Browser

• extends: EventEmitter

A Browser is created via browserType.launch([options]). An example of using a Browser to create a Page:

const { firefox } = require('playwright');  // Or 'chromium' or 'webkit'.
(async () => {  const browser = await firefox.launch();  const page = await browser.newPage();  await page.goto('https://example.com');  await browser.close();})();

• browser.on('disconnected')
• browser.close()
• browser.contexts()
• browser.isConnected()
• browser.newBrowserCDPSession()
• browser.newContext([options])
• browser.newPage([options])
• browser.startTracing([page, options])
• browser.stopTracing()
• browser.version()

browser.on('disconnected')

• type: <Browser>

Emitted when Browser gets disconnected from the browser application. This might happen because of one of the following:

• Browser application is closed or crashed.
• The browser.close() method was called.

browser.close()

• returns: <Promise<void>>#

In case this browser is obtained using browserType.launch([options]), closes the browser and all of its pages (if any were opened).

In case this browser is connected to, clears all created contexts belonging to this browser and disconnects from the browser server.

The Browser object itself is considered to be disposed and cannot be used anymore.

browser.contexts()

• returns: <Array<BrowserContext>>#

Returns an array of all open browser contexts. In a newly created browser, this will return zero browser contexts.

const browser = await pw.webkit.launch();console.log(browser.contexts().length); // prints `0`
const context = await browser.newContext();console.log(browser.contexts().length); // prints `1`

browser.isConnected()

• returns: <boolean>#

Indicates that the browser is connected.

browser.newBrowserCDPSession()

• returns: <Promise<CDPSession>>#

note

CDP Sessions are only supported on Chromium-based browsers.

Returns the newly created browser session.

browser.newContext([options])

• options <Object>

  • acceptDownloads <boolean> Whether to automatically download all the attachments. Defaults to false where all the downloads are canceled.#

  • baseURL <string> When using page.goto(url[, options]), page.route(url, handler[, options]), page.waitForURL(url[, options]), page.waitForRequest(urlOrPredicate[, options]), or page.waitForResponse(urlOrPredicate[, options]) it takes the base URL in consideration by using the URL() constructor for building the corresponding URL. Examples:#

    • baseURL: http://localhost:3000 and navigating to /bar.html results in http://localhost:3000/bar.html
    • baseURL: http://localhost:3000/foo/ and navigating to ./bar.html results in http://localhost:3000/foo/bar.html

  • bypassCSP <boolean> Toggles bypassing page's Content-Security-Policy.#

  • colorScheme <"light"|"dark"|"no-preference"> Emulates 'prefers-colors-scheme' media feature, supported values are 'light', 'dark', 'no-preference'. See page.emulateMedia([options]) for more details. Defaults to 'light'.#

  • deviceScaleFactor <number> Specify device scale factor (can be thought of as dpr). Defaults to 1.#

  • extraHTTPHeaders <Object<string, string>> An object containing additional HTTP headers to be sent with every request. All header values must be strings.#

  • forcedColors <"active"|"none"> Emulates 'forced-colors' media feature, supported values are 'active', 'none'. See page.emulateMedia([options]) for more details. Defaults to 'none'.#

    note

    It's not supported in WebKit, see here in their issue tracker.

  • geolocation <Object>#

    • latitude <number> Latitude between -90 and 90.
    • longitude <number> Longitude between -180 and 180.
    • accuracy <number> Non-negative accuracy value. Defaults to 0.

  • hasTouch <boolean> Specifies if viewport supports touch events. Defaults to false.#

  • httpCredentials <Object> Credentials for HTTP authentication.#

    • username <string>
    • password <string>

  • ignoreHTTPSErrors <boolean> Whether to ignore HTTPS errors during navigation. Defaults to false.#

  • isMobile <boolean> Whether the meta viewport tag is taken into account and touch events are enabled. Defaults to false. Not supported in Firefox.#

  • javaScriptEnabled <boolean> Whether or not to enable JavaScript in the context. Defaults to true.#

  • locale <string> Specify user locale, for example en-GB, de-DE, etc. Locale will affect navigator.language value, Accept-Language request header value as well as number and date formatting rules.#

  • logger <Logger> Logger sink for Playwright logging.#

  • offline <boolean> Whether to emulate network being offline. Defaults to false.#

  • permissions <Array<string>> A list of permissions to grant to all pages in this context. See browserContext.grantPermissions(permissions[, options]) for more details.#

  • proxy <Object> Network proxy settings to use with this context.#

    • server <string> Proxy to be used for all requests. HTTP and SOCKS proxies are supported, for example http://myproxy.com:3128 or socks5://myproxy.com:3128. Short form myproxy.com:3128 is considered an HTTP proxy.
    • bypass <string> Optional coma-separated domains to bypass proxy, for example ".com, chromium.org, .domain.com".
    • username <string> Optional username to use if HTTP proxy requires authentication.
    • password <string> Optional password to use if HTTP proxy requires authentication.

  • recordHar <Object> Enables HAR recording for all pages into recordHar.path file. If not specified, the HAR is not recorded. Make sure to await browserContext.close() for the HAR to be saved.#

    • omitContent <boolean> Optional setting to control whether to omit request content from the HAR. Defaults to false.
    • path <string> Path on the filesystem to write the HAR file to.

  • recordVideo <Object> Enables video recording for all pages into recordVideo.dir directory. If not specified videos are not recorded. Make sure to await browserContext.close() for videos to be saved.#

    • dir <string> Path to the directory to put videos into.
    • size <Object> Optional dimensions of the recorded videos. If not specified the size will be equal to viewport scaled down to fit into 800x800. If viewport is not configured explicitly the video size defaults to 800x450. Actual picture of each page will be scaled down if necessary to fit the specified size.
      • width <number> Video frame width.
      • height <number> Video frame height.

  • reducedMotion <"reduce"|"no-preference"> Emulates 'prefers-reduced-motion' media feature, supported values are 'reduce', 'no-preference'. See page.emulateMedia([options]) for more details. Defaults to 'no-preference'.#

  • screen <Object> Emulates consistent window screen size available inside web page via window.screen. Is only used when the viewport is set.#

    • width <number> page width in pixels.
    • height <number> page height in pixels.

  • storageState <string|Object> Populates context with given storage state. This option can be used to initialize context with logged-in information obtained via browserContext.storageState([options]). Either a path to the file with saved storage, or an object with the following fields:#

    • cookies <Array<Object>> Optional cookies to set for context
      • name <string>
      • value <string>
      • url <string> Optional either url or domain / path are required
      • domain <string> Optional either url or domain / path are required
      • path <string> Optional either url or domain / path are required
      • expires <number> Optional Unix time in seconds.
      • httpOnly <boolean> Optional httpOnly flag
      • secure <boolean> Optional secure flag
      • sameSite <"Strict"|"Lax"|"None"> Optional sameSite flag
    • origins <Array<Object>> Optional localStorage to set for context
      • origin <string>
      • localStorage <Array<Object>>
        • name <string>
        • value <string>

  • strictSelectors <boolean> It specified, enables strict selectors mode for this context. In the strict selectors mode all operations on selectors that imply single target DOM element will throw when more than one element matches the selector. See Locator to learn more about the strict mode.#

  • timezoneId <string> Changes the timezone of the context. See ICU's metaZones.txt for a list of supported timezone IDs.#

  • userAgent <string> Specific user agent to use in this context.#

  • videoSize <Object> DEPRECATED Use recordVideo instead.#

    • width <number> Video frame width.
    • height <number> Video frame height.

  • videosPath <string> DEPRECATED Use recordVideo instead.#

  • viewport <null|Object> Emulates consistent viewport for each page. Defaults to an 1280x720 viewport. null disables the default viewport.#

    • width <number> page width in pixels.
    • height <number> page height in pixels.

• returns: <Promise<BrowserContext>>#

Creates a new browser context. It won't share cookies/cache with other browser contexts.

(async () => {  const browser = await playwright.firefox.launch();  // Or 'chromium' or 'webkit'.  // Create a new incognito browser context.  const context = await browser.newContext();  // Create a new page in a pristine context.  const page = await context.newPage();  await page.goto('https://example.com');})();

browser.newPage([options])

• options <Object>

  • acceptDownloads <boolean> Whether to automatically download all the attachments. Defaults to false where all the downloads are canceled.#

  • baseURL <string> When using page.goto(url[, options]), page.route(url, handler[, options]), page.waitForURL(url[, options]), page.waitForRequest(urlOrPredicate[, options]), or page.waitForResponse(urlOrPredicate[, options]) it takes the base URL in consideration by using the URL() constructor for building the corresponding URL. Examples:#

    • baseURL: http://localhost:3000 and navigating to /bar.html results in http://localhost:3000/bar.html
    • baseURL: http://localhost:3000/foo/ and navigating to ./bar.html results in http://localhost:3000/foo/bar.html

  • bypassCSP <boolean> Toggles bypassing page's Content-Security-Policy.#

  • colorScheme <"light"|"dark"|"no-preference"> Emulates 'prefers-colors-scheme' media feature, supported values are 'light', 'dark', 'no-preference'. See page.emulateMedia([options]) for more details. Defaults to 'light'.#

  • deviceScaleFactor <number> Specify device scale factor (can be thought of as dpr). Defaults to 1.#

  • extraHTTPHeaders <Object<string, string>> An object containing additional HTTP headers to be sent with every request. All header values must be strings.#

  • forcedColors <"active"|"none"> Emulates 'forced-colors' media feature, supported values are 'active', 'none'. See page.emulateMedia([options]) for more details. Defaults to 'none'.#

    note

    It's not supported in WebKit, see here in their issue tracker.

  • geolocation <Object>#

    • latitude <number> Latitude between -90 and 90.
    • longitude <number> Longitude between -180 and 180.
    • accuracy <number> Non-negative accuracy value. Defaults to 0.

  • hasTouch <boolean> Specifies if viewport supports touch events. Defaults to false.#

  • httpCredentials <Object> Credentials for HTTP authentication.#

    • username <string>
    • password <string>

  • ignoreHTTPSErrors <boolean> Whether to ignore HTTPS errors during navigation. Defaults to false.#

  • isMobile <boolean> Whether the meta viewport tag is taken into account and touch events are enabled. Defaults to false. Not supported in Firefox.#

  • javaScriptEnabled <boolean> Whether or not to enable JavaScript in the context. Defaults to true.#

  • locale <string> Specify user locale, for example en-GB, de-DE, etc. Locale will affect navigator.language value, Accept-Language request header value as well as number and date formatting rules.#

  • logger <Logger> Logger sink for Playwright logging.#

  • offline <boolean> Whether to emulate network being offline. Defaults to false.#

  • permissions <Array<string>> A list of permissions to grant to all pages in this context. See browserContext.grantPermissions(permissions[, options]) for more details.#

  • proxy <Object> Network proxy settings to use with this context.#

    • server <string> Proxy to be used for all requests. HTTP and SOCKS proxies are supported, for example http://myproxy.com:3128 or socks5://myproxy.com:3128. Short form myproxy.com:3128 is considered an HTTP proxy.
    • bypass <string> Optional coma-separated domains to bypass proxy, for example ".com, chromium.org, .domain.com".
    • username <string> Optional username to use if HTTP proxy requires authentication.
    • password <string> Optional password to use if HTTP proxy requires authentication.

  • recordHar <Object> Enables HAR recording for all pages into recordHar.path file. If not specified, the HAR is not recorded. Make sure to await browserContext.close() for the HAR to be saved.#

    • omitContent <boolean> Optional setting to control whether to omit request content from the HAR. Defaults to false.
    • path <string> Path on the filesystem to write the HAR file to.

  • recordVideo <Object> Enables video recording for all pages into recordVideo.dir directory. If not specified videos are not recorded. Make sure to await browserContext.close() for videos to be saved.#

    • dir <string> Path to the directory to put videos into.
    • size <Object> Optional dimensions of the recorded videos. If not specified the size will be equal to viewport scaled down to fit into 800x800. If viewport is not configured explicitly the video size defaults to 800x450. Actual picture of each page will be scaled down if necessary to fit the specified size.
      • width <number> Video frame width.
      • height <number> Video frame height.

  • reducedMotion <"reduce"|"no-preference"> Emulates 'prefers-reduced-motion' media feature, supported values are 'reduce', 'no-preference'. See page.emulateMedia([options]) for more details. Defaults to 'no-preference'.#

  • screen <Object> Emulates consistent window screen size available inside web page via window.screen. Is only used when the viewport is set.#

    • width <number> page width in pixels.
    • height <number> page height in pixels.

  • storageState <string|Object> Populates context with given storage state. This option can be used to initialize context with logged-in information obtained via browserContext.storageState([options]). Either a path to the file with saved storage, or an object with the following fields:#

    • cookies <Array<Object>> Optional cookies to set for context
      • name <string>
      • value <string>
      • url <string> Optional either url or domain / path are required
      • domain <string> Optional either url or domain / path are required
      • path <string> Optional either url or domain / path are required
      • expires <number> Optional Unix time in seconds.
      • httpOnly <boolean> Optional httpOnly flag
      • secure <boolean> Optional secure flag
      • sameSite <"Strict"|"Lax"|"None"> Optional sameSite flag
    • origins <Array<Object>> Optional localStorage to set for context
      • origin <string>
      • localStorage <Array<Object>>
        • name <string>
        • value <string>

  • strictSelectors <boolean> It specified, enables strict selectors mode for this context. In the strict selectors mode all operations on selectors that imply single target DOM element will throw when more than one element matches the selector. See Locator to learn more about the strict mode.#

  • timezoneId <string> Changes the timezone of the context. See ICU's metaZones.txt for a list of supported timezone IDs.#

  • userAgent <string> Specific user agent to use in this context.#

  • videoSize <Object> DEPRECATED Use recordVideo instead.#

    • width <number> Video frame width.
    • height <number> Video frame height.

  • videosPath <string> DEPRECATED Use recordVideo instead.#

  • viewport <null|Object> Emulates consistent viewport for each page. Defaults to an 1280x720 viewport. null disables the default viewport.#

    • width <number> page width in pixels.
    • height <number> page height in pixels.

• returns: <Promise<Page>>#

Creates a new page in a new browser context. Closing this page will close the context as well.

This is a convenience API that should only be used for the single-page scenarios and short snippets. Production code and testing frameworks should explicitly create browser.newContext([options]) followed by the browserContext.newPage() to control their exact life times.

browser.startTracing([page, options])

• page <Page> Optional, if specified, tracing includes screenshots of the given page.#
• options <Object>
  • categories <Array<string>> specify custom categories to use instead of default.#
  • path <string> A path to write the trace file to.#
  • screenshots <boolean> captures screenshots in the trace.#
• returns: <Promise<void>>#

note

This API controls Chromium Tracing which is a low-level chromium-specific debugging tool. API to control Playwright Tracing could be found here.

You can use browser.startTracing([page, options]) and browser.stopTracing() to create a trace file that can be opened in Chrome DevTools performance panel.

await browser.startTracing(page, {path: 'trace.json'});await page.goto('https://www.google.com');await browser.stopTracing();

browser.stopTracing()

• returns: <Promise<Buffer>>#

note

This API controls Chromium Tracing which is a low-level chromium-specific debugging tool. API to control Playwright Tracing could be found here.

Returns the buffer with trace data.

browser.version()

• returns: <string>#

Returns the browser version.