Browser ↔ Playwright Bridge

OpenClaw's browser tool and external Playwright scripts cannot share the same CDP connection simultaneously. This skill provides a lock-based bridge: stop OpenClaw browser → run Playwright with the same Chrome profile (cookies/login intact) → release for OpenClaw to reconnect.

Architecture

Chrome (CDP port)  ←  shared user-data-dir (~/.openclaw/browser/openclaw/user-data)
       ↕ mutually exclusive
┌──────────────┐    ┌──────────────────┐
│ OpenClaw     │ OR │ Playwright script │
│ browser tool │    │ (zero token cost) │
└──────────────┘    └──────────────────┘
       ↕ managed by browser-lock.sh

Setup

1. Install Playwright in the workspace (once):

cd <workspace> && npm install playwright

Note: npx playwright install is NOT needed. Playwright connects to the existing Chrome via CDP — no local browser download required.

2. Copy scripts/browser-lock.sh to your workspace scripts/ directory:

chmod +x scripts/browser-lock.sh

Discovering the CDP Port

The CDP port is dynamically assigned. Never hardcode it. Use discoverCdpUrl() (see below) or the shell equivalent in browser-lock.sh.

Shell one-liner:

ps aux | grep 'remote-debugging-port=' | grep -v grep | grep -o 'remote-debugging-port=[0-9]*' | head -1 | cut -d= -f2

Verify CDP is responding:

curl -s --max-time 1 http://127.0.0.1:<port>/json/version

Usage

Run a Playwright script (recommended)

./scripts/browser-lock.sh run scripts/my-task.js [args...]
./scripts/browser-lock.sh run --timeout 120 scripts/my-task.js  # custom timeout

Default timeout: 300s. If the script exceeds it, the watchdog kills it and releases the lock.

This automatically: checks lock → stops OpenClaw browser → starts Chrome with CDP → runs script → cleans up → releases lock.

Manual acquire/release

./scripts/browser-lock.sh acquire    # stop OpenClaw browser, start Chrome
node scripts/my-task.js              # run script(s)
./scripts/browser-lock.sh release    # kill Chrome, release lock

Check status

./scripts/browser-lock.sh status

Writing Playwright Scripts

Use scripts/playwright-template.js as starting point.

CDP Discovery Helper

All scripts should use discoverCdpUrl() instead of hardcoding a port:

const { execSync } = require('child_process');

/**
 * Discover the CDP URL by inspecting Chrome process args.
 * Falls back to CDP_PORT env var, then probes common ports.
 */
function discoverCdpUrl() {
  // Method 1: extract from running Chrome process
  try {
    const ps = execSync(
      "ps aux | grep 'remote-debugging-port=' | grep -v grep",
      { encoding: 'utf8', timeout: 3000 }
    );
    const match = ps.match(/remote-debugging-port=(\d+)/);
    if (match) return `http://127.0.0.1:${match[1]}`;
  } catch {}

  // Method 2: CDP_PORT env var
  if (process.env.CDP_PORT) {
    return `http://127.0.0.1:${process.env.CDP_PORT}`;
  }

  // Method 3: probe common ports
  // 18800 is the typical OpenClaw default; others are common CDP conventions
  const { execSync: probe } = require('child_process');
  for (const port of [18800, 9222, 9229]) {
    try {
      probe(`curl -s --max-time 1 http://127.0.0.1:${port}/json/version`, {
        encoding: 'utf8', timeout: 2000
      });
      return `http://127.0.0.1:${port}`;
    } catch {}
  }

  throw new Error('CDP port not found. Is Chrome running with --remote-debugging-port?');
}

Script Pattern

const { chromium } = require('playwright');

async function main() {
  let browser;
  try {
    browser = await chromium.connectOverCDP(discoverCdpUrl());
  } catch (e) {
    console.error('❌ Cannot connect to Chrome CDP:', e.message);
    console.error('   Ensure browser-lock.sh acquire was called, or Chrome is running with --remote-debugging-port');
    process.exit(1);
  }

  const context = browser.contexts()[0]; // reuse existing context (cookies!)
  const page = await context.newPage();

  try {
    // ====== Your automation here ======
    await page.goto('https://example.com');
    console.log('Title:', await page.title());
    // ==================================
  } catch (e) {
    console.error('❌ Script error:', e.message);
    throw e;
  } finally {
    await page.close();     // close only your tab
    // NEVER call browser.close() — it kills the entire Chrome
  }
}

main().then(() => process.exit(0)).catch(e => {
  console.error('❌', e.message);
  process.exit(1);
});

Critical rules:

• browser.contexts()[0] — reuse the existing context to inherit cookies/login
• page.close() only — never browser.close()
• Always process.exit(0) on success — Playwright keeps event loops alive otherwise
• Wrap connectOverCDP in try-catch — fail fast with a clear message

Workflow: Explore → Record → Replay

1. Explore — Use OpenClaw browser tool (snapshot/act) to figure out a new workflow
2. Record — Ask the agent to convert the steps into a Playwright script
3. Replay — Run via browser-lock.sh run — zero token cost, deterministic

Cron / Scheduled Tasks

In cron tasks, call browser-lock.sh directly:

cd /path/to/workspace && ./scripts/browser-lock.sh run scripts/publish-task.js

The lock file (/tmp/openclaw-browser.lock) prevents concurrent browser access. If a lock is stale (owner process dead), it auto-recovers.

Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Lock held by PID xxx	./scripts/browser-lock.sh release to force-release
Playwright connectOverCDP timeout	Ensure OpenClaw browser is stopped first (acquire does this)
CDP port not found	Chrome isn't running; call browser-lock.sh acquire first
openclaw browser stop doesn't kill Chrome	Known issue; browser-lock.sh kills the process directly
Script hangs after completion	Add process.exit(0) at the end
Login expired	Use OpenClaw browser tool to re-login, then run scripts again

Environment Variables

Var	Default	Description
CDP_PORT	auto-discover	Override CDP port (skips process detection)
CHROME_BIN	auto-detect	Path to Chrome/Chromium binary
HEADLESS	auto	Set true/1 to force headless; false/0 to force headed. Auto-detects on Linux without DISPLAY