Playwright CLI

A command-line interface for browser automation designed for coding agents. Token-efficient commands and installable skills let agents balance browser automation with large codebases and reasoning within limited context windows.

Example

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

After each command, the CLI outputs the current page state:

### Page
- Page URL: https://demo.playwright.dev/todomvc/#/
- Page Title: React - TodoMVC
### Snapshot
[Snapshot](.playwright-cli/page-2026-02-14T19-22-42-679Z.yml)

The snapshot file contains the accessibility tree with element refs for the next command.

Key Features

• Token-efficient — concise CLI output avoids loading large tool schemas into the model context
• Skill-based — agents discover capabilities through installable skills rather than verbose help text
• Daemon architecture — persistent browser process means no startup cost per command
• Ref-based — accessibility snapshots with element refs for deterministic interaction
• Cross-browser — Chrome, Firefox, WebKit, and Edge support
• Sessions — multiple isolated browser instances with separate state

Playwright CLI vs MCP

	Playwright CLI	MCP
Best for	Coding agents (Claude Code, Copilot) working with large codebases	Specialized agentic loops, exploratory automation
How it works	Agent runs shell commands	LLM calls MCP tools with structured parameters
Token cost	Lower — concise CLI output, skills loaded on demand	Higher — tool schemas + snapshots in context
Default mode	Headless	Headed
Setup	npm install -g @playwright/cli	JSON config in MCP client

All Commands

Core

open [url]                  goto <url>                  close
click <ref>                 dblclick <ref>              fill <ref> <text>
type <text>                 select <ref> <val>          check <ref>
uncheck <ref>               hover <ref>                 drag <start> <end>
upload <file>               snapshot                    screenshot [ref]
pdf                         eval <func> [ref]           resize <w> <h>
dialog-accept [prompt]      dialog-dismiss

Navigation

go-back                     go-forward                  reload

Keyboard & Mouse

press <key>                 keydown <key>               keyup <key>
mousemove <x> <y>           mousedown [btn]             mouseup [btn]
mousewheel <dx> <dy>

Tabs

tab-list                    tab-new [url]               tab-select <idx>
tab-close [idx]

Storage

state-save [file]           state-load <file>
cookie-list [--domain]      cookie-get <name>           cookie-set <name> <val>
cookie-delete <name>        cookie-clear
localstorage-list           localstorage-get <key>      localstorage-set <k> <v>
localstorage-delete <key>   localstorage-clear
sessionstorage-list         sessionstorage-get <key>    sessionstorage-set <k> <v>
sessionstorage-delete <k>   sessionstorage-clear

Network

network                     route <pattern> [opts]      route-list
unroute [pattern]

DevTools

console [min-level]         run-code <code>             tracing-start
tracing-stop                video-start [file]          video-chapter <title>
video-stop                  show

Sessions

-s=<name> <cmd>             list                        close-all
kill-all                    delete-data

Config

open --headed               open --browser=firefox      open --persistent
open --profile=<path>       open --config=file.json     attach --extension
install --skills            config-print