Playwright (Python) "Executable doesn’t exist / run install" in CI

The Playwright Python package installs the API, but the actual browser binaries (and their Linux host libraries) are a separate download. Without playwright install, launching a browser fails because the executable isn’t there.

What this error means

A test using Playwright fails at launch() with "Executable doesn’t exist" pointing at a browser path under ~/.cache/ms-playwright, telling you to run playwright install - or it launches but crashes for missing shared libraries.

playwright._impl._errors.Error: Executable doesn't exist at
/home/runner/.cache/ms-playwright/chromium-1140/chrome-linux/chrome
╔══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ Looks like Playwright was just installed or updated.  ║
║ Please run the following command to download new      ║
║ browsers:    playwright install                       ║
╚══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Common causes

Browser binaries not downloaded

pip install playwright installs only the Python bindings. The Chromium/Firefox/WebKit binaries must be fetched separately with playwright install.

Missing host OS libraries on Linux

Even with browsers downloaded, headless Chromium needs system libraries (libnss, libatk, fonts). On a slim image they’re absent, so the browser process won’t start.

How to fix it

Install browsers and their dependencies

pip install playwright
playwright install --with-deps chromium   # browsers + OS libs

Install host deps separately if needed

python -m playwright install-deps
python -m playwright install chromium

Cache the browser download

Cache ~/.cache/ms-playwright keyed on the Playwright version so installs don’t refetch every run.

- uses: actions/cache@v4
  with:
    path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
    key: playwright-${{ hashFiles('requirements.txt') }}

How to prevent it

• Run playwright install --with-deps as a dedicated CI step.
• Use the official Playwright Python Docker image to get browsers + libs preinstalled.
• Cache the ms-playwright browser directory keyed on the Playwright version.

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