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What is Playwright?

Playwright is Microsoft’s modern browser automation framework that enables reliable end-to-end testing and web scraping across all major browsers (Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit). It provides a unified API for controlling browsers programmatically, making it the industry standard for automated browser interactions.

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Why Playwright + Anchor Browser?

Anchor Browser leverages Playwright’s robust browser automation capabilities to provide enterprise-grade reliability and cross-browser compatibility. While Playwright handles the low-level browser control, Anchor Browser adds:
  • Cloud-hosted browser instances - No local browser management required
  • AI-powered interactions - Natural language task execution beyond traditional scripting
  • Enterprise security - Isolated environments with authentication and proxy support
  • Self-healing automations - Built-in error recovery and adaptation to website changes

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Key Playwright Capabilities

  • Multi-Browser Support - Test across Chrome, Firefox, and Safari with identical code
  • Fast & Reliable - Auto-wait for elements, built-in retry logic, and parallel execution
  • Powerful Debugging - Time-travel debugging, trace viewer, and UI mode for visual testing
  • Visual Testing - Automated screenshot comparison and visual regression detection
  • Precise Element Selection - Advanced locators for reliable element targeting

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How It Works with Anchor Browser

When you connect to Anchor Browser, you’re using Playwright’s familiar API but with cloud-hosted browsers: 
// First create a session
const session = await axios.post("https://api.anchorbrowser.io/v1/sessions", {}, {
    headers: {
        "anchor-api-key": process.env.ANCHOR_API_KEY,
        "Content-Type": "application/json"
    }
});
const cdp_url = session.data.data.cdp_url;

// Then connect using the session's CDP URL
const browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(cdp_url);
This gives you all of Playwright’s power while eliminating infrastructure complexity and adding enterprise features.

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Use Cases

  • Business Workflow Automation - Automate repetitive tasks in ERP, CRM, and financial systems
  • End-to-End Testing - Automated testing of web applications across browsers
  • Web Scraping - Reliable data extraction from dynamic websites
  • UI Automation - Form filling, clicking, and complex user workflow automation
  • Visual Monitoring - Automated screenshot comparison and regression testing
  • Performance Testing - Page load timing and interaction performance measurement

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Next Steps