scriptwriter

✍️ Scriptwriter

Learn what Playwright can do in each of the various browsers it supports. By default, Scriptwriter loads Chromium and creates a Chrome Devtools Protocol (CDP) client for more repl fun!

Installation

1. Ensure you have Node.js 24.14.0 or higher.
2. Install Playwright as a peer dependency: Scriptwriter requires playwright@^1.60.0.
   • For global installs: npm i -g playwright
   • For local project: npm install playwright
   • In a monorepo: install in the project’s node_modules or a parent workspace
3. Install Scriptwriter: npm i -g scriptwriter.
4. Or clone this repo, install, and use npm link or npm start.

Playwright Resolution

Scriptwriter uses a “nearest” resolution strategy to find the installed Playwright package:

1. Current working directory — Searches node_modules/playwright in the directory where scriptwriter is run
2. Parent directories — Traverses up the directory tree looking for installed Playwright
3. Installation location — Falls back to Playwright installed alongside Scriptwriter

This means you can:

• Run Scriptwriter from a project with its own Playwright installation
• Use a global Playwright with scriptwriter -g
• Use Playwright from any parent directory in a monorepo or nested project structure

Get Started

1. scriptwriter --no-headless will launch the repl and Chromium.
2. Use await right away: await page.goto('https://github.com')
3. The prompt will change on load: github.com ~>
4. .help lists the global commands.
5. Pressing Tab twice will display autocomplete help.
6. Save and load your repl sessions!

Dump Command

Scriptwriter now supports the .dump command to serialize and save objects to disk in multiple formats.

Usage:

.dump <object> [type] [depth]

Examples:

.dump page json
.dump browser ansi 2
.dump myData txt 3

Supported output types:

• txt (default): saves a plain-text util.inspect dump.
• json: saves JSON.stringify(obj, null, ' ') for readable JSON.
• ansi: saves an ANSI-colored util.inspect dump for terminal-style output.

For the ansi output type, use a suitable editor viewer such as the VS Code extension ANSI Colors to get proper syntax highlighting for .ansi files.

Config

You can use cli flags to set the config scriptwriter --help:

  Usage
    $ scriptwriter [--no-headless] [--device <name>] [--config <file>]
                   [--browser <browser>] [--no-js] [--no-csp]
  Options
    --no-headless, --no-h  Run as headless=false
    --device, -d           Load a device profile from Playwright
    --config, -c           Pass a config file to Scriptwriter
    --browser, -b          Change browsers (default: chromium)
    --no-js                Disable JavaScript
    --no-csp               Bypass CSP
    --aom, -a              Launch with Accessibility Object Model (AOM) enabled
    --user, -u             Launch with a Persistent Context
  Examples
    $ scriptwriter
    $ scriptwriter --no-headless
    $ scriptwriter --device 'iPhone X'
    $ scriptwriter --config ./config.js
    $ scriptwriter -c ./config.json --no-h
    $ scriptwriter --no-js --b firefox

Config File

You can also load a config from a file. File values are deep-merged into the runtime config so nested launch and context options work as expected.

// iphonex.json
{
	"launch": {
		"headless": true,
		"args": ["--some-blink-specific-tag-name"]
	},
	"context": {},
	"device": "iPhone X"
}

scriptwriter --config iphonex.json

Custom Commands

You can load your own commands. Scriptwriter exposes some helpful utility functions.

• director = node repl instance
• scriptwriter.code = prettier.format
• scriptwriter.color = kleur
• scriptwriter.error = pretty-error
• scriptwriter.escapes = ansi-escapes
• scriptwriter.importGlobal = import-global

Example:

// my-command.js
scriptwriter.completion = '.louder';
director.defineCommand('louder', {
	help: `make something louder`,
	async action(str) {
		const { log, color } = scriptwriter;
		log(color.red(`${str.toUpperCase()}!!`));
		director.displayPrompt();
	},
});

// in the scriptwriter repl
> .load my-command.js
> .louder test
TEST!!

Mac Firewall

On a mac, you may get the firewall popup.

1. Open keychain access.
2. In the top menu, choose Keychain Access > Certificate Assistant > Create a Certificate.
3. Name it Playwright.
4. Change the Certificate Type to Code Signing.
5. Click create.
6. Right click your new certificate and choose Get Info.
7. Open Trust disclosure.
8. Change When using this certificate: to Always Trust.
9. Start Scriptwriter.
10. When Chromium starts, right click the icon in the menu bar, choose Options > Show in Finder.
11. Right click Chromium and select New Terminal Here.
12. In the terminal type pwd and copy the path.
13. Use the following to assign the certificate: sudo codesign -s Playwright -f <PATH_TO_CHROMIUM> --deep.

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