver page console events, so console reports captureUnavailable with a hint when it has no messages; an empty list does not prove the page logged nothing. Read application state with eval instead.

Commands

Core

stealth-web-cli open [url]               # open browser, optionally navigate to url
stealth-web-cli goto <url>               # navigate to a url
stealth-web-cli goto <url> --timeout=5   # navigate with an explicit timeout in seconds
stealth-web-cli close                    # close the page
stealth-web-cli type <text>              # type text into editable element
stealth-web-cli click <ref> [button]     # perform click on a web page
stealth-web-cli dblclick <ref> [button]  # perform double click on a web page
stealth-web-cli fill <ref> <text>        # fill text into editable element
stealth-web-cli fill <ref> <text> --submit # fill and press Enter
stealth-web-cli drag <startRef> <endRef> # perform drag and drop between two elements
stealth-web-cli drop <ref> --path=<file> # drop files onto an element (from outside the page)
stealth-web-cli drop <ref> --data="k=v"  # drop data onto an element
stealth-web-cli hover <ref>              # hover over element on page
stealth-web-cli select <ref> <val>       # select an option in a dropdown
stealth-web-cli upload <file>            # upload one or multiple files
stealth-web-cli check <ref>              # check a checkbox or radio button
stealth-web-cli uncheck <ref>            # uncheck a checkbox or radio button
stealth-web-cli snapshot                 # capture page snapshot to obtain element ref
stealth-web-cli snapshot --filename=f    # save snapshot to specific file
stealth-web-cli snapshot --inline        # return snapshot content directly
stealth-web-cli snapshot <ref>           # snapshot a specific element
stealth-web-cli snapshot --depth=N       # limit snapshot depth for efficiency
stealth-web-cli eval <func> [ref]        # evaluate javascript expression on page or element
stealth-web-cli eval <func> --output=f   # save the raw evaluation value to an absolute file path
stealth-web-cli dialog-accept [prompt]   # accept a dialog
stealth-web-cli dialog-dismiss           # dismiss a dialog
stealth-web-cli resize <w> <h>           # resize the browser window

Navigation

stealth-web-cli go-back                  # go back to the previous page
stealth-web-cli go-forward               # go forward to the next page
stealth-web-cli reload                   # reload the current page

Keyboard

stealth-web-cli press <key>              # press a key on the keyboard, `a`, `arrowleft`
stealth-web-cli keydown <key>            # press a key down on the keyboard
stealth-web-cli keyup <key>              # press a key up on the keyboard

Mouse

stealth-web-cli mousemove <x> <y>        # move mouse to a given position
stealth-web-cli mousedown [button]       # press mouse down
stealth-web-cli mouseup [button]         # press mouse up
stealth-web-cli mousewheel <dx> <dy>     # scroll mouse wheel

Save as

stealth-web-cli screenshot [ref]         # screenshot of the current page or element
stealth-web-cli screenshot --filename=f  # save screenshot with specific filename
stealth-web-cli pdf                      # save page as pdf
stealth-web-cli pdf --filename=page.pdf  # save pdf with specific filename

Tabs

stealth-web-cli tab-list                 # list all tabs
stealth-web-cli tab-new [url]            # create a new tab
stealth-web-cli tab-close [index]        # close a browser tab
stealth-web-cli tab-select <index>       # select a browser tab

Storage

stealth-web-cli state-save [filename]    # save storage state
stealth-web-cli state-load <filename>    # load storage state

# Cookies
stealth-web-cli cookie-list [--domain]   # list cookies
stealth-web-cli cookie-get <name>        # get a cookie
stealth-web-cli cookie-set <name> <val>  # set a cookie
stealth-web-cli cookie-delete <name>     # delete a cookie
stealth-web-cli cookie-clear             # clear all cookies

# LocalStorage
stealth-web-cli localstorage-list        # list localStorage entries
stealth-web-cli localstorage-get <key>   # get localStorage value
stealth-web-cli localstorage-set <k> <v> # set localStorage value
stealth-web-cli localstorage-delete <k>  # delete localStorage entry
stealth-web-cli localstorage-clear       # clear all localStorage

# SessionStorage
stealth-web-cli sessionstorage-list      # list sessionStorage entries
stealth-web-cli sessionstorage-get <k>   # get sessionStorage value
stealth-web-cli sessionstorage-set <k> <v> # set sessionStorage value
stealth-web-cli sessionstorage-delete <k>  # delete sessionStorage entry
stealth-web-cli sessionstorage-clear     # clear all sessionStorage

Network

stealth-web-cli route <pattern> [opts]   # mock network requests
stealth-web-cli route-list               # list active routes
stealth-web-cli unroute [pattern]        # remove route(s)

HTTP requests

stealth-web-cli fetch <url> [opts]       # raw body on stdout, composes with jq
  --method=GET|POST|PUT|PATCH|DELETE|HEAD   HTTP method (default GET)
  --data=<body>                             request body
  --header="Key: Value"                     request header (comma-separated)
  --timeout=<seconds> / --retry=<N>         timeout and retries on 5xx/network
  --engine=wreq|httpcloak|browser           transport engine (default wreq)

fetch runs through fingerprint-matched plain-HTTP engines — node-wreq (TLS JA3/JA4 + HTTP2, the wreq successor to rquest) and httpcloak (managed Chrome/Edge/Firefox presets) — so no browser session is needed for static targets. The default wreq engine escalates to the CloakBrowser session automatically when a challenge is detected; challenge-heavy or JS-rendered pages therefore require an open session (open). --engine=browser rides CloakBrowser's own network stack. eval and tab-* stay browser-only.

Scraping

stealth-web-cli scrape <url> [opts]     # render a page (or crawl) and emit structured output
  --crawl                                 follow same-origin links
  --max-requests=<N>                      max pages (default 1, or 20 with --crawl)
  --max-depth=<N>                         max link depth with --crawl
  --same-origin=true|false                only follow same-origin links (default true)
  --concurrency=<N> / --requests-per-minute=<N>  parallel pages / rate limit
  --select=<css>                          extract elements matching a selector
  --schema=<json-file>                    extract fields: { field: { selector, attr?, all? } }
  --output-format=json|text|markdown|csv  output format (default json)
  --output=<file>                         write output to a file
  --timeout=<seconds> / --retry=<N>       per-page timeout and retries (default 60 / 3)

scrape renders pages through the CloakBrowser provider via Crawlee, giving retry-aware, rate-limited crawling with request deduplication. Each result reports attempts and retried; challenge pages (403/429 or Cloudflare/reCAPTCHA markers) are retried (and auto-solved via CAPSOLVER_API_KEY when present), then surfaced as challenge with content redacted and a nonzero exit — never captured as content. Use --select/--schema for field extraction, then pipe --output-format=csv into your data pipeline.

DevTools

stealth-web-cli console [min-level]      # list console messages
stealth-web-cli requests                 # list all network requests since loading the page
stealth-web-cli request <index>          # show details for a specific request
stealth-web-cli run-code <code>          # run playwright code snippet
stealth-web-cli run-code --filename=f    # run playwright code from a file
stealth-web-cli tracing-start            # start trace recording
stealth-web-cli tracing-stop             # stop trace recording
stealth-web-cli video-start [filename]   # start video recording
stealth-web-cli video-chapter <title>    # add a chapter marker to the video
stealth-web-cli video-show-actions       # annotate each action with a callout in the video
stealth-web-cli video-hide-actions       # stop annotating actions in the video
stealth-web-cli video-stop               # stop video recording
stealth-web-cli show                     # open the visual dashboard
stealth-web-cli show --annotate          # launch dashboard for UI review / design feedback
stealth-web-cli generate-locator <ref>   # generate a playwright locator for an element
stealth-web-cli highlight <ref>          # show a persistent highlight overlay
stealth-web-cli highlight <ref> --style= # highlight with a custom CSS style
stealth-web-cli highlight <ref> --hide   # hide highlight on a specific element
stealth-web-cli highlight --hide         # hide all page highlights

Open parameters

stealth-web-cli open --browser=chrome    # use specific browser
stealth-web-cli attach --extension=chrome # connect via Playwright Extension
stealth-web-cli attach --cdp=chrome      # attach to running Chrome/Edge by channel
stealth-web-cli attach --cdp=<url>       # attach via CDP endpoint
stealth-web-cli detach                   # detach an attached session, leaves the external browser running
stealth-web-cli open --persistent        # use persistent profile
stealth-web-cli open --profile=<path>    # use custom profile directory
stealth-web-cli open --config=file.json  # use config file
stealth-web-cli close                    # close the browser
stealth-web-cli delete-data              # delete user data for default session

The CLI uses standard Playwright to control CloakBrowser; no Patchright runtime is used. CloakBrowser is the sole browser provider; it is selected by default (set PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_BROWSER_PROVIDER=cloakbrowser, or omit it, for the same result). The patchright and camoufox providers were removed and are rejected with a clear error. Explicit invocation-level --browser, --config, and PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONFIG settings are respected and skip the automatic provider selection. Ambient upstream environment variables such as PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER do not skip stealth selection: they are frequently set system-wide for other tools and would otherwise silently launch a stock headless Chromium whose user agent leaks HeadlessChrome (issue #28).

Every open reports the selected provider and installed provider version. Opening an already-running session restarts it and re-evaluates the configured provider; list reports the provider name instead of the generic browser channel. When a session's provider sidecar is missing, the name is recovered only when the session file still carries a CloakBrowser stealth marker (--fingerprint argument or its binary path); otherwise the generic channel is reported. An explicit PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_BROWSER_PROVIDER takes precedence over conflicting upstream browser environment variables.

Structured output

Pass --json to any command for a deterministic response. Page commands return ok, url, title, result, console, and provider. provider contains the active provider and version for managed sessions and is null when provider selection was bypassed. Failures use the same schema, include an error, and exit nonzero.

{
  "provider": { "name": "cloakbrowser", "version": "0.5.3" }
}

stealth-web-cli goto https://example.com --timeout=5 --json
stealth-web-cli eval '() => document.title' --json

Use eval --output=<file> when the result is too large for terminal output. String results are written literally, with real newlines and no JSON quoting; objects and other JSON values retain readable JSON. The result link contains the absolute output path. Upstream-compatible --filename=<file> remains available when a JSON-serialized file is desired.

Snapshots

After each command, stealth-web-cli provides a snapshot of the current browser state.

> stealth-web-cli goto https://example.com
### Page
- Page URL: https://example.com/
- Page Title: Example Domain
### Snapshot
[Snapshot](.playwright-cli/page-2026-02-14T19-22-42-679Z.yml)

You can also take a snapshot on demand using stealth-web-cli snapshot command. All the options below can be combined as needed.

# default - save to a file with timestamp-based name
stealth-web-cli snapshot

# save to file, use when snapshot is a part of the workflow result
stealth-web-cli snapshot --filename=after-click.yaml

# return snapshot content inline (especially useful with --json)
stealth-web-cli snapshot --inline --json

# snapshot an element instead of the whole page
stealth-web-cli snapshot "#main"

# limit snapshot depth for efficiency, take a partial snapshot afterwards
stealth-web-cli snapshot --depth=4
stealth-web-cli snapshot e34

# include each element's bounding box as [box=x,y,width,height]
stealth-web-cli snapshot --boxes

Targeting elements

By default, use refs from the snapshot to interact with page elements.

# get snapshot with refs
stealth-web-cli snapshot

# interact using a ref
stealth-web-cli click e15

You can also use css selectors or Playwright locators.

# css selector
stealth-web-cli click "#main > button.submit"

# role locator
stealth-web-cli click "getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' })"

# test id
stealth-web-cli click "getByTestId('submit-button')"

Sessions

stealth-web-cli -s=name <cmd>            # run command in named session
stealth-web-cli -s=name close            # stop a named browser
stealth-web-cli -s=name delete-data      # delete user data for named browser
stealth-web-cli list                     # list all sessions
stealth-web-cli close-all                # close all browsers
stealth-web-cli kill-all                 # forcefully kill all browser processes

Local installation

If global stealth-web-cli command is not available, try a local version via npx stealth-web-cli:

npx --no-install stealth-web-cli --version

When local version is available, use npx stealth-web-cli in all commands. Otherwise, install stealth-web-cli as a global command:

npm install -g stealth-web-cli

Configuration file

The Stealth Browser CLI can be configured using a JSON configuration file. You can specify the configuration file using the --config command line option:

stealth-web-cli --config path/to/config.json open example.com

Stealth Browser CLI will load config from .playwright/cli.config.json by default so that you did not need to specify it every time.

Configuration file schema

{
  /**
   * The browser to use.
   */
  browser?: {
    /**
     * The type of browser to use.
     */
    browserName?: 'chromium' | 'firefox' | 'webkit';

    /**
     * Keep the browser profile in memory, do not save it to disk.
     */
    isolated?: boolean;

    /**
     * Path to a user data directory for browser profile persistence.
     * Temporary directory is created by default.
     */
    userDataDir?: string;

    /**
     * Launch options passed to
     * @see https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-browsertype#browser-type-launch-persistent-context
     *
     * This is useful for settings options like `channel`, `headless`, `executablePath`, etc.
     */
    launchOptions?: playwright.LaunchOptions;

    /**
     * Context options for the browser context.
     *
     * This is useful for settings options like `viewport`.
     */
    contextOptions?: playwright.BrowserContextOptions;

    /**
     * Chrome DevTools Protocol endpoint to connect to an existing browser instance in case of Chromium family browsers.
     */
    cdpEndpoint?: string;

    /**
     * CDP headers to send with the connect request.
     */
    cdpHeaders?: Record<string, string>;

    /**
     * Timeout in milliseconds for connecting to CDP endpoint. Defaults to 30000 (30 seconds). Pass 0 to disable timeout.
     */
    cdpTimeout?: number;

    /**
     * Remote endpoint to connect to an existing Playwright server.
     */
    remoteEndpoint?: string;

    /**
     * Paths to TypeScript files to add as initialization scripts for Playwright page.
     */
    initPage?: string[];

    /**
     * Paths to JavaScript files to add as initialization scripts.
     * The scripts will be evaluated in every page before any of the page's scripts.
     */
    initScript?: string[];
  },

  /**
   * If specified, saves the Playwright video of the session into the output directory.
   */
  saveVideo?: {
    width: number;
    height: number;
  };

  /**
   * The directory to save output files.
   */
  outputDir?: string;

  /**
   * Whether to save snapshots, console messages, network logs and other session logs to a file or to the standard output. Defaults to "stdout".
   */
  outputMode?: 'file' | 'stdout';

  console?: {
    /**
     * The level of console messages to return. Each level includes the messages of more severe levels. Defaults to "info".
     */
    level?: 'error' | 'warning' | 'info' | 'debug';
  },

  network?: {
    /**
     * List of origins to allow the browser to request. Default is to allow all. Origins matching both `allowedOrigins` and `blockedOrigins` will be blocked.
     */
    allowedOrigins?: string[];

    /**
     * List of origins to block the browser to request. Origins matching both `allowedOrigins` and `blockedOrigins` will be blocked.
     */
    blockedOrigins?: string[];
  };

  /**
   * Specify the attribute to use for test ids, defaults to "data-testid".
   */
  testIdAttribute?: string;

  timeouts?: {
    /*
     * Configures default action timeout: https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-page#page-set-default-timeout. Defaults to 5000ms.
     */
    action?: number;

    /*
     * Configures default navigation timeout: https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-page#page-set-default-navigation-timeout. Defaults to 60000ms.
     */
    navigation?: number;
  };

  /**
   * Whether to allow file uploads from anywhere on the file system.
   * By default (false), file uploads are restricted to paths within the MCP roots only.
   */
  allowUnrestrictedFileAccess?: boolean;

  /**
   * Specify the language to use for code generation.
   */
  codegen?: 'typescript' | 'none';
}

Configuration via env

Environment
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS comma-separated list of hosts this server is allowed to serve from. Defaults to the host the server is bound to. Pass '*' to disable the host check.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS semicolon-separated list of TRUSTED origins to allow the browser to request. Default is to allow all. Important: does not serve as a security boundary and does not affect redirects.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOW_UNRESTRICTED_FILE_ACCESS allow access to files outside of the workspace roots. Also allows unrestricted access to file:// URLs. By default access to file system is restricted to workspace root directories (or cwd if no roots are configured) only, and navigation to file:// URLs is blocked.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BLOCKED_ORIGINS semicolon-separated list of origins to block the browser from requesting. Blocklist is evaluated before allowlist. If used without the allowlist, requests not matching the blocklist are still allowed. Important: does not serve as a security boundary and does not affect redirects.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BLOCK_SERVICE_WORKERS block service workers
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER browser or chrome channel to use, possible values: chrome, firefox, webkit, msedge.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS comma-separated list of additional capabilities to enable, possible values: vision, pdf.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_ENDPOINT CDP endpoint to connect to.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_HEADERS CDP headers to send with the connect request, multiple can be specified.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_TIMEOUT timeout for the CDP connection.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONFIG path to the configuration file.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONSOLE_LEVEL level of console messages to return: "error", "warning", "info", "debug". Each level includes the messages of more severe levels.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_DEVICE device to emulate, for example: "iPhone 15"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXECUTABLE_PATH path to the browser executable.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTENSION Connect to a running browser instance (Edge/Chrome only). Requires the "Playwright MCP Bridge" browser extension to be installed.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_GRANT_PERMISSIONS List of permissions to grant to the browser context, for example "geolocation", "clipboard-read", "clipboard-write".
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS whether to run browser in headless mode, headless by default.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_IGNORE_HTTPS_ERRORS ignore https errors
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_INIT_PAGE path to TypeScript file to evaluate on Playwright page object
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_INIT_SCRIPT path to JavaScript file to add as an initialization script. The script will be evaluated in every page before any of the page's scripts. Can be specified multiple times.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ISOLATED keep the browser profile in memory, do not save it to disk.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SANDBOX whether to enable the browser sandbox.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR path to the directory for output files.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PROXY_BYPASS comma-separated domains to bypass proxy, for example ".com,chromium.org,.domain.com"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PROXY_SERVER specify proxy server, for example "http://myproxy:3128" or "socks5://myproxy:8080"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_TRACE Whether to save the Playwright Trace of the session into the output directory.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_VIDEO Whether to save the video of the session into the output directory. For example "--save-video=800x600"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SECRETS_FILE path to a file containing secrets in the dotenv format
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_STORAGE_STATE path to the storage state file for isolated sessions.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TEST_ID_ATTRIBUTE specify the attribute to use for test ids, defaults to "data-testid"
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_ACTION specify action timeout in milliseconds, defaults to 5000ms
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_NAVIGATION specify navigation timeout in milliseconds, defaults to 60000ms
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_AGENT specify user agent string
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_DATA_DIR path to the user data directory. If not specified, a temporary directory will be created.
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE specify browser viewport size in pixels, for example "1280x720"

Specific tasks

The installed skill includes detailed reference guides for common tasks:

• Running and Debugging Playwright tests — run, debug and manage Playwright test suites
• Request mocking — intercept and mock network requests
• Running Playwright code — execute arbitrary Playwright scripts
• Browser session management — manage multiple browser sessions
• Storage state (cookies, localStorage) — persist and restore browser state
• Test generation (plan / generate / heal) — generate Playwright tests from a spec or interactions
• Tracing — record and inspect execution traces
• Video recording — capture browser session videos
• Inspecting element attributes — get element id, class, or any attribute not visible in the snapshot

Browser session lifetime

CLI-launched browsers close after 30 minutes without a connected command. Each completed command resets the idle timer; a running command is allowed to finish. Set PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_IDLE_TIMEOUT to a number of seconds to change this, or 0 to keep sessions open indefinitely. Persistent profiles retain their data when the browser expires. Attached browsers are excluded.

Opening a browser warns on stderr when 8 or more managed sessions are running across workspaces. This is a warning, not a cap: new sessions remain allowed. Set PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION_WARNING_THRESHOLD to change the threshold, or 0 to disable the warning. Use list --all to discover sessions, -s=<name> close to close one, and close-all to close the current workspace's sessions.

On Unix, a managed daemon also shuts down if its CLI socket disappears. Stale lifecycle records are pruned when another browser is opened. These protections apply to daemons started by this version; close older sessions explicitly and reopen them to adopt the new lifetime policy.