How to Setup Playwright on Windows

Setting up Playwright on Windows is a straightforward process. Playwright is a powerful automation library for browsers developed by Microsoft, enabling you to write browser automation scripts in various programming languages like JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and more. Here's a step-by-step guide to setting up Playwright on Windows:

Prerequisites:

1. Windows operating system (Windows 10 or newer recommended).

2. Node.js installed on your machine (Download and install it from the official Node.js website).

Step 1: Install Playwright

1. Open a command prompt or terminal on your Windows machine.

2. Use Node Package Manager (npm) to install Playwright globally on your system by running the following command:

bashCopy codenpm install -g playwright

Step 2: Verify the Installation

1. Once the installation is complete, you can verify the installation by checking the installed versions of Playwright and its drivers. Run the following command:

bashCopy codeplaywright --version

This will display the installed version of Playwright and the browser drivers it supports.

Step 3: Initialize a New Project

1. Create a new directory for your Playwright project and navigate to it using the command prompt or terminal:

bashCopy codemkdir playwright-project
cd playwright-project

1. Initialize a new Node.js project in the directory by running:

bashCopy codenpm init -y

Step 4: Select a Browser

1. Playwright supports multiple browsers, such as Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit. By default, it uses Chromium. If you want to use a different browser, you can specify it in your project's configuration file (package.json) under the "playwright" field:

For Chromium (default):

jsonCopy code"playwright": {
  "browserName": "chromium"
}

For Firefox:

jsonCopy code"playwright": {
  "browserName": "firefox"
}

For WebKit:

jsonCopy code"playwright": {
  "browserName": "webkit"
}

Step 5: Write Your First Playwright Script

1. Create a new JavaScript or TypeScript file in your project directory (e.g., my_script.js or my_script.ts).

2. Import the necessary modules to use Playwright:

javascriptCopy code// For JavaScript
const { chromium } = require('playwright');

// For TypeScript
import { chromium } from 'playwright';

1. Write your automation script using Playwright's API. For example, to open a browser, navigate to a website, and take a screenshot, you can use the following code:

javascriptCopy code(async () => {
  const browser = await chromium.launch();
  const context = await browser.newContext();
  const page = await context.newPage();

  await page.goto('https://www.example.com');
  await page.screenshot({ path: 'example.png' });

  await browser.close();
})();

Step 6: Run the Playwright Script

1. Save your Playwright script.

2. Open a command prompt or terminal in your project directory.

3. Run your script using Node.js:

bashCopy codenode my_script.js

Your Playwright script will now run and execute the automation steps defined in the script.

Congratulations! You've successfully set up Playwright on your Windows machine and created a simple automation script. You can now explore Playwright's documentation to learn more about its capabilities and create more sophisticated browser automation scenarios.