playwright
A high-level API to automate web browsers
Decision gist · record as of 2026-08-14
Yes. Playwright is actively maintained, widely used (top 1000 PyPI packages), has no known vulnerabilities, and offers a mature, cross-browser automation API. Install friction is moderate but acceptable for projects requiring browser automation. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive and poses no practical restriction.AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page — verify before relying
Before you install
- Requires Python 3.10 or later; browser binaries (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit) are downloaded and installed separately on first use, which may require additional disk space and network access.
- Medium install friction due to platform-specific wheel distributions and browser binary downloads required post-install.
- Active maintenance with recent releases (14 days since last version); repository shows strong community engagement with 14914 stars and current Python version support through 3.14.
License · maintenance · safety
Apache-2.0 (permissive) — Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and open-source projects with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and note any modifications.
last release 2026-07-31 (14 days) · last repo commit 2026-08-14 · 14,914 stars
0 known vulnerabilities (OSV.dev, 2026-08-14) · 92,535,735 downloads/mo, #367 on PyPI
Alternatives
Verify before relying
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as p:
browser = p.chromium.launch()
page = browser.new_page()
page.goto('http://example.com')
page.screenshot(path='screenshot.png')
browser.close()- Whether browser binary downloads are automatic or require explicit installation step
- Memory and disk footprint of installed browser binaries for each platform
What it is and what it does
Playwright is a browser automation library that controls Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit through a unified Python API. It supports both synchronous and asynchronous workflows, making it suitable for scripting, testing, and web scraping tasks. The library abstracts away browser-specific differences, allowing you to write automation code once and run it across multiple browsers on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
The package depends on pyee (event emitter) and greenlet for async/event handling. It distributes platform-specific wheels for x86_64, ARM64, and ARM architectures, which simplifies installation but adds medium friction due to binary downloads. Maintenance is active with recent releases and broad Python version support.
Use it for
- End-to-end testing of web applications across multiple browsers in CI/CD pipelines
- Web scraping JavaScript-heavy sites that require browser rendering and interaction
- Automated screenshot and PDF generation from web pages for reporting or archival
- Performance testing and monitoring of web applications under realistic browser conditions
- Automating repetitive web tasks like form filling, clicking, and navigation workflows
Worth the install?
AI-flagged interpretation of the facts on this page. Verify before relying on it.
Yes.
Playwright is actively maintained, widely used (top 1000 PyPI packages), has no known vulnerabilities, and offers a mature, cross-browser automation API. Install friction is moderate but acceptable for projects requiring browser automation. The Apache-2.0 license is permissive and poses no practical restriction.
Install
playwright on PyPI
Before you install
Medium install friction due to platform-specific wheel distributions and browser binary downloads required post-install. Active maintenance with recent releases (14 days since last version); repository shows strong community engagement with 14914 stars and current Python version support through 3.14.
Requires Python 3.10 or later; browser binaries (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit) are downloaded and installed separately on first use, which may require additional disk space and network access.
License in practice
Apache-2.0 permissive license allows use in commercial and open-source projects with minimal restrictions; you must include a copy of the license and note any modifications.
Quickstart
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as p:
browser = p.chromium.launch()
page = browser.new_page()
page.goto('http://example.com')
page.screenshot(path='screenshot.png')
browser.close()Verify before relying
- Whether browser binary downloads are automatic or require explicit installation step
- Memory and disk footprint of installed browser binaries for each platform
Package facts
| License | Apache-2.0 permissive |
| Python support | Supports the current Python release >=3.10 |
| Install friction | Medium. Platform-specific wheel |
| Runtime dependencies | 2 packagespyeegreenlet |
| Maintenance | Actively maintained 14 days since the last release |
| Last repo commit | |
| First released | |
| Downloads | 92,535,735 / month, #367 on PyPI 30-day window, as of 2026-08-14 |
| Known vulnerabilities | None known OSV.dev, checked 2026-08-14 |
| Classifiers | Intended Audience :: DevelopersOperating System :: OS IndependentProgramming Language :: Python :: 3Programming Language :: Python :: 3.10Programming Language :: Python :: 3.11Programming Language :: Python :: 3.12Programming Language :: Python :: 3.13Programming Language :: Python :: 3.14Topic :: Internet :: WWW/HTTP :: BrowsersTopic :: Software Development :: Testing |
Evidence: playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-macosx_10_13_x86_64.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-macosx_11_0_arm64.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-macosx_11_0_universal2.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-manylinux1_x86_64.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-manylinux_2_17_aarch64.manylinux2014_aarch64.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-win32.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-win_amd64.whl; playwright-1.62.0-py3-none-win_arm64.whl
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See also agentql · install-playwright · rebrowser-playwright · robotframework-browser · scrapy-playwright · pyppeteer · patchright · pytest-playwright · axe-playwright-python · pytest-playwright-asyncio