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Browser Management

robo-appian depends on the browser automation runtime and provides a platform-independent command for provisioning framework-managed browser binaries.

Install all browsers

robo-appian install-browser

Equivalent explicit form:

robo-appian install-browser all

Install one browser

robo-appian install-browser firefox
robo-appian install-browser chromium
robo-appian install-browser webkit

Internally, the command runs the equivalent of:

<current-python> -m playwright install [browser]

It does not rely on a platform-specific playwright executable being on PATH.

Runtime browser selection

Browser installation and browser execution are separate decisions.

The generic lifecycle selects a browser from the automation configuration. The common setting is:

BROWSER=firefox

Supported browser engine names are:

  • chromium
  • firefox
  • webkit

If no value is configured, the generic lifecycle defaults to Chromium.

For a visible local browser session:

HEAD_LESS=false

CI guidance

Install the browser during environment/bootstrap setup, not inside individual tests. For example:

pip install robo-appian
robo-appian install-browser firefox
pytest

On Linux, the selected browser may also require operating-system libraries provided by the runner/container image.