How to Install Playwright | Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners 1. Prerequisites Before you start, make sure you have: 1. Node.js installed Recommended versions: 20.x, 22.x or 24.x Check your version: node -v If you don’t have it, download it from the official Node.js website and install it. 2. Supported Operating System Windows: Windows 11+ or Windows Server 2019+ (WSL also works) macOS: macOS 14 (Ventura) or later Linux: Debian 12/13 or Ubuntu 22.04 / 24.04 (x86-64 or arm64) 3. A terminal and a code editor Any terminal (Command Prompt, PowerShell, Terminal, etc.) A code editor like Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is recommended. 2. Create or Open a Project Folder You can use Playwright in: A new project (fresh folder), or An existing Node.js project. For a new project Create a new folder and navigate into it: mkdir my-playwright-project cd my-pl...
Playwright Architecture — Explained Simply (Step by Step) Playwright is a powerful framework for automating browsers and running end-to-end tests. Its architecture may look complex at first, but it becomes very easy to understand when we see how a test travels from our code to the actual browser. High-Level Idea From left to right, the data flow looks like this: Your test code (in Java, JS/TS, Python, C#, etc.) → sends commands over a WebSocket → to the Playwright Server (Node.js) → which talks via browser protocols (CDP+) to → real browser engines like Chrome, Firefox, and WebKit. Architecture Diagram (Image) Architecture Diagram (Text Version) ┌────────────────────────────┐ │ Client Libraries │ │ (Java, JS/TS, Python, C#) │ └──────────────┬─────────────┘ │ Test Commands (WebSocket) ▼ ┌────────────────────────┐ │ Playwright Server │ │ (Node.js) ...