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playwright-cli show does not auto-open browser window on Windows (silently exits or hangs without launching UI) #417
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Description
playwright-cli show does not auto-open browser window on Windows
Summary
Running playwright-cli show on Windows no longer auto-launches the system browser to display the Playwright Dashboard.
- Without
--port: command exits silently (exit code 0, no output, no browser) - With
--port: server starts and prints the listening URL, but no browser window is launched — the URL must be opened manually
The dashboard itself works correctly when the URL is opened manually, confirming the HTTP server is functioning. Only the auto-launch of the system browser is broken.
Steps to Reproduce
1. Install the latest version:
npm install -g @playwright/cli@latest
playwright-cli --version
# 0.1.132. Run show with no active sessions:
playwright-cli show
| Expected | Dashboard opens in the system browser |
| Actual | Command exits silently — exit code 0, no output, no browser window |
3. Run show with --port:
playwright-cli show --port=9323
| Expected | Dashboard opens in system browser at http://localhost:9323 |
| Actual | Prints Listening on http://localhost:9323 — server is running, but no browser window launches |
4. Also reproduced with an active browser session:
playwright-cli open https://example.com
# (in a second terminal)
playwright-cli show --port=9323Same result — server starts, URL is accessible, but browser does not auto-launch.
Environment
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| OS | Windows |
| Shell | Git Bash (MINGW64) |
@playwright/cli |
0.1.13 |
| Node.js | v26.1.0 |
Workaround
playwright-cli show --port=9323 & sleep 1 && start http://localhost:9323
This starts the server and then uses the Windows start command to open the URL in the default browser.
Notes
- This worked in an earlier version of
playwright-cli - The regression appears to be Windows-specific — the server-side logic is fine, only the
open URL in system browserstep does not fire
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