Configuration

Headed and headless mode

The CLI runs headless by default. To see the browser:

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

Browser selection

playwright-cli open --browser=chrome     # Google Chrome (default)
playwright-cli open --browser=firefox    # Mozilla Firefox
playwright-cli open --browser=webkit     # WebKit (Safari engine)
playwright-cli open --browser=msedge     # Microsoft Edge

Device emulation

playwright-cli open --device="iPhone 15" https://example.com

Viewport size

playwright-cli open --viewport-size=1280x720 https://example.com

Proxy

playwright-cli open --proxy-server=http://myproxy:3128 --proxy-bypass=localhost,*.internal.com https://example.com

Profile modes

In-memory (default)

Cookies and storage persist between commands but are lost when the browser closes:

playwright-cli open https://example.com

Persistent

Profile saved to disk, survives browser restarts:

playwright-cli open https://example.com --persistent

Custom profile directory

playwright-cli open https://example.com --profile=./my-profile

Isolated

Explicit in-memory mode — equivalent to the default but can be set in the config file:

{
  "browser": { "isolated": true }
}

Configuration file

For advanced settings, use a JSON config file:

playwright-cli --config path/to/config.json open example.com

The CLI automatically loads .playwright/cli.config.json if present.

Full config schema

{
  browser?: {
    browserName?: 'chromium' | 'firefox' | 'webkit';
    isolated?: boolean;
    userDataDir?: string;
    launchOptions?: {
      channel?: string;           // 'chrome', 'msedge'
      headless?: boolean;
      executablePath?: string;
      args?: string[];
      proxy?: {
        server: string;           // e.g., "http://myproxy:3128"
        bypass?: string;          // e.g., ".com,chromium.org"
        username?: string;
        password?: string;
      };
    };
    contextOptions?: {
      viewport?: { width: number; height: number };
      locale?: string;
      userAgent?: string;
      storageState?: string;
      permissions?: string[];     // e.g., ['geolocation', 'clipboard-read']
      serviceWorkers?: 'allow' | 'block';
    };
    cdpEndpoint?: string;
    cdpHeaders?: Record<string, string>;
    cdpTimeout?: number;
    remoteEndpoint?: string;
    initPage?: string[];          // TypeScript files for page setup
    initScript?: string[];        // JavaScript files for page init
  };
  extension?: boolean;
  saveVideo?: { width: number; height: number };
  saveSession?: boolean;
  sharedBrowserContext?: boolean;
  snapshot?: { mode?: 'full' | 'none' };
  imageResponses?: 'allow' | 'omit';
  outputDir?: string;
  outputMode?: 'file' | 'stdout';
  console?: { level?: 'error' | 'warning' | 'info' | 'debug' };
  network?: {
    allowedOrigins?: string[];    // e.g., ["https://api.example.com"]
    blockedOrigins?: string[];    // e.g., ["https://analytics.example.com"]
  };
  secrets?: Record<string, string>;
  testIdAttribute?: string;       // default: "data-testid"
  timeouts?: {
    action?: number;              // default: 5000ms
    navigation?: number;          // default: 60000ms
    expect?: number;              // default: 5000ms
  };
  allowUnrestrictedFileAccess?: boolean;
  codegen?: 'typescript' | 'none';
}

Example configs

Local development:

{
  "browser": {
    "launchOptions": { "headless": false }
  }
}

CI environment:

{
  "browser": {
    "launchOptions": { "headless": true },
    "contextOptions": { "viewport": { "width": 1280, "height": 720 } }
  },
  "outputDir": "./test-output"
}

Behind a proxy:

{
  "browser": {
    "launchOptions": {
      "proxy": {
        "server": "http://proxy.corp.example.com:8080",
        "bypass": "localhost,*.internal.com"
      }
    }
  }
}

Device emulation:

{
  "browser": {
    "contextOptions": {
      "viewport": { "width": 375, "height": 812 },
      "userAgent": "Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 16_0 like Mac OS X)..."
    }
  }
}

Init scripts:

{
  "browser": {
    "initScript": ["./setup.js"],
    "initPage": ["./setup-page.ts"]
  }
}

Print resolved config

See the final config after merging CLI options, environment variables, and config file:

playwright-cli config-print

Browser extension

Connect to your existing browser tabs instead of launching a new browser:

playwright-cli attach --extension

See Attach for details.

Environment variables

Variable	Description
`PLAYWRIGHT_CLI_SESSION`	Default session name
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BROWSER`	Browser to use (chrome, firefox, webkit, msedge)
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_HEADLESS`	Run headless
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CAPS`	Enable capabilities (comma-separated)
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONFIG`	Config file path
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ISOLATED`	In-memory profile
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXTENSION`	Connect via browser extension
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_DATA_DIR`	Profile directory
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_STORAGE_STATE`	Storage state file
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_DEVICE`	Device to emulate
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_EXECUTABLE_PATH`	Custom browser executable
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_VIEWPORT_SIZE`	Viewport size (e.g., "1280x720")
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PROXY_SERVER`	Proxy server URL
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_PROXY_BYPASS`	Domains to bypass proxy
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_USER_AGENT`	Custom user agent
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_IGNORE_HTTPS_ERRORS`	Ignore HTTPS errors
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_ACTION`	Action timeout (ms)
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TIMEOUT_NAVIGATION`	Navigation timeout (ms)
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CONSOLE_LEVEL`	Console message level
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_TEST_ID_ATTRIBUTE`	Test ID attribute
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CDP_ENDPOINT`	CDP endpoint
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_OUTPUT_DIR`	Output directory
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_CODEGEN`	Code generation language
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_INIT_PAGE`	Page init TypeScript
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_INIT_SCRIPT`	Page init JavaScript
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BLOCKED_ORIGINS`	Block origins
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_ALLOWED_ORIGINS`	Allow origins
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_GRANT_PERMISSIONS`	Browser permissions
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BLOCK_SERVICE_WORKERS`	Block service workers
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_NO_SANDBOX`	Disable sandbox
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_SESSION`	Save session data
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SAVE_VIDEO`	Auto-record video (e.g., "800x600")
`PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_SECRETS_FILE`	Secrets file (dotenv)

All open parameters

playwright-cli open [url]                          # open browser
playwright-cli open --headed                       # show browser window
playwright-cli open --browser=firefox              # specific browser
playwright-cli open --device="iPhone 15"           # device emulation
playwright-cli open --viewport-size=1280x720       # viewport size
playwright-cli open --persistent                   # persist profile to disk
playwright-cli open --profile=<path>               # custom profile directory
playwright-cli open --proxy-server=<url>           # proxy server
playwright-cli open --proxy-bypass=<hosts>         # bypass proxy
playwright-cli open --user-agent=<ua>              # custom user agent
playwright-cli open --ignore-https-errors          # ignore HTTPS errors
playwright-cli open --config=file.json             # use config file
playwright-cli attach --extension                  # connect via extension
playwright-cli attach --cdp <url>                  # connect via CDP
playwright-cli attach --endpoint <url>             # connect to Playwright server

Headed and headless mode​

Browser selection​

Device emulation​

Viewport size​

Proxy​

Profile modes​

In-memory (default)​

Persistent​

Custom profile directory​

Isolated​

Configuration file​

Full config schema​

Example configs​

Print resolved config​

Browser extension​

Environment variables​

All open parameters​