Browser binary install "No space left on device" in CI

Browser binaries are large: installing Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit together, plus their caches and OS packages, can exhaust a runner's disk. The install or extraction then fails with "No space left on device" (ENOSPC).

What this error means

A browser install or unzip step fails with "No space left on device" or "ENOSPC", often partway through extracting an archive, on a runner with limited free disk.

Downloading Firefox ...
Error: ENOSPC: no space left on device, write
    at Object.writeSync (node:fs)
    at .../playwright-core/lib/utils/download.js

Common causes

Installing every browser when you use one

Downloading Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit together triples the footprint even if the suite only targets Chromium.

Accumulated caches and old browser revisions

Stale browser revisions and package caches pile up on the runner and consume the free disk.

How to fix it

Install only the browsers you test

Download just the needed browser so the footprint stays small.

npx playwright install --with-deps chromium

Free disk before installing

Reclaim space by removing unused preinstalled toolchains, or prune old caches.

sudo rm -rf /usr/share/dotnet /opt/ghc /usr/local/lib/android
df -h

How to prevent it

• Install only the browser(s) the suite actually uses.
• Prune old browser revisions and package caches between runs.
• Monitor free disk with df -h before large browser installs.

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