Search skills/

Playwright Skill Claude skill

A skill that lets an agent write and run its own Playwright scripts for testing, screenshots, login flows and arbitrary browser automation.

lackeyjb/playwright-skill 1 skill Planning, TDD & debuggingBrowser automation & scraping
Our verdict Recommended

A compact, honest tool for script-based browser automation; the agent runs code it writes, so check scripts that touch sensitive sites.

3/5 Depth expertise shipped ! Security Broad access 28d Maintenance Updated 28 days ago 3.2K Adoption stars OK License MIT, commercial OK

What Playwright Skill does

Playwright Skill is the code-first way to drive a browser from an agent. Instead of a fixed set of commands, the agent writes a focused Playwright script for your request, runs it through a bundled Node executor, and reports results. The skill detects running localhost dev servers before choosing a URL, defaults to a visible browser so you can watch, and cleans up temporary files. Typical uses are page checks, responsive screenshots, form and login flows, link checking and network interception.

The SKILL.md is about 7.7 KB and loads a larger API reference only when needed. The repo contains two scripts, a run.js executor and a helpers library, and is packaged as both a standard skill and a Claude Code plugin. The first run needs network access to install Playwright and Chromium, and the skill allows Bash for node and npm. The README itself recommends Microsoft's playwright-cli for plain interactive browsing and says this project fits when the script is the useful output, such as something you will keep and rerun.

Good for

  • Testing a local dev server with real browser scripts
  • Reusable automation scripts with loops, assertions and screenshots
  • Responsive and UX checks during frontend work

Not for

  • Simple interactive browsing, where a tool-based browser skill is lighter
  • Environments that cannot download Chromium

What's inside depth 3/5

One 7.7 KB skill with an API reference and two scripts, but no tests or evals.

Skills
1
Reference docs
1
Scripts
2
Tests / evals
0
Templates
0
Avg SKILL.md
7.6 KB

Counted from the repository file tree. How we score depth.

Dependencies and costs

  • Node.js 20 or newer and npm
  • Playwright and Chromium downloaded on first setup

Security review

Broad access

This skill asks for more access than most, or sends data to another service. That is usually a design choice rather than bad intent, but you should know before you install it.

  • Pre-approves broad shell commandsallowed-tools pre-approves Bash(node:*) and Bash(npm:*), so the agent can run any Node script (its own generated Playwright scripts, with full local file and network access) and any npm command without a prompt.skills/playwright-skill/SKILL.md:9

A browser-automation skill whose purpose is to have the agent write and run Playwright scripts, which it does through a small executor, with Bash for node and npm pre-approved. The scripts can visit any site and run any Node code you allow, and an optional recipe attaches to your own running Chrome and its logged-in sessions. Setup downloads Playwright and Chromium from npm.

Worth knowing

  • Installs packages or toolsnpm run setup runs npm install (playwright ^1.62.0, with a lockfile) and npx playwright install chromium, downloading a browser; install-all-browsers adds Firefox and WebKit.skills/playwright-skill/package.json:8
  • Relies on a CLI or package we could not reviewRelies on the playwright npm package and downloaded browser binaries, whose code is not in the repository.skills/playwright-skill/package.json:15
  • browser_session_optionalDocuments an optional recipe to attach Playwright to an existing Chrome over CDP (chromium.connectOverCDP on port 9222), which reuses that browser's cookies and logins; the skill says not to use it for secrets unless the user asks.skills/playwright-skill/SKILL.md:175
  • Makes network requestsHelpers probe common localhost dev-server ports with HEAD requests; the browser scripts visit whatever URL the task names.skills/playwright-skill/lib/helpers.js:76

What we checked

The repository (24 files) on Oct 29, 2026. Not a full review: we read 6 of 8 code files; it relies on code outside the repository: playwright npm package and the Chromium/Firefox/WebKit browsers it downloads.

NVIDIA SkillSpector static scan: 21 pattern hits (MCP Rug Pull 17, Excessive Agency 2, Memory Poisoning 1, Supply Chain 1). The 21 SkillSpector hits are unpinned npx playwright and npx skills mentions, a 'delete context' phrase that is a variable name in helpers.js, 'without checking' wording in SKILL.md, and the caret range on the playwright dependency.

A review, not a certification. Skills change after we check them — read the files before installing.

License

MIT — commercial use allowed.

Can it run unattended?

Not really. It runs single scripts on request; there is no loop, state file or stop condition.

Alternatives to Playwright Skill

playwright-cli

microsoft/playwright-cli

Microsoft's command-line interface for driving a browser through Playwright, plus a skill that teaches coding agents the commands.

Recommended Check first Depth 3/5

agent-browser

vercel-labs/agent-browser

A native browser-automation CLI for agents, plus 11 skills that teach the snapshot-and-ref workflow for navigating, filling forms, scraping and testing.

Recommended Check first Depth 4/5

Playwright Best Practices

currents-dev/playwright-best-practices-skill

A Playwright testing skill with a 26 KB router and about 57 references on locators, fixtures, flaky tests, CI and accessibility.

Recommended No issues Depth 3/5

Browser Use

browser-use/browser-use

Seven skills around the Browser Use browser agent: drive local Chrome over CDP, use the paid cloud API, run QA scoring, or pay by crypto wallet.

With caveats Broad access Depth 3/5

FAQ

What is Playwright Skill?

It is an agent skill that has the agent write and run Playwright scripts for tasks like testing a site, taking screenshots, checking links and automating logins.

How do I install Playwright Skill?

Run npx skills add lackeyjb/playwright-skill --skill playwright-skill --global --yes. On first use it installs Playwright and Chromium, which needs Node 20 or newer.

Playwright Skill vs Microsoft playwright-cli?

The README says to start with Microsoft's playwright-cli for straightforward interactive browsing. Use this skill when the automation script itself is the thing you want to keep and rerun.

Sources: GitHub repository (stars, license, file tree, last push Oct 1, 2026). Review based on the README and SKILL.md files as published.