Credentials

Credentials is a virtual WebAuthn authenticator scoped to a BrowserContext. It lets tests register passkeys and answer navigator.credentials.create() / navigator.credentials.get() ceremonies in the page, without a real authenticator or hardware security key.

There are two common ways to use it:

Usage: seed a known credential

const context = await browser.newContext();

// A passkey your backend already provisioned for a test user.
await context.credentials.create('example.com', {
  id: knownCredentialId, // base64url
  userHandle: knownUserHandle, // base64url
  privateKey: knownPrivateKey, // base64url PKCS#8 (DER)
  publicKey: knownPublicKey, // base64url SPKI (DER)
});
await context.credentials.install();

const page = await context.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com/login');
// The page's navigator.credentials.get() is answered with the seeded passkey.

Usage: capture a passkey, then reuse it

// setup test: let the app register a passkey, then save it.
const context = await browser.newContext();
await context.credentials.install();

const page = await context.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com/register');
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Create a passkey' }).click();

// Read back the passkey the page registered — it includes the private key.
const [credential] = await context.credentials.get({ rpId: 'example.com' });
fs.writeFileSync('playwright/.auth/passkey.json', JSON.stringify(credential));

// later test: seed the captured passkey so the app starts already enrolled.
const credential = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync('playwright/.auth/passkey.json', 'utf8'));
const context = await browser.newContext();
await context.credentials.create(credential.rpId, credential);
await context.credentials.install();

const page = await context.newPage();
await page.goto('https://example.com/login');
// navigator.credentials.get() resolves the captured passkey — already signed in.

Defaults

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Methods

create

Added in: v1.61 credentials.create

Seeds a virtual WebAuthn credential and returns it.

With only rpId, generates a fresh ECDSA P-256 keypair, credential id and user handle. The seeded credential is discoverable (resident), so the page can resolve it from both username-then-passkey and usernameless passkey flows. The returned object carries the private and public keys, so it can be persisted to disk and re-seeded in a later test.

To import a known credential, supply all four of id, userHandle, privateKey and publicKey together.

Call credentials.install() before navigating to a page that uses WebAuthn.

Usage

await credentials.create(rpId);
await credentials.create(rpId, options);

Arguments

• rpId string#

  Relying party id (typically the site's effective domain).

• options Object (optional)

  • id string (optional)#

    Base64url-encoded credential id. Auto-generated if omitted.

  • privateKey string (optional)#

    Base64url-encoded PKCS#8 (DER) private key. Auto-generated if omitted.

  • publicKey string (optional)#

    Base64url-encoded SPKI (DER) public key. Auto-generated if omitted.

  • userHandle string (optional)#

    Base64url-encoded user handle. Auto-generated if omitted.

Returns

• Promise<Object>#

  • id string

    Base64url-encoded credential id.

  • rpId string

    Relying party id.

  • userHandle string

    Base64url-encoded user handle.

  • privateKey string

    Base64url-encoded PKCS#8 (DER) private key.

  • publicKey string

    Base64url-encoded SPKI (DER) public key.

---

delete

Added in: v1.61 credentials.delete

Removes a credential from the authenticator by its id. Works for any credential currently held — both those seeded with credentials.create() and those the page registered itself by calling navigator.credentials.create().

Usage

await credentials.delete(id);

Arguments

• id string#

  Base64url-encoded credential id.

Returns

• Promise<void>#

---

get

Added in: v1.61 credentials.get

Returns every credential currently held by the authenticator, optionally filtered by rpId or id. This includes both credentials seeded with credentials.create() and credentials the page registered itself by calling navigator.credentials.create().

Each returned credential includes its private and public keys, so a passkey the app just registered can be saved and re-seeded into a later test with credentials.create() — see the second example in the class overview.

Usage

await credentials.get();
await credentials.get(options);

Arguments

• options Object (optional)

  • id string (optional)#

    Only return the credential with this base64url-encoded id.

  • rpId string (optional)#

    Only return credentials for this relying party id.

Returns

• Promise<Array<Object>>#

  • id string

  • rpId string

  • userHandle string

  • privateKey string

  • publicKey string

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install

Added in: v1.61 credentials.install

Installs the virtual WebAuthn authenticator into the context, overriding navigator.credentials.create() and navigator.credentials.get() in all current and future pages. Call this before the page first touches navigator.credentials.

Required: until credentials.install() is called, no interception is in place and the page sees the platform's native (or absent) WebAuthn behaviour. Seeding credentials with credentials.create() without installing populates the authenticator, but the page will never see those credentials.

Usage

await credentials.install();

Returns

• Promise<void>#