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claude-code

Arkhe-claude-plugins playwright-cli

install
source · Clone the upstream repo
git clone https://github.com/joaquimscosta/arkhe-claude-plugins
Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/
T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/joaquimscosta/arkhe-claude-plugins "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/plugins/playwright/skills/playwright-cli" ~/.claude/skills/joaquimscosta-arkhe-claude-plugins-playwright-cli && rm -rf "$T"
manifest: plugins/playwright/skills/playwright-cli/SKILL.md
source content

Playwright CLI

Automate browsers through shell commands via the Bash tool.

Core Workflow

Every interaction follows this pattern:

  1. Open a page: 
    playwright-cli open <url>
  2. Snapshot to discover elements: 
    playwright-cli snapshot
  3. Interact using refs from the snapshot: 
    playwright-cli click <ref>
  4. Verify the result: 
    playwright-cli screenshot
    or 
    playwright-cli snapshot

Always run 

snapshot
before interacting — element refs come exclusively from snapshot output and become stale after navigation.

Command Reference

Navigation

CommandDescription
open <url>
Open URL in new page
goto <url>
Navigate current page
go-back
/ 
go-forward
Browser back/forward
reload
Reload current page
close
Close the browser

Interaction

CommandDescription
click <ref>
Click an element
dblclick <ref>
Double-click an element
fill <ref> <text>
Clear field, then type text
type <text>
Type into focused element (appends)
check <ref>
/ 
uncheck <ref>
Toggle checkbox
select <ref> <values>
Select dropdown option(s)
hover <ref>
Hover over element
drag <start> <end>
Drag between elements
upload <ref> <paths>
Upload file(s) to file input
eval "<js>"
Evaluate JavaScript on page
eval "<js>" <ref>
Evaluate JavaScript on element
dialog-accept [text]
Accept dialog (optional prompt text)
dialog-dismiss
Dismiss dialog
resize <w> <h>
Resize browser window

Output

CommandDescription
screenshot [ref] [--filename=f]
Capture PNG screenshot (page or element)
snapshot [--filename=f]
Accessibility tree — structured, token-efficient
pdf [--filename=f]
Generate PDF of the page

Important: 

--filename
resolves relative to the working directory, NOT 
outputDir
. When using 
--filename
, always prepend the project's 
outputDir
value (check 
.playwright/cli.config.json
; defaults to 
.playwright-cli
). Example: 
playwright-cli screenshot --filename=<outputDir>/my-screenshot.png

Tabs

CommandDescription
tab list
List open tabs
tab create [url]
Open new tab
tab select <index>
Switch to tab
tab close [index]
Close tab

Keyboard

playwright-cli press Enter          # Enter, Tab, Escape, ArrowDown, etc.
playwright-cli keydown Shift         # Hold key down
playwright-cli keyup Shift           # Release key

Mouse

playwright-cli mousemove 150 300     # Move to coordinates
playwright-cli mousedown [button]    # Press button (left/right)
playwright-cli mouseup [button]      # Release button
playwright-cli mousewheel 0 100      # Scroll (deltaX deltaY)

Sessions

  • Default session — all commands share one session automatically
  • Named sessions — 
    playwright-cli -s=<name> open <url>
    for parallel browsers
  • List sessions — 
    playwright-cli list
  • Close one — 
    playwright-cli -s=<name> close
  • Close all — 
    playwright-cli close-all
  • Force kill — 
    playwright-cli kill-all
  • Persistent profile — 
    playwright-cli open <url> --persistent
  • Custom profile — 
    playwright-cli open <url> --profile=/path/to/dir
  • Delete data — 
    playwright-cli delete-data
    or 
    playwright-cli -s=<name> delete-data
  • Environment variable — 
    PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION=my-project

Configuration

playwright-cli open <url> --browser=chromium    # chromium (default), firefox, webkit, chrome, msedge
playwright-cli open <url> --headed              # Visible browser window
playwright-cli open <url> --config=config.json  # Custom config file
playwright-cli open <url> --extension           # Connect via browser extension

Create 

.playwright/cli.config.json
in the project for persistent settings:

{ "browser": { "browserName": "chromium", "launchOptions": { "headless": true } }, "outputDir": ".playwright-cli", "timeouts": { "action": 5000, "navigation": 60000 } }

Other options: 

network.allowedOrigins
, 
network.blockedOrigins
, 
saveVideo
. Environment variables use 
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_
prefix (e.g., 
PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER=firefox
).

Common Pitfalls

  • Interacting without snapshot — refs are unknown until 
    snapshot
    runs
  • Stale refs after navigation — re-run 
    snapshot
    after 
    goto
    , link clicks, or form submissions
  • fill vs type — 
    fill
    clears the field first; 
    type
    appends to current content
  • Stuck sessions — run 
    playwright-cli kill-all
    to force-close all browsers

Resources