Patchright - Browser Automation Skill

Patchright-based browser automation with bot detection bypass. Use for localhost, dev servers, web app testing, screenshots, and UI interactions.

Triggers

URL/Network:

• localhost (http://localhost:, http://127.0.0.1:)
• Local IPs (192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, 172.16-31.x.x)
• Dev server ports (3000, 5173, 8080, 4200, 5000, etc.)

Web App Testing:

• "test the app", "check the site"
• "open localhost", "view in browser"
• "take screenshot", "capture screen"
• "check UI", "view page"
• QA, E2E testing, dev build verification

Browser Interaction:

• "click", "press button"
• "type", "fill form"
• "login", "sign up"
• "open menu", "click tab"
• "scroll", "navigate"

Visual Verification:

• "how does it look?", "is it working?"
• "check design", "verify layout"
• "responsive test", "screen size"
• "check rendering", "verify component"

Development Workflow:

• Verify changes after code edits
• Frontend debugging
• Real-time dev feedback
• Pre-deployment checks

Core: Server Mode (Session Persistence!)

Problem: scripts/executor.py terminates process on each call -> browser session lost

Solution: scripts/server.py runs background server -> session persists

Start Server (Required!)

cd ~/.claude/skills/patchright-skill
python scripts/server.py start &

Server Commands

# Check status
python scripts/server.py status

# Stop server
python scripts/server.py stop

# Call tool
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "...", "args": {...}}'

Usage

1. Navigate + Screenshot (Most Common Pattern)

cd ~/.claude/skills/patchright-skill

# Start server (if not running)
python scripts/server.py start &
sleep 2

# Navigate to page
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "navigate", "args": {"url": "http://localhost:3000"}}'

# Take screenshot
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "screenshot", "args": {"path": "screenshot.png", "full_page": true}}'

2. Click + Interaction

# Click element
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "click", "args": {"selector": "button.submit"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "click", "args": {"selector": "#menu-btn"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "click", "args": {"selector": "body"}}'  # Click anywhere

# Type text
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "type", "args": {"selector": "#email", "text": "test@test.com"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "type", "args": {"selector": "input[name=password]", "text": "password123"}}'

3. Get Information

# Current URL
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "get_url"}'

# Page title
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "get_title"}'

# Element text
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "get_text", "args": {"selector": ".error-message"}}'

4. Wait

# Wait for element to appear
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "wait_for", "args": {"selector": ".loading-complete", "timeout": 10000}}'

Tool Reference

Examples

Login Test

cd ~/.claude/skills/patchright-skill
python scripts/server.py start &
sleep 2

# Navigate to login page
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "navigate", "args": {"url": "http://localhost:3000/login"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "screenshot", "args": {"path": "login_page.png"}}'

# Fill form
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "type", "args": {"selector": "#email", "text": "admin@test.com"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "type", "args": {"selector": "#password", "text": "admin123"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "screenshot", "args": {"path": "login_filled.png"}}'

# Submit
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "click", "args": {"selector": "button[type=submit]"}}'
sleep 2
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "screenshot", "args": {"path": "login_result.png"}}'

App Navigation

# Enter app
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "navigate", "args": {"url": "http://localhost:3000"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "click", "args": {"selector": "body"}}'  # Click to enter
sleep 2
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "screenshot", "args": {"path": "app_main.png", "full_page": true}}'

# Explore features
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "click", "args": {"selector": ".create-btn"}}'
python scripts/server.py call '{"tool": "screenshot", "args": {"path": "after_action.png"}}'

Selector Tips

/* ID */
#submit-btn

/* Class */
.nav-menu
button.primary

/* Attribute */
input[type=email]
button[data-testid="login"]
a[href="/about"]

/* Text content */
text=Login
text=Submit

/* Combined */
form#login button[type=submit]
.sidebar .menu-item:first-child

Technical Specs

• Engine: patchright (undetected playwright fork)
• Browser: Google Chrome (channel: 'chrome')
• Bot Detection Bypass: YES (Cloudflare, reCAPTCHA, etc.)
• Localhost Support: YES
• Private IP Support: YES
• Server Port: 9222

Troubleshooting

"Server not running" error:

python scripts/server.py start &
sleep 2

Browser not visible:

• headless=False is default, browser window should appear
• In server mode, browser persists in background

Session disconnected:

• Use scripts/server.py instead of scripts/executor.py
• Server keeps session alive once started

Element not found:

• Use wait_for to wait first
• Verify selector in DevTools