Playwright CLI

A token-efficient CLI for browser automation. Use Bash tool to run these commands.

Installation

npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest

Core Workflow

# 1. Open a page
playwright-cli open https://example.com

# 2. Capture snapshot (accessibility tree with element refs)
playwright-cli snapshot

# 3. Interact using refs from snapshot
playwright-cli click e15
playwright-cli fill e20 "hello@example.com"

# 4. Re-snapshot to verify state
playwright-cli snapshot

Command Reference

Navigation & Core

Command	Description
playwright-cli open <url>	Open URL in browser
playwright-cli open <url> --headed	Open in visible browser
playwright-cli close	Close browser
playwright-cli snapshot	Capture accessibility tree with element refs
playwright-cli screenshot [ref]	Take screenshot (viewport or element)
playwright-cli screenshot --full-page	Full-page screenshot
playwright-cli pdf	Save page as PDF

Interactions

Command	Description
playwright-cli click <ref>	Click element
playwright-cli fill <ref> "<text>"	Fill input field
playwright-cli type "<text>"	Type text sequentially
playwright-cli hover <ref>	Hover over element
playwright-cli select <ref> "<value>"	Select dropdown option
playwright-cli check <ref>	Check checkbox
playwright-cli uncheck <ref>	Uncheck checkbox
playwright-cli upload <ref> <file>	Upload file
playwright-cli drag <startRef> <endRef>	Drag and drop

Keyboard & Mouse

Command	Description
playwright-cli press <key>	Press key (e.g., Enter, ArrowDown)
playwright-cli keydown <key>	Key down
playwright-cli keyup <key>	Key up
playwright-cli mousemove <x> <y>	Move mouse
playwright-cli mousedown	Mouse button down
playwright-cli mouseup	Mouse button up

Navigation

Command	Description
playwright-cli go-back	Go back
playwright-cli go-forward	Go forward
playwright-cli reload	Reload page

Tabs

Command	Description
playwright-cli tab-list	List tabs
playwright-cli tab-new [url]	Open new tab
playwright-cli tab-close [index]	Close tab
playwright-cli tab-select <index>	Switch to tab

DevTools

Command	Description
playwright-cli console	View console messages
playwright-cli network	View network requests
playwright-cli eval "<js>"	Execute JavaScript
playwright-cli run-code "<js>"	Run Playwright code

Dialogs

Command	Description
playwright-cli dialog-accept	Accept dialog
playwright-cli dialog-dismiss	Dismiss dialog

Tracing & Video

Command	Description
playwright-cli tracing-start	Start trace recording
playwright-cli tracing-stop	Stop trace recording
playwright-cli video-start	Start video recording
playwright-cli video-stop	Stop video recording

Sessions

Command	Description
playwright-cli open <url> --session=<name>	Use named session
playwright-cli session-list	List sessions
playwright-cli session-stop <name>	Stop session
playwright-cli session-delete <name>	Delete session

Snapshot Output

When you run playwright-cli snapshot, you get an accessibility tree:

- button "Create Strategy" [ref: e12]
- textbox "Search" [ref: e13]
- grid [ref: e14]
- button "Filters" [ref: e15]

Use the ref values (e.g., e12) to interact with elements.

Configuration

Create playwright-cli.json for custom settings:

{
  "browser": "chromium",
  "headless": false,
  "timeout": 30000
}