Playwright — Workflow

Overview

How the playwright skill works, step by step.

Source Workflow

Codex skill workflow.

Step-by-step Workflow

Playwright CLI Skill

Drive a real browser from the terminal using playwright-cli. Prefer the bundled wrapper script so the CLI works even when it is not globally installed. Treat this skill as CLI-first automation. Do not pivot to @playwright/test unless the user explicitly asks for test files.

Prerequisite check (required)

Before proposing commands, check whether npx is available (the wrapper depends on it):

command -v npx >/dev/null 2>&1

If it is not available, pause and ask the user to install Node.js/npm (which provides npx). Provide these steps verbatim:

# Verify Node/npm are installed
node --version
npm --version

# If missing, install Node.js/npm, then:
npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest
playwright-cli --help

Once npx is present, proceed with the wrapper script. A global install of playwright-cli is optional.

Skill path (set once)

export CODEX_HOME="${CODEX_HOME:-$HOME/.codex}"
export PWCLI="$CODEX_HOME/skills/playwright/scripts/playwright_cli.sh"

User-scoped skills install under $CODEX_HOME/skills (default: ~/.codex/skills).

Quick start

Use the wrapper script:

"$PWCLI" open https://playwright.dev --headed
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" click e15
"$PWCLI" type "Playwright"
"$PWCLI" press Enter
"$PWCLI" screenshot

If the user prefers a global install, this is also valid:

npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest
playwright-cli --help

Core workflow

  1. Open the page.
  2. Snapshot to get stable element refs.
  3. Interact using refs from the latest snapshot.
  4. Re-snapshot after navigation or significant DOM changes.
  5. Capture artifacts (screenshot, pdf, traces) when useful.

Minimal loop:

"$PWCLI" open https://example.com
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" click e3
"$PWCLI" snapshot

When to snapshot again

Snapshot again after:

  • navigation
  • clicking elements that change the UI substantially
  • opening/closing modals or menus
  • tab switches

Refs can go stale. When a command fails due to a missing ref, snapshot again.

Recommended patterns

Form fill and submit

"$PWCLI" open https://example.com/form
"$PWCLI" snapshot
"$PWCLI" fill e1 "user@example.com"
"$PWCLI" fill e2 "password123"
"$PWCLI" click e3
"$PWCLI" snapshot

Debug a UI flow with traces

"$PWCLI" open https://example.com --headed
"$PWCLI" tracing-start
# ...interactions...
"$PWCLI" tracing-stop

Multi-tab work

"$PWCLI" tab-new https://example.com
"$PWCLI" tab-list
"$PWCLI" tab-select 0
"$PWCLI" snapshot

Wrapper script

The wrapper script uses npx --package @playwright/cli playwright-cli so the CLI can run without a global install:

"$PWCLI" --help

Prefer the wrapper unless the repository already standardizes on a global install.

References

Open only what you need:

  • CLI command reference: references/cli.md
  • Practical workflows and troubleshooting: references/workflows.md

Guardrails

  • Always snapshot before referencing element ids like e12.
  • Re-snapshot when refs seem stale.
  • Prefer explicit commands over eval and run-code unless needed.
  • When you do not have a fresh snapshot, use placeholder refs like eX and say why; do not bypass refs with run-code.
  • Use --headed when a visual check will help.
  • When capturing artifacts in this repo, use output/playwright/ and avoid introducing new top-level artifact folders.
  • Default to CLI commands and workflows, not Playwright test specs.

Execution Logic

The skill executes when its trigger fires (slash command, natural-language match, or direct invocation). It reads its references, applies its rules, and produces the documented outputs.

Edge Cases

See the source skill's references/ and scripts/ folders for edge-case handling.

Failure Handling

A skill failure surfaces as a tool error or a partial output; never a silent skip. Re-run with --verbose (where applicable) for diagnostics.

Integration Notes

  • Claude — invoked via the Skill tool with skill: "playwright".
  • Codex — referenced from AGENTS.md if mirrored.
  • Antigravity — referenced from the workspace agent rules if mirrored.
  • HQ Project — listed on the landing page Skills section + post-login sidebar.
  • MD Project (md.sgnk.ai) — file rendered from Skills/Playwright/workflow.md.
  • Obsidian — file rendered with frontmatter + tags.

Usage Examples

Invoke via slash command or natural language matching the skill description.

Source: (none)