Playwright Server

A local TypeScript/Node.js webserver that exposes an API for instrumenting Playwright via curl commands.

Setup

cd playwright-server
npm install
npx playwright install chromium

Run

npm run dev

Server runs on http://localhost:3456

API Reference

Browser Management

# Check server status
curl http://localhost:3456/status

# Start browser
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/browser/start

# Stop browser
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/browser/stop

# Restart browser
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/browser/restart

Navigation

# Navigate to URL
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/navigate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "https://example.com"}'

# Navigate to local test page
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/navigate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "file:///C:/t/books/playwright-server/test-page.html"}'

Screenshots

# Take screenshot (auto-named)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/screenshot \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{}'

# Take named screenshot
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/screenshot \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "my-screenshot", "fullPage": true}'

# List all screenshots
curl http://localhost:3456/screenshots

# Download screenshot (returns PNG image)
curl http://localhost:3456/screenshot/my-screenshot -o screenshot.png

Page Interaction

# Click element
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/click \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": "#submit-btn"}'

# Type text
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/type \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": "#username", "text": "myuser"}'

# Wait for element
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/wait \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": ".loaded", "timeout": 5000}'

# Press keyboard key
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/keyboard \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"key": "Enter"}'

# Select dropdown option
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/select \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": "#country", "value": "us"}'

# Hover over element
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/hover \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": ".menu-item"}'

# Scroll page
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/scroll \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"x": 0, "y": 500}'

Page Info

# Get page title
curl http://localhost:3456/title

# Get current URL
curl http://localhost:3456/url

# Get page HTML content
curl http://localhost:3456/content

Code Execution

# Execute inline JavaScript on the page (page.evaluate)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/execute/inline \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"code": "document.title"}'

# Execute JavaScript that modifies the page
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/execute/inline \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"code": "document.body.style.background = \"red\"; return \"done\""}'

# Execute Playwright code with access to page/context/browser objects
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/script/execute-playwright \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"code": "await page.click(\"#increment\"); return await page.textContent(\"#counter-value\");"}'

Page Management

# List all open pages
curl http://localhost:3456/pages

# Switch to a specific page by index
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/pages/switch \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"index": 1}'

# Switch to the most recently opened page
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/pages/switch-latest

Activity Recording

The server automatically records browser activity (network requests, console messages, errors, navigation, dialogs). Use these endpoints to monitor what happens between commands.

# Get recording status
curl http://localhost:3456/activity/status

# Poll for new activity since a watermark (KEY ENDPOINT for monitoring)
# Returns entries with id > since, and a new watermark for next poll
curl "http://localhost:3456/activity/poll?since=0"

# Quick check if anything happened (lightweight status check)
curl "http://localhost:3456/activity/check?since=5"

# Get activity log with filters
curl "http://localhost:3456/activity/log?limit=100"
curl "http://localhost:3456/activity/log?types=network-request,network-response"
curl "http://localhost:3456/activity/log?since=10&limit=50"

# Get activity summary
curl http://localhost:3456/activity/summary

# Start recording (with optional body capture)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/activity/start \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"captureNetworkBodies": true}'

# Stop recording
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/activity/stop

# Clear activity log
curl -X DELETE http://localhost:3456/activity/log

# Configure auto-start behavior
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/activity/config \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"autoStart": false}'

Activity Types:

• network-request - Outgoing HTTP requests
• network-response - HTTP responses
• network-failed - Failed requests
• console - Console messages (log, warn, error, etc.)
• page-error - JavaScript errors
• navigation - Page navigation events
• dialog - Alert/confirm/prompt dialogs

Script Management (File-based execution)

# Save a script file
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/script/save \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "my-script", "code": "console.log(\"Hello from script!\");"}'

# Execute a saved script (runs with ts-node)
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/script/execute \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "my-script"}'

Example Workflow

# 1. Start server (in one terminal)
npm run dev

# 2. Check status
curl http://localhost:3456/status

# 3. Navigate to test page
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/navigate \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"url": "file:///C:/t/books/playwright-server/test-page.html"}'

# 4. Fill form
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/type \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": "#username", "text": "testuser"}'

curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/type \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": "#email", "text": "test@example.com"}'

# 5. Take screenshot
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/screenshot \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "form-filled"}'

# 6. Click submit
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/click \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"selector": "button[type=\"submit\"]"}'

# 7. Screenshot after submit
curl -X POST http://localhost:3456/screenshot \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "form-submitted"}'

Directories

• scripts/ - Saved script files
• screenshots/ - Captured screenshots
• src/ - Server source code