Playwright has become very popular in recent years for end-to-end (E2E) testing of web applications. Being able to test different browsers such as Chromium, Firefox and WebKit with a single API provides great convenience. However, when it comes to installing Playwright on Arch Linux, things may not always go smoothly. Various dependencies, missing libraries and frequent package changes on AUR can prolong the installation process.
In this article, I will explain step by step how to install Playwright on Arch Linux based on my own experiences and community solutions. 🎯
1. What is Playwright and Why is it Used?#
Let's start with a brief summary. Playwright is an open source test automation tool developed by Microsoft. Its main features:
- 🌐 Chromium, Firefox and WebKit support
- 🖥️ Headless (invisible) and headed (visible) mode support
- 📱 Mobile device simulation
- ⚡ Fast and reliable test automation
If you are a web developer or want to automate your CI/CD processes, Playwright will be very useful to you.
2. First Step: Installing Required Dependencies#
If you try to install Playwright directly on Arch Linux, you will most likely encounter error messages about missing libraries. Therefore, we need to install the following dependencies first:
sudo pacman -S --needed core/nss core/nspr extra/at-spi2-core extra/libcups extra/libdrm \
core/dbus extra/libxcb extra/libxkbcommon extra/libx11 extra/libxcomposite \
extra/libxdamage extra/libxext extra/libxfixes extra/libxrandr extra/mesa \
extra/pango extra/cairo extra/alsa-lib extra/xorg-server-xvfb
Important These packages mostly meet the GUI-related needs of browsers. These dependencies are required even in headless mode.
3. Installing Playwright via AUR#
After installing the basic dependencies, it's time to install Playwright. The most practical way for Arch Linux users is to install via AUR:
yay -S playwright
After the installation is complete, you will be able to use Playwright. However, real world experience shows that some libraries may still be missing. 😅
4. Missing Libraries and Solutions#
I have collected the most common errors you may encounter after installation and their solutions below.
🔹 libffi.so.7 and libpcre.so.3 Errors#
yay -S libffi7
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/libpcre.so /usr/lib/libpcre.so.3
🔹 icu66 and enchant#
yay -S icu66 enchant libffi7
sudo pacman -S woff2 hyphen
🔹 Missing libwebp.so.6#
The old libwebp version is no longer available in AUR. There are two solutions:
- Compiling from Source
git clone https://chromium.googlesource.com/webm/libwebp
cd libwebp
git checkout v0.5.2-rc2
./autogen.sh
./configure
make
sudo make install
sudo cp src/.libs/libwebp.so.6.0.2 /usr/lib/libwebp.so.6
- Using New libwebp Package
yay -S libwebp
sudo ln -s /usr/lib/libwebp.so.7 /usr/lib/libwebp.so.6
🔹 flite Dependency#
git clone https://github.com/festvox/flite.git
cd flite
./configure --enable-shared
make
make get_voices
sudo cp build/x86_64-linux-gnu/lib/*.so* /usr/lib
Warning The flite1 package in AUR usually comes with missing libraries, so compiling manually is healthier.
🔹 libxml2 Connection Issues#
yay -S libxml2
cd /usr/lib
sudo ln -s libxml2.so.16.0.5 libxml2.so.2
5. For Those Who Want to Install Playwright with Pip 👩💻#
If you don't want to bother with AUR, you can also install Playwright via pip:
pip install playwright
python -m playwright install
However, you may encounter dependency problems with this method as well. The commands given for Debian/Ubuntu are not valid for Arch. Still, you can complete the missing libraries with the steps above.
6. ImportError: sync_playwright Error#
Another common problem is an import error like the following:
from playwright import sync_playwright
This method is now obsolete. The correct way should be:
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
Hint Follow Playwright version notes. Import paths can change frequently.
7. Conclusion#
Although Playwright installation on Arch Linux is a bit more troublesome compared to other distributions, it works smoothly after installing the correct dependencies. With the steps I shared in this guide:
- You installed the required dependencies ✅
- You installed Playwright via AUR ✅
- You fixed missing libraries ✅
- You found solutions to common errors ✅
Now you can test your web applications with Playwright with peace of mind. 🚀
What problems did you encounter while installing Playwright on Arch Linux? Don't forget to share in the comments! 😊
Comments