Playwright Setup Guide

Install Node.js

Using Homebrew (or download the Node.js 24 (LTS) installer from nodejs.org instead):

brew install node@24

node --version

Install an IDE — VS Code

Download from code.visualstudio.com and install it. Then install the official Playwright Test for VSCode extension from the Extensions panel — it lets you run and debug tests right from the editor.

Scaffold a Playwright project

mkdir playwright-practice
cd playwright-practice
npm init playwright@latest

When prompted "TypeScript or JavaScript?", choose JavaScript. This also downloads the Chromium/Firefox/WebKit browser binaries automatically — no separate driver to install.

Verify with a basic test

Replace tests/example.spec.js with:

const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test('loads example.com', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Example/);
});

Run it from the terminal, or click "Run Test" in VS Code if you installed the extension:

npx playwright test --headed

A browser window should open, load example.com, and the terminal should report the test passed.

Install Python

Using Homebrew (or download the macOS installer from python.org/downloads instead):

brew install python

python3 --version

Install an IDE — PyCharm or VS Code

Either works fine for the rest of this guide. Pick one:

PyCharm: download the free Community edition from jetbrains.com/pycharm/download (pick the Apple Silicon build if you're on an M-series Mac).

VS Code: download from code.visualstudio.com, then install the Python extension.

Create a project and install Playwright

mkdir playwright-practice
cd playwright-practice
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
pip install pytest-playwright
playwright install

playwright install downloads the Chromium/Firefox/WebKit browser binaries — no separate driver to manage.

Verify with a basic test

Save as test_example.py:

from playwright.sync_api import Page, expect

def test_loads_example(page: Page):
    page.goto("https://example.com")
    expect(page).to_have_title("Example Domain")

pytest test_example.py --headed

A browser window should open, load example.com, and pytest should report 1 passed.

Install the JDK

Go to oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads and download the JDK 17 (LTS) macOS Installer — pick ARM64 for Apple Silicon or x64 for Intel. Run the .dmg, then confirm:

java -version

Prefer Homebrew? brew install openjdk@17 works too.

Install an IDE — Eclipse or IntelliJ

Either works fine for the rest of this guide. Pick one:

Eclipse: download the installer (.dmg) from eclipse.org/downloads and choose "Eclipse IDE for Enterprise Java and Web Developers".

IntelliJ IDEA: download the free Community edition from jetbrains.com/idea/download (pick the Apple Silicon build if you're on an M-series Mac).

Install Maven

brew install maven

mvn -version

Create a project and add Playwright

In your IDE: File → New → Project → Maven, or from a terminal:

mvn archetype:generate -DgroupId=com.practice -DartifactId=playwright-practice -DarchetypeArtifactId=maven-archetype-quickstart -DinteractiveMode=false
cd playwright-practice

Add to pom.xml inside <dependencies>:

<dependency>
  <groupId>com.microsoft.playwright</groupId>
  <artifactId>playwright</artifactId>
  <version>1.46.0</version>
</dependency>

Install the browser binaries

Unlike Selenium, there's no ChromeDriver to manage — Playwright downloads its own tested Chromium/Firefox/WebKit builds:

mvn compile
mvn exec:java -e -Dexec.mainClass=com.microsoft.playwright.CLI -Dexec.args="install"

Verify with a basic test

Open the project in your IDE and replace App.java with:

import com.microsoft.playwright.*;

public class App {
  public static void main(String[] args) {
    try (Playwright playwright = Playwright.create()) {
      Browser browser = playwright.chromium().launch(new BrowserType.LaunchOptions().setHeadless(false));
      Page page = browser.newPage();
      page.navigate("https://example.com");
      System.out.println(page.title());
      browser.close();
    }
  }
}

Run it from your IDE (right-click the file → Run), or from a terminal:

mvn compile exec:java -Dexec.mainClass="com.practice.App"

A browser window should open, load example.com, and the title should print to the console.

Install the .NET SDK

Using Homebrew (or download the macOS installer from dotnet.microsoft.com/download instead):

brew install --cask dotnet-sdk

dotnet --version

Install an IDE

VS Code is the standard free choice on Mac (Visual Studio for Mac was discontinued). Download from code.visualstudio.com and install the C# Dev Kit extension.

Prefer a full IDE? JetBrains Rider (paid, free trial) from jetbrains.com/rider/download also works well.

Create a project and add Playwright

dotnet new nunit -n PlaywrightPractice
cd PlaywrightPractice
dotnet add package Microsoft.Playwright.NUnit
dotnet build

Install the browser binaries

Unlike Selenium, there's no ChromeDriver to manage — Playwright generates a shell helper script during build that downloads its own browsers:

pwsh bin/Debug/net8.0/playwright.sh install

No pwsh? Install PowerShell first: brew install --cask powershell

Verify with a basic test

Replace the generated test file with:

using Microsoft.Playwright.NUnit;

[TestFixture]
public class ExampleTest : PageTest
{
    [Test]
    public async Task LoadsExample()
    {
        await Page.GotoAsync("https://example.com");
        await Expect(Page).ToHaveTitleAsync("Example Domain");
    }
}

Run it from your IDE, or from a terminal:

dotnet test

This runs headless by default — dotnet test should report the test passed in the terminal, that's a working setup.