> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.microsandbox.dev/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Playwright

> Capture pages or expose a remote browser server without a GPU

Headless Chromium does not require GPU acceleration. This example uses Microsoft's Playwright image to capture a screenshot and optionally run a persistent browser server for a host-side test runner or agent.

<Note>
  The Playwright image is large. Its first pull can take several minutes, while cached browser launches are much faster. Consider turning a prepared browser sandbox into a [snapshot](/examples/sandboxing/warm-workers) for repeated jobs.
</Note>

## Use Playwright

<Steps>
  <Step title="Capture a screenshot">
    <Tooltip tip="Headless capture works on microsandbox cloud after omitting replace-on-create from this command."><span className="msb-badge-limited">Limited on cloud <Icon icon="circle-info" size={11} /></span></Tooltip>

    <CodeGroup>
      ```sh macOS & Linux theme={null}
      msb run --name playwright-shot --replace \
        --cpus 2 --memory 2G --root-disk 4G \
        mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.61.0-noble -- sh -lc '
          npx -y playwright@1.61.0 screenshot \
            --browser chromium \
            https://example.com \
            /root/example.png &&
          stat -c "%s bytes" /root/example.png
        '
      ```

      ```powershell Windows theme={null}
      msb run --name playwright-shot --replace `
        --cpus 2 --memory 2G --root-disk 4G `
        mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.61.0-noble -- sh -lc '
          npx -y playwright@1.61.0 screenshot \
            --browser chromium \
            https://example.com \
            /root/example.png &&
          stat -c "%s bytes" /root/example.png
        '
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    Copy the artifact out of the stopped sandbox:

    ```sh theme={null}
    msb cp playwright-shot:/root/example.png ./example.png
    ```

    The smoke test used for this example produced a valid 15,909-byte PNG. Rendering can vary slightly between releases and hosts, so verify the file rather than asserting an exact byte count.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Optional: run a remote server">
    <Tooltip tip="Publishing the browser server to a port on the computer running the client is not available on microsandbox cloud."><span className="msb-badge-local">Local-only <Icon icon="circle-info" size={11} /></span></Tooltip>

    <CodeGroup>
      ```sh macOS & Linux theme={null}
      msb run -d --name playwright-server --replace \
        --cpus 2 --memory 2G --root-disk 4G \
        -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 \
        mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.61.0-noble -- sh -lc '
          exec npx -y playwright@1.61.0 run-server \
            --host 0.0.0.0 \
            --port 3000
        '
      ```

      ```powershell Windows theme={null}
      msb run -d --name playwright-server --replace `
        --cpus 2 --memory 2G --root-disk 4G `
        -p 127.0.0.1:3000:3000 `
        mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.61.0-noble -- sh -lc '
          exec npx -y playwright@1.61.0 run-server \
            --host 0.0.0.0 \
            --port 3000
        '
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    Verify the forwarding path:

    <CodeGroup>
      ```sh macOS & Linux theme={null}
      curl http://127.0.0.1:3000/
      ```

      ```powershell Windows theme={null}
      curl.exe http://127.0.0.1:3000/
      ```
    </CodeGroup>

    The server returns `Running` and logs its WebSocket endpoint:

    ```sh theme={null}
    msb logs playwright-server
    ```

    Connect a matching Playwright client to `ws://127.0.0.1:3000/`. Keep the client and server versions aligned.

    <Warning>
      The remote server has no application-level authentication. This example binds the host side to loopback intentionally. Do not publish it on `0.0.0.0` or an internet-facing interface without an authenticated proxy.
    </Warning>
  </Step>

  <Step title="Clean up">
    Remove the sandboxes:

    ```sh theme={null}
    msb rm -f playwright-shot playwright-server
    ```

    Delete the copied screenshot only if you no longer need it:

    <CodeGroup>
      ```sh macOS & Linux theme={null}
      rm ./example.png
      ```

      ```powershell Windows theme={null}
      Remove-Item ./example.png
      ```
    </CodeGroup>
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Reference

* [Playwright Docker images](https://playwright.dev/docs/docker)
* [Playwright remote connections](https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-browsertype#browser-type-connect)