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 operations
• enable_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

1. data-testid, data-test, data-cy attributes - Most stable
2. Accessible roles and labels - role=button[name="Submit"]
3. CSS selectors - button.submit, #login-btn
4. Text content - text=Login, "Exact Text"
5. 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