How to install Playwright

To install Playwright and set it up for your project, follow these steps:

1. Install Playwright

You can install Playwright via npm, which is the recommended way:

npm install playwright

This command installs Playwright and its dependencies locally in your project.

2. Choose a Browser

Playwright supports multiple browsers (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit). You need to specify which browser(s) you want to use. You can install the browser binaries separately or let Playwright manage them for you.

Install Specific Browser Binaries

For example, to install Chromium:

npx playwright install chromium

Let Playwright Manage Browsers (Recommended)

Playwright can manage browser binaries for you based on your platform and Playwright version. It downloads and caches necessary browser versions automatically.

npx playwright install

This command installs all supported browsers (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit) suitable for your operating system.

3. Set Up Playwright in Your Project

Once installed, you can start using Playwright in your project. Here's a basic example of how to use Playwright in JavaScript:

const { chromium, firefox, webkit } = require('playwright');

(async () => {
  // Launch a browser instance
  const browser = await chromium.launch();
  
  // Create a browser context
  const context = await browser.newContext();
  
  // Create a page
  const page = await context.newPage();
  
  // Navigate to a URL
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  
  // Perform actions on the page
  // e.g., interact with elements, take screenshots, etc.
  
  // Close the browser
  await browser.close();
})();