Soenneker.Playwright.Installation 4.0.241

Soenneker.Playwright.Installation

Makes sure Playwright’s browser (e.g. Chromium) is installed before you use it. It runs the install once, sets the browser path, and you’re done.

Quick start

1. Install the package

dotnet add package Soenneker.Playwright.Installation

2. Register the util (e.g. in Program.cs or your service setup)

services.AddPlaywrightInstallationUtilAsSingleton();

3. Before using Playwright, ensure it’s installed

var playwrightUtil = serviceProvider.GetRequiredService<IPlaywrightInstallationUtil>();
await playwrightUtil.EnsureInstalled();
// Now use Playwright as usual.

The first call to EnsureInstalled() installs the browser if needed. Later calls do nothing. You only need to call it once per process.

Changing how it installs (optional)

By default the util installs Chromium with --no-shell and --with-deps. To change that, call SetOptions before the first EnsureInstalled():

playwrightUtil.SetOptions(new PlaywrightInstallationOptions
{
    NoShell = true,           // default: true
    WithDeps = true,          // default: true
    Browser = "chromium",     // or "firefox", "webkit"
    BrowsersPath = null       // optional custom folder for browsers
});

await playwrightUtil.EnsureInstalled();

• NoShell — Passes --no-shell to the install command.
• WithDeps — Passes --with-deps (install system dependencies).
• Browser — Which browser to install: chromium, firefox, or webkit.
• BrowsersPath — If set, browsers are installed here and PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH is set to this path. If null, a default path is used (see below).

Where browsers are installed

If you don’t set BrowsersPath, the util uses a default directory. You can get that path with:

string path = playwrightUtil.GetPlaywrightPath();

On Azure App Service it uses a path under the app root. Elsewhere it uses a .playwright folder under your app’s base directory.

Using config instead of code (optional)

You can drive the same options from configuration so you don’t have to call SetOptions in code. If the Playwright config section exists, the util uses it when you haven’t called SetOptions.

appsettings.json

{
  "Playwright": {
    "NoShell": true,
    "WithDeps": true,
    "Browser": "chromium",
    "BrowsersPath": null
  }
}

Environment variables (use double underscore for the section name)

• Playwright__NoShell
• Playwright__WithDeps
• Playwright__Browser
• Playwright__BrowsersPath

Anything you set via SetOptions overrides config. If you never call SetOptions and there’s no Playwright section, the defaults (Chromium, no-shell, with-deps, default path) are used.