Playwright Browser | BCTRL

All Browser methods available when using the Playwright driver.

Access via runtime.browser after launching a Playwright runtime.

How these methods work over HTTP

Every method below is a remote call. The SDK translates it into a structured step sent to a single endpoint:

POST /v1/workspaces/{workspaceId}/execute

1 {
2   "runtime": "my-browser",
3   "steps": [
4     {
5       "call": "browser.goto",
6       "args": ["https://example.com"]
7     }
8   ]
9 }

The call field maps directly to the method name. args is a JSON array of the method’s arguments. You can batch multiple steps in one request.

State Checks

isConnected()

Indicates that the browser is connected.

Note: This is async in the remote SDK, unlike the native Playwright API.

1 await runtime.browser.isConnected();

Returns boolean

Upstream docs

Lifecycle

contexts()

Returns an array of all open browser contexts.

In a newly created browser, this will return zero browser contexts. Note: This is async in the remote SDK, unlike the native Playwright API.

1 await runtime.browser.contexts();

Returns RemotePlaywrightBrowserContext[]

Upstream docs

newContext(options?)

Creates a new browser context. It will not share cookies/cache with other browser contexts.

If directly using this method to create BrowserContexts, it is best practice to explicitly close the returned context via browserContext.close() when your code is done with the BrowserContext, and before calling browser.close().

1 await runtime.browser.newContext();

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`options`	`PlaywrightNewContextOptions`	No	—

Returns RemotePlaywrightBrowserContext

Upstream docs

newPage(options?)

Creates a new page in a new browser context. Closing this page will close the context as well.

This is a convenience API that should only be used for single-page scenarios and short snippets. Production code and testing frameworks should explicitly create browser.newContext() followed by browserContext.newPage() to control their exact life times.

1 await runtime.browser.newPage();

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`options`	`PlaywrightNewPageOptions`	No	—

Returns RemotePlaywrightPage

Upstream docs

close(options?)

Closes the browser and all of its pages (if any were opened).

The Browser object itself is considered to be disposed and cannot be used anymore. This is similar to force-quitting the browser.

1 await runtime.browser.close();

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`options`	`{ reason?: string }`	No	—

Upstream docs

Other

browserType()

Get the browser type name (chromium, firefox, or webkit) that was used to launch this browser.

Note: Returns the name string. This is async in the remote SDK, unlike the native Playwright API.

1 await runtime.browser.browserType();

Returns 'chromium' \| 'firefox' \| 'webkit'

Upstream docs

version()

Returns the browser version.

Note: This is async in the remote SDK, unlike the native Playwright API.

1 await runtime.browser.version();

Returns string

Upstream docs

newBrowserCDPSession()

Returns the newly created browser session.

CDP Sessions are only supported on Chromium-based browsers.

1 await runtime.browser.newBrowserCDPSession();

Returns { sessionId: string }

Upstream docs

startTracing(page?, options?)

Starts Chromium Tracing.

This is a Chromium-only API. Only one trace can be active at a time per browser.

1 await runtime.browser.startTracing();

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`page`	`HasHandleId`	No	Optional page to capture screenshots from.
`options`	`PlaywrightStartTracingOptions`	No	Tracing options.

Upstream docs

stopTracing()

Stops Chromium Tracing and returns the trace data.

This is a Chromium-only API. Returns the trace data as a Buffer.

1 await runtime.browser.stopTracing();

Returns Buffer

Upstream docs