Runtime

How to run Playwright in a cloud sandbox

Install Playwright and Chromium in a Linux microVM, run your script there, and copy the screenshots or results back.

On Runtime it takes one sandbox and three commands. Every sandbox is a Firecracker microVM running Ubuntu 24.04 with Node.js 24 and sudo, so Playwright's own installer works unchanged. Build it into an image once and every later sandbox starts with Chromium ready. Playwright 1.63.0 was the current release on 24 September 2026.

Take a screenshot

TypeScriptimport { writeFile } from "node:fs/promises";import { Sandbox } from "withruntime";const script = `import { chromium } from "playwright";const browser = await chromium.launch();const page = await browser.newPage();await page.goto(process.argv[2]);await page.screenshot({ path: "shot.png", fullPage: true });console.log(await page.title());await browser.close();`;await using sbx = await Sandbox.create({ diskMiB: 8192, timeoutSeconds: 900 });const slow = { check: true, timeoutMs: 600_000 } as const;await sbx.exec("npm install --no-fund --no-audit playwright@1.63.0", slow);await sbx.exec("sudo npx playwright install-deps chromium", slow);await sbx.exec("npx playwright install chromium", slow);await sbx.files.write("/workspace/shot.mjs", script);const run = await sbx.exec(["node", "shot.mjs", "https://example.com"], { check: true });console.log(run.stdout); // the page's titleawait writeFile("shot.png", await sbx.files.read("/workspace/shot.png"));
  • Disk: ask for 8 GiB. The default 4 GiB sandbox has about 2.5 GiB free, and Chromium with its system libraries takes a large share of that.
  • Timeouts: installs take longer than the 60-second default for a command, so give them timeoutMs.
  • The free trial reaches ports 80 and 443, which is all Playwright's installer and most sites need. Paid sandboxes reach any port.

Install once, start ready

Put Chromium in a custom image and every sandbox made from it skips the install. Building an image is free; a stored image is charged on its size, and the free trial stores your first three free.

TypeScriptimport { Runtime } from "withruntime";const runtime = new Runtime();await runtime.images.build({  name: "playwright",  recipe: {    env: { PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH: "/opt/ms-playwright" },    commands: [      "npm init -y && npm install --no-fund --no-audit playwright@1.63.0",      "npx playwright install --with-deps chromium",    ],  },});await using sbx = await runtime.sandboxes.create({ image: "playwright" });await sbx.exec("node -e \"require('playwright').chromium.launch().then(b => b.close())\"", {  check: true,});

Recipe commands run as root in /workspace. PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH puts the browser where the sandbox's own user finds it.

Run your test suite

For @playwright/test, upload the project and run it as you would locally:

TypeScriptimport { Sandbox } from "withruntime";await using sbx = await Sandbox.create({ image: "playwright", timeoutSeconds: 1800 });await sbx.files.upload("./e2e", "/workspace/e2e");const run = await sbx.exec("cd e2e && npm ci && npx playwright test --reporter=line", {  timeoutMs: 1_200_000,  onStdout: (text) => process.stdout.write(text),});await sbx.files.download("/workspace/e2e/playwright-report", "./playwright-report");process.exitCode = run.exitCode ?? 1;

Output streams as the tests run. The report comes back as a folder in one call.

Test an app running in the same sandbox

Start your server in the background and point Playwright at localhost:

TypeScriptimport { Sandbox } from "withruntime";await using sbx = await Sandbox.create({ image: "playwright" });await sbx.files.upload("./app", "/workspace/app");await sbx.spawn("cd app && npm ci && npm start");await sbx.exec("npx wait-on http://localhost:3000", { check: true, timeoutMs: 180_000 });await sbx.exec("cd app && npx playwright test", { check: true, timeoutMs: 600_000 });

To watch the app yourself, share the port as a private HTTPS preview.

Let an agent drive the browser

An agent that needs to click through a site can use the sandbox's desktop, which takes clicks and keys and returns screenshots, or run the Playwright MCP server inside the sandbox (MCP servers in a sandbox).

For a full agent loop of screenshots, clicks and typing, see a browser automation agent.

Many browsers at once

Each sandbox is its own machine, so parallel runs never share a browser profile, cookies or downloads. A paid account runs 100 sandboxes at once to start with. A 2 vCPU, 4 GiB sandbox costs $0.08 an hour with both CPUs busy and $0.03125 an hour while it waits on a page, because Runtime bills the CPU your code uses (pricing).

For end-to-end tests of apps an agent builds, see preview agent-built apps; to keep untrusted pages away from your network, see run untrusted LLM code.

New accounts get 50 free sandbox hours, no card:

Terminalnpx withruntime sandbox run --trial -- node --version

Facts on this page were checked on 24 September 2026.

Claim 50 hours free