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fix(cli): report command failures in text and JSON modes - #522

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Nov 5, 2026
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fix(cli): report command failures in text and JSON modes#522
Pavel Feldman (pavelfeldman) merged 2 commits into
mainfrom
triage/502/42092304640-1

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@microsoft-playwright-automation microsoft-playwright-automation Bot commented Nov 5, 2026 •
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Summary

  • The entry point discarded the promise from program(), so argument parsing, startup and daemon validation failures surfaced as unhandled rejections with a stack trace, and --json produced no output.
  • Await the program and report a failure as the message on stderr, or { "isError": true, "error": "..." } on stdout in JSON mode, with exit code 1. The output mode comes from the arguments parsed with the core's parseArgs() (chore: roll Playwright to 1.66.0-alpha-1793916328000 #523), read before program() runs; when parsing itself fails, it falls back to the --json flag.
  • Extend the open-data-URL test with the text and JSON parse error and a daemon-side validation error in JSON mode, and document the behavior.

Fixes #502

@microsoft-playwright-automation microsoft-playwright-automation Bot mentioned this pull request Nov 5, 2026
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Pavel Feldman (pavelfeldman) marked this pull request as ready for review November 5, 2026 22:39
@microsoft-playwright-automation @pavelfeldman
fix(cli): report command failures in text and JSON modes
66053c0 
The entry point discarded the promise from program(), so argument
parsing, startup and daemon validation failures surfaced as unhandled
rejections with a stack trace, and `--json` produced no output. Report
them as a message on stderr, or `{ isError: true, error }` on stdout in
JSON mode, with exit code 1. The output mode comes from the parsed
arguments, or from the `--json` flag when parsing itself fails.

Fixes: #502
@pavelfeldman Pavel Feldman (pavelfeldman) changed the title fix(cli): handle command failures in text and JSON modes fix(cli): report command failures in text and JSON modes Nov 5, 2026
@pavelfeldman
Pavel Feldman (pavelfeldman) merged commit 34a4860 into main Nov 5, 2026
6 of 7 checks passed
@pavelfeldman
Pavel Feldman (pavelfeldman) deleted the triage/502/42092304640-1 branch November 5, 2026 23:09
bizya (b1zya) added a commit to b1zya/patchright-cli that referenced this pull request Nov 8, 2026
@b1zya
chore: track microsoft/playwright-cli at 4bc00fb
2221361 
Resolves the blocked merge of tests/integration.spec.ts (b85c7a7 ->
4bc00fb). Upstream's update-check tests use an npm registry fixture; our
update check reads GitHub releases, so our cases stay. From microsoft#502 the
plain-mode --headed=false argument error is taken; the --json wrapping
(microsoft#522) is client code that arrives with a later patchright-core roll.

Closes #16
Closes #18
@b1zya bizya (b1zya) mentioned this pull request Nov 8, 2026
Merged
bizya (b1zya) added a commit to b1zya/patchright-cli that referenced this pull request Nov 8, 2026
@b1zya
chore: track microsoft/playwright-cli at 4bc00fb (#21)
aba1914 
Resolves the blocked merge of tests/integration.spec.ts (b85c7a7 ->
4bc00fb). Upstream's update-check tests use an npm registry fixture; our
update check reads GitHub releases, so our cases stay. From microsoft#502 the
plain-mode --headed=false argument error is taken; the --json wrapping
(microsoft#522) is client code that arrives with a later patchright-core roll.

Closes #16
Closes #18
@microsoft-playwright-automation microsoft-playwright-automation Bot mentioned this pull request Nov 10, 2026
Merged
Yury Semikhatsky (yury-s) pushed a commit that referenced this pull request Nov 10, 2026
@microsoft-playwright-automation
chore: mark v0.1.24 (#529)
2612064 
## ✨ Highlights

- **🪟 Let agents use your logged-in browser without taking over your
screen**
([microsoft/playwright#42973](microsoft/playwright#42973))
— `PLAYWRIGHT_MCP_BACKGROUND=1 playwright-cli attach --extension=chrome`
keeps controlled tabs and the browser window in the background. You can
also set `"background": true` in your CLI config.
([microsoft/playwright#43864](microsoft/playwright#43864))
- **🎬 Record the whole viewport in headless Chrome and Edge** —
`playwright-cli video-start` no longer loses the bottom of the page to
browser-toolbar sizing in the new headless mode. Trace screenshots
benefit too.
([microsoft/playwright#43904](microsoft/playwright#43904))
- **🧭 Snapshots keep the names agents need**
([microsoft/playwright#43809](microsoft/playwright#43809))
— `playwright-cli snapshot` preserves identifying names on dialogs,
landmarks, tables and column headers, even when their heading or caption
also appears below them.
([microsoft/playwright#43810](microsoft/playwright#43810))
- **👁️ Ignore hidden duplicate elements by default**
([microsoft/playwright#43855](microsoft/playwright#43855))
— set `"browser": { "contextOptions": { "locateOnlyVisible": true } }`
in your CLI config, then run `playwright-cli open
--config=cli.config.json`. Locators resolve only visible matches,
avoiding strict-mode failures from hidden, cached UI. This is opt-in.
([microsoft/playwright#43903](microsoft/playwright#43903))
- **🗂️ Keep your tab strip free of agent-created groups**
([microsoft/playwright#43038](microsoft/playwright#43038))
— set `"tabGroup": false` in your CLI config and use `playwright-cli
attach --extension=chrome --config=cli.config.json`. Extension sessions
can control tabs without creating a Chrome tab group or changing your
existing groups.
([microsoft/playwright#43814](microsoft/playwright#43814))

## 🐛 Fixes

- `fix(cli): use ordinal filenames for repeated downloads` — repeated
downloads of `report.csv` become `report-1.csv`, `report-2.csv`, and so
on instead of silently overwriting earlier files.
([#514](#514),
[microsoft/playwright#44011](microsoft/playwright#44011))
- `fix(cli): restrict profile deletion to the exact session` —
`playwright-cli -s=work delete-data` no longer deletes the persistent
profile of `work-test`.
([#499](#499),
[microsoft/playwright#43928](microsoft/playwright#43928))
- `fix(cli): report command failures in text and JSON modes` — invalid
arguments and startup failures produce a readable error, or an `{
"isError": true, "error": "..." }` object with `--json`, and exit with
code 1 instead of exposing an unhandled rejection.
([#502](#502),
[#522](#522))
- `fix(cli): use CLI command names in error messages` — validation
errors and recovery hints name commands you can actually run, such as
`requests` and `recording-start`, rather than MCP tools, and avoid
doubled `Error:` prefixes.
([#515](#515),
[microsoft/playwright#43932](microsoft/playwright#43932))
- `fix(cli): avoid killing Windows process enumerators` —
`playwright-cli kill-all` correctly reports the daemons it stopped on
Windows instead of saying none were found.
([#525](#525),
[microsoft/playwright#44008](microsoft/playwright#44008))
- `fix(mcp): preserve non-JSON evaluation results` — `playwright-cli
eval '() => 10n'`, circular objects, regular expressions and special
numeric values are represented without turning successful evaluations
into serialization errors or losing their values. JSON-compatible
results retain their existing format.
([microsoft/playwright-mcp#1838](microsoft/playwright-mcp#1838),
[microsoft/playwright#43973](microsoft/playwright#43973))
- `fix(mcp): resolve config file paths relative to their source` —
relative profile, storage-state, executable and output paths now resolve
next to the config file, including `.playwright/cli.config.json` and
`~/.playwright/cli.config.json`, rather than the working directory.
Paths supplied through flags or environment variables remain relative to
the working directory.
([microsoft/playwright-mcp#1836](microsoft/playwright-mcp#1836),
[microsoft/playwright#43970](microsoft/playwright#43970))
- `fix(mcp): validate device names and preserve device descriptors` — an
unknown `--device` reports a clear error instead of silently disabling
emulation; context overrides no longer mutate shared device presets.
([microsoft/playwright-mcp#1834](microsoft/playwright-mcp#1834),
[microsoft/playwright#43971](microsoft/playwright#43971))
- `fix(mcp): bound settle waits when page timers cannot run` — commands
such as `eval` and `click` no longer hang during their post-action wait
on CSP-sandboxed pages or pages with paused clocks.
([microsoft/playwright#43752](microsoft/playwright#43752),
[microsoft/playwright#43767](microsoft/playwright#43767))
- `fix(mcp): report event listener exceptions as console errors` —
exceptions in page or context listeners registered with `run-code`
appear in console output instead of terminating the session.
([microsoft/playwright#43770](microsoft/playwright#43770),
[microsoft/playwright#43686](microsoft/playwright#43686))
- `fix(mcp): report one-based console source lines` — `playwright-cli
console` reports line numbers that match editors and DevTools.
([microsoft/playwright-mcp#1839](microsoft/playwright-mcp#1839),
[microsoft/playwright#43975](microsoft/playwright#43975))
- `fix(extension): report lost tab instead of crashing` — losing the
last controlled tab produces an actionable error instead of an
undefined-property exception, with guidance when another extension's
frame may have caused debugger detachment.
([microsoft/playwright#43230](microsoft/playwright#43230),
[microsoft/playwright#43863](microsoft/playwright#43863))
- `fix(chromium): honor Linux config directories for channel
connections` — browser discovery and attachment respect
`CHROME_CONFIG_HOME` and `XDG_CONFIG_HOME`; CDP connections also use the
WebSocket path recorded by Chrome instead of failing with a 404.
([microsoft/playwright#43880](microsoft/playwright#43880),
[microsoft/playwright#43884](microsoft/playwright#43884))
- `fix(chromium): preserve fonts when connecting with noDefaults` —
attaching to an existing headless browser preserves its font settings
and page layout.
([microsoft/playwright#43715](microsoft/playwright#43715),
[microsoft/playwright#43773](microsoft/playwright#43773))
- `fix(chromium): preserve HTTP navigations across HTTPS upgrade modes`
— explicit HTTP URLs and HTTP route mocks stay on HTTP instead of being
unexpectedly upgraded or failing in Chromium, Chrome and Edge.
([microsoft/playwright#43871](microsoft/playwright#43871),
[microsoft/playwright#43877](microsoft/playwright#43877))
- `fix(screenshot): support full-page SVG documents` — `playwright-cli
screenshot --full-page` captures standalone SVG documents instead of
timing out.
([microsoft/playwright#43962](microsoft/playwright#43962),
[microsoft/playwright#43972](microsoft/playwright#43972))
- `feat(actionability): wait for elements to be non-inert` — clicks,
fills and option selection wait for inert subtrees to become
interactive. Inert elements and content outside modal dialogs remain
available in snapshots and role locators.
([microsoft/playwright#43792](microsoft/playwright#43792),
[microsoft/playwright#43850](microsoft/playwright#43850),
[microsoft/playwright#43851](microsoft/playwright#43851))
- `fix(selectors): support labels for form-associated custom elements` —
label locators and accessible names recognize labels associated with
custom form controls.
([microsoft/playwright#43898](microsoft/playwright#43898),
[microsoft/playwright#43900](microsoft/playwright#43900))
- `fix(aria): match mixed-case selected options in accessible names` —
embedded comboboxes contribute their selected option's name even with
values such as `aria-selected="True"`.
([microsoft/playwright#43785](microsoft/playwright#43785),
[microsoft/playwright#43787](microsoft/playwright#43787))
- `fix(selector generator): do not throw when css fallback path is not
unique` — ambiguous matches in slotted web components report a useful
strict-mode error instead of a `TypeError`.
([microsoft/playwright#43701](microsoft/playwright#43701),
[microsoft/playwright#43705](microsoft/playwright#43705))
- `fix(frames): reject context waits when page closes` — pending
operations on an iframe whose document has not loaded fail when its page
closes instead of waiting indefinitely.
([microsoft/playwright#43647](microsoft/playwright#43647),
[microsoft/playwright#43650](microsoft/playwright#43650))
- `fix(install): report missing dependencies for all browsers` —
`playwright-cli install-browser` reports missing Linux dependencies
across browsers in one pass, including package names for Vulkan and
Graphene.
([microsoft/playwright#43747](microsoft/playwright#43747),
[microsoft/playwright#43750](microsoft/playwright#43750))

## 📦 Upgrading

```bash
npm install -g @playwright/cli@0.1.24
```

Co-authored-by: microsoft-playwright-automation[bot] <203992400+microsoft-playwright-automation[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>
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@playwright/cli crashes with a raw Node stack trace on any input error (and prints no JSON with --json)

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