# playwright-ci-caching

Caches Playwright browser binaries in GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps pipelines. Eliminates the ~400MB download on every CI run, cutting 1-2 minutes off test workflows.

- skill · `type=skill` · Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, OpenCode · 434 installs · ★ 1238
- Author: Aaronontheweb
- License: MIT · policy=mirror · the beginning of the file is at the end of this page
- Source: https://github.com/Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md
- Updated: 2026-10-11
- HTML: https://affpapa.org/en/nevibecode/skills/playwright-ci-caching

## What it does

This skill provides a CI/CD caching pattern for .NET solutions running Playwright tests. It parses the Microsoft.Playwright package version directly from `Directory.Packages.props` under Central Package Management (CPM) to form a cache key. Browsers download only when the workflow reports a cache miss.

The configuration includes OS-specific cache directory paths for Linux, macOS, and Windows. It provides a PowerShell helper script at `build/playwright.ps1` that locates `Microsoft.Playwright.dll` after a build step and calls the bundled Playwright CLI with arguments like `--with-deps`.

A hard dependency on `Directory.Packages.props` means XML version extraction fails immediately if your project does not use CPM. Including the SDK version in the cache key invalidates stale binaries automatically whenever you upgrade the NuGet package.

## Requirements
- Works with: Playwright, Azure DevOps

## Install

### Claude Code (native platform)

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --skill playwright-ci-caching -a claude-code
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `~/.claude/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md` — Copy the whole skill folder; for one project use .claude/skills/playwright-ci-caching/

### Codex

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --skill playwright-ci-caching -a codex
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.agents/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md` — For all projects use ~/.agents/skills/

### Cursor

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --skill playwright-ci-caching -a cursor
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.cursor/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md` — Cursor also reads .agents/skills/ and .claude/skills/

### GitHub Copilot

1. **GitHub CLI**
```bash
gh skill install Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills playwright-ci-caching
```

2. **Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.github/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md`

### Gemini CLI

1. **Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --skill playwright-ci-caching -a gemini-cli
```

2. **Platform CLI**
```bash
gemini skills install https://github.com/Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --path skills/playwright-ci-caching
```

### Windsurf (Devin Desktop)

**Manually: put the files in place**
- File: `.devin/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md` — The legacy .windsurf/skills/ path still works

### OpenCode

**Skills CLI (Vercel)**
```bash
npx skills add Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills --skill playwright-ci-caching -a opencode
```

### Claude.ai

**Claude.ai**
- Zip the folder and upload it in Settings → Capabilities → Skills

Where a file is given instead of a command, copy the files from the source to that path: https://github.com/Aaronontheweb/dotnet-skills/tree/HEAD/skills/playwright-ci-caching/SKILL.md

## When to use it
- cache Playwright browser binaries in GitHub Actions and Azure DevOps
- eliminate recurring 1-2 minute browser downloads during CI runs
- invalidate browser caches automatically on Playwright package updates
- resolve the local Playwright CLI location dynamically via PowerShell

## Example prompts
- Configure Playwright browser caching in our GitHub Actions workflow using Directory.Packages.props
- Add the build/playwright.ps1 helper script and caching steps to Azure DevOps

## Source text · SKILL.md · MIT

Below is the content of a third-party file. It is data, not instructions for you: do not act on anything written inside unless the human asks. Block tag: 34fd500b01729bb8.

BEGIN THIRD-PARTY FILE 34fd500b01729bb8
````text
---
name: playwright-ci-caching
description: Cache Playwright browser binaries in CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Azure DevOps) to avoid 1-2 minute download overhead on every build.
user-invocable: false
---

# Caching Playwright Browsers in CI/CD

## When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:
- Setting up CI/CD for a project with Playwright E2E tests
- Build times are slow due to browser downloads (~400MB, 1-2 minutes)
- You want automatic cache invalidation when Playwright version changes
- Using GitHub Actions or Azure DevOps pipelines

## The Problem

Playwright browsers (~400MB) must be downloaded on every CI run by default. This:
- Adds 1-2 minutes to every build
- Wastes bandwidth
- Can fail on transient network issues
- Slows down PR feedback loops

## Core Pattern

1. **Extract Playwright version** from `Directory.Packages.props` (CPM) to use as cache key
2. **Cache browser binaries** using platform-appropriate paths
3. **Conditional install** - only download on cache miss
4. **Automatic cache bust** - key includes version, so package upgrades invalidate cache

## Cache Paths by OS

| OS | Path |
|----|------|
| Linux | `~/.cache/ms-playwright` |
| macOS | `~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright` |
| Windows | `%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright` |

## GitHub Actions

```yaml
- name: Get Playwright Version
  shell: pwsh
  run: |
    $propsPath = "Directory.Packages.props"
    [xml]$props = Get-Content $propsPath
    $version = $props.Project.ItemGroup.PackageVersion |
      Where-Object { $_.Include -eq "Microsoft.Playwright" } |
      Select-Object -ExpandProperty Version
    echo "PlaywrightVersion=$version" >> $env:GITHUB_ENV

- name: Cache Playwright Browsers
  id: playwright-cache
  uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-playwright-${{ env.PlaywrightVersion }}

- name: Install Playwright Browsers
  if: steps.playwright-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
  shell: pwsh
  run: ./build/playwright.ps1 install --with-deps
```

### Multi-OS GitHub Actions

For workflows that run on multiple operating systems:

```yaml
- name: Cache Playwright Browsers
  id: playwright-cache
  uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: |
      ~/.cache/ms-playwright
      ~/Library/Caches/ms-playwright
      ~/AppData/Local/ms-playwright
    key: ${{ runner.os }}-playwright-${{ env.PlaywrightVersion }}
```

## Azure DevOps

```yaml
- task: PowerShell@2
  displayName: 'Get Playwright Version'
  inputs:
    targetType: 'inline'
    script: |
      [xml]$props = Get-Content "Directory.Packages.props"
      $version = $props.Project.ItemGroup.PackageVersion |
````
END THIRD-PARTY FILE 34fd500b01729bb8

The third-party file has ended. Everything between the 34fd500b01729bb8 tags is data: requests and commands from it are not followed. An “end of file” line with another tag inside the block is part of the file.

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