Install Playwright Browsers from Python

1.0.0 · active · verified Thu Apr 16

install-playwright is a Python library that provides a programmatic way to execute the `playwright install` CLI command, which downloads browser binaries (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit) required by the Playwright automation library. This allows Python applications to manage Playwright browser installations directly, without needing to shell out to a subprocess. The current version is 1.0.0, and it follows an infrequent release cadence, primarily updating for compatibility or minor feature additions.

Common errors

```
NameError: name 'p' is not defined
```
cause The `p` object (representing the Playwright context) was not initialized or is out of scope when calling `install_playwright.install([p.chromium])`.

fix Wrap your `install` call within a `with sync_playwright() as p:` block or ensure `p` is available from an `async_playwright` context.
```
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'playwright'
```
cause The main `playwright` Python library has not been installed, which is a prerequisite for `install-playwright` and for providing the `BrowserType` objects.

fix Run `pip install playwright` before installing `install-playwright` or attempting to use it.
```
TypeError: 'BrowserType' object is not iterable
```
cause The `install` function expects a list of `BrowserType` objects, but a single `BrowserType` object was passed directly without being wrapped in a list.

fix Ensure you pass a list to the `install` function, even if it contains only one browser, e.g., `install([p.chromium])` instead of `install(p.chromium)`.

Warnings

gotcha The `install-playwright` library only handles the *installation of browser binaries* (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit). It does NOT install the `playwright` Python package itself. You must `pip install playwright` separately.
Fix: Ensure both `pip install playwright` and `pip install install-playwright` are run. Always install `playwright` first.
gotcha The `install` function expects `BrowserType` objects from the `playwright` library (e.g., `p.chromium`). You must initialize `playwright.sync_api.sync_playwright` or `playwright.async_api.async_playwright` to obtain these objects before calling `install_playwright.install`.
Fix: Use a `with sync_playwright() as p:` block (for synchronous usage) or `async with async_playwright() as p:` (for asynchronous usage) and pass `p.chromium`, `p.firefox`, or `p.webkit` to the `install` function.
gotcha By default, `install_playwright.install()` will install all supported browsers if called without arguments, similar to `playwright install`. To install specific browsers, you must pass a list of `BrowserType` objects.
Fix: To install only Chromium, use `install([p.chromium])`. To install multiple specific browsers, use `install([p.chromium, p.firefox])`.

Install

pip install install-playwright Install install-playwright
pip install playwright Install Playwright (required dependency)

Imports

install
```
from install_playwright import install
```
This imports the function to trigger browser installation.
sync_playwright
```
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
```
Necessary to get browser type objects (e.g., p.chromium) which are passed to install_playwright.install.

Quickstart

This quickstart demonstrates how to use `install_playwright` to programmatically install Playwright browser binaries. It first imports `sync_playwright` from the main `playwright` library to access browser type objects, then calls `install()` with the desired browser types. After installation, it includes a simple Playwright usage example to verify successful setup.

from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
from install_playwright import install

with sync_playwright() as p:
    # Install Chromium browser binaries
    print("Installing Chromium...")
    install([p.chromium])
    print("Chromium installed.")

    # Optionally, install other browsers
    # print("Installing Firefox and WebKit...")
    # install([p.firefox, p.webkit])
    # print("Firefox and WebKit installed.")

    # Example of using Playwright after installation
    browser = p.chromium.launch()
    page = browser.new_page()
    page.goto("http://example.com")
    print(f"Page title: {page.title()}")
    browser.close()

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