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openclaw - 💡(How to fix) Fix [Bug]: Browser tool install guidance is misleading: runtime requires playwright-core, while error message tells users to install playwright [3 comments, 3 participants]

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openclaw/openclaw#70323•Fetched 2026-04-23 07:26:17
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DanThe3rDanThe3r
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DanThe3rDanThe3rHonorLivesHonorLivessteipetesteipete
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On OpenClaw 2026.4.21 (Windows), Playwright-backed browser features failed even though playwright was installed globally and the gateway was restarted.

The browser tool reported:

Playwright is not available in this gateway build; 'ai snapshot' is unsupported.
Install the full Playwright package (not playwright-core) and restart the gateway, or reinstall with browser support.

However, the actual runtime dependency path in this build imports playwright-core, not playwright.

Installing playwright-core restored browser AI snapshot functionality.

Error Message

Browser features such as AI snapshot failed with an error telling the user to install playwright and specifically not playwright-core. Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package 'playwright-core' imported from ...\openclaw\dist\pw-ai-BH7haYOx.js OpenClaw should work when playwright is installed, as the error message suggests The error message should clearly instruct users to install playwright-core Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package 'playwright-core' imported from ...\openclaw\dist\pw-ai-BH7haYOx.js Error: refs=aria requires Playwright _snapshotForAI support.

Root Cause

On OpenClaw 2026.4.21 (Windows), Playwright-backed browser features failed even though playwright was installed globally and the gateway was restarted.

The browser tool reported:

Playwright is not available in this gateway build; 'ai snapshot' is unsupported.
Install the full Playwright package (not playwright-core) and restart the gateway, or reinstall with browser support.

However, the actual runtime dependency path in this build imports playwright-core, not playwright.

Installing playwright-core restored browser AI snapshot functionality.

Code Example

Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package 'playwright-core' imported from ...\openclaw\dist\pw-ai-BH7haYOx.js
RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Bug type

Regression (worked before, now fails)

Beta release blocker

No

Summary

On OpenClaw 2026.4.21 (Windows), Playwright-backed browser features failed even though playwright was installed globally and the gateway was restarted.

The browser tool reported:

Playwright is not available in this gateway build; 'ai snapshot' is unsupported.
Install the full Playwright package (not playwright-core) and restart the gateway, or reinstall with browser support.

However, the actual runtime dependency path in this build imports playwright-core, not playwright.

Installing playwright-core restored browser AI snapshot functionality.

Steps to reproduce

Environment

OpenClaw: 2026.4.21
OS: Windows
Node: v22.x
Install method: global npm
Gateway restarted after installs

Observed behavior

Browser features such as AI snapshot failed with an error telling the user to install playwright and specifically not playwright-core.

At the same time, the OpenClaw runtime module:

dist/pw-ai-BH7haYOx.js

imports:

playwright-core

The direct import failure was:

Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package 'playwright-core' imported from ...\openclaw\dist\pw-ai-BH7haYOx.js

Investigation details Installed packages

playwright was installed globally
playwright-core was not installed initially

Result

Browser Playwright-backed features still failed
After installing playwright-core and restarting the gateway, AI snapshot began working again

Relevant runtime behavior

In server-context-*.js, OpenClaw reports:

Install the full Playwright package (not playwright-core) ...

But the Playwright AI module actually imports:

import { chromium, devices } from "playwright-core";

That creates a mismatch between:

user-facing install guidance
actual runtime import requirements

Expected behavior

Expected behavior

One of these should be true:

OpenClaw should work when playwright is installed, as the error message suggests
The error message should clearly instruct users to install playwright-core
OpenClaw should bundle or declare the required Playwright dependency explicitly

Actual behavior

Actual behavior

Users are told to install playwright, but the runtime still fails until playwright-core is installed manually.

OpenClaw version

v2026 4.21

Operating system

Windows 11 version 25

Install method

NPM

Model

GPT 5.4

Provider / routing chain

openclaw -> local gateway -> browser/playwright integration

Additional provider/model setup details

No response

Logs, screenshots, and evidence

Error [ERR_MODULE_NOT_FOUND]: Cannot find package 'playwright-core' imported from ...\openclaw\dist\pw-ai-BH7haYOx.js

Impact and severity

I am using openclaw for automated web design work only and with out this feature openclaw is not able to do the work on its own

Additional information

Additional note

After installing playwright-core, snapshotFormat="ai" started working, but refs="aria" still failed with:

Error: refs=aria requires Playwright _snapshotForAI support.

That may be a separate compatibility issue, but the dependency/install guidance mismatch seems like a clear bug on its own.

extent analysis

TL;DR

The most likely fix is to install playwright-core instead of relying solely on the globally installed playwright to enable Playwright-backed browser features in OpenClaw.

Guidance

  • Verify that playwright-core is installed by checking the package list with npm ls playwright-core or by attempting to install it with npm install playwright-core.
  • Ensure the OpenClaw gateway is restarted after installing playwright-core to apply the changes.
  • Review the OpenClaw documentation and error messages for consistency regarding the installation requirements for playwright versus playwright-core.
  • Consider reporting the discrepancy between the user-facing guidance and the actual runtime dependency on playwright-core to the OpenClaw developers for clarification and potential update.

Example

No specific code snippet is necessary for this issue, as the resolution involves package installation and potential documentation updates rather than code changes.

Notes

The issue seems to stem from a mismatch between the installation guidance provided by OpenClaw and the actual dependencies required by its Playwright-backed features. Installing playwright-core resolves the immediate issue but highlights a need for clearer documentation or dependency management.

Recommendation

Apply the workaround by installing playwright-core to enable the required functionality, as the current version of OpenClaw (2026.4.21) does not correctly handle the dependency through the globally installed playwright. This recommendation is based on the observed behavior and error messages provided in the issue description.

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FAQ

Expected behavior

Expected behavior

One of these should be true:

OpenClaw should work when playwright is installed, as the error message suggests
The error message should clearly instruct users to install playwright-core
OpenClaw should bundle or declare the required Playwright dependency explicitly
#training loop#device allocation#model download#tokenizer error#prompt formatting

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