Answer

Managing Browser Downloads in Playwright

If you're managing browser binaries separately and want to skip browser downloads, set the PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD variable before installation. Run this command:

PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD=1 npx playwright install

You can also opt for a hermetic install and place binaries in a local folder. Set the PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH environment variable. This command places the binaries in the specified location:

PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH=$HOME/pw-browsers npx playwright install

Remember, setting PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH doesn't change the installation path for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Playwright has a "stale browser removal" feature. By default, it keeps track of clients that use its browsers and deletes versions that are no longer needed. If you want to keep all installed browsers, set the PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_GC environment variable to 1.

To uninstall browsers of your current Playwright installation (chromium, firefox, webkit), run:

npx playwright uninstall

To remove browsers from other Playwright installations on your system, pass the --all flag:

npx playwright uninstall --all

For the most up-to-date instructions, always refer to the official Playwright documentation.