# Browser Recording

> Browser Recording is an Agent Skill for documents published in the athola/claude-night-market repository on GitHub: a SKILL.md instruction file an AI agent can load to do this task.

Records browser sessions via Playwright and converts video to GIF. Use when creating web UI tutorials or demos showing browser interactions.

- Skill name: `browser-recording`
- Category: [Documents](https://www.openparable.com/skill/documents/1)
- Source: https://github.com/athola/claude-night-market/blob/HEAD/plugins/scry/skills/browser-recording/SKILL.md
- Repository: athola/claude-night-market (323 GitHub stars when collected)

## SKILL.md

## Table of Contents

- [Overview](#overview)
- [Required TodoWrite Items](#required-todowrite-items)
- [Process](#process)
- [Step 1: Validate Playwright Installation](#step-1:-validate-playwright-installation)
- [Step 2: Check Spec File](#step-2:-check-spec-file)
- [Step 3: Execute Recording](#step-3:-execute-recording)
- [Step 4: Convert to GIF](#step-4:-convert-to-gif)
- [Example Playwright Spec](#example-playwright-spec)
- [Playwright Configuration](#playwright-configuration)
- [Exit Criteria](#exit-criteria)
- [Error Handling](#error-handling)
- [Output Locations](#output-locations)
- [See Also](#see-also)


# Browser Recording Skill

Record browser sessions using Playwright to create video captures of web UI interactions for tutorials and documentation.


## When To Use

- Recording browser sessions with Playwright
- Creating web application demo recordings

## When NOT To Use

- Terminal-only workflows - use scry:vhs-recording instead
- Static screenshots - use standard screenshot tools

## Overview

This skill uses Playwright's built-in video recording to capture browser interactions. The workflow:

1. Validate Playwright installation
2. Execute a Playwright spec with video recording enabled
3. Retrieve the recorded video (WebM format)
4. Convert to GIF using the gif-generation skill

> **💡 Note**: Claude Code 2.0.72+ includes native Chrome integration for interactive browser control. This skill (Playwright) is designed for **automated recording workflows, CI/CD, and cross-browser support**. For interactive debugging and live testing, consider using native Chrome integration. Both approaches complement each other - develop interactively with Chrome, then automate with Playwright specs.

## Required TodoWrite Items

When invoking this skill, create todos for:

```
- [ ] Validate Playwright is installed and configured
- [ ] Check spec file exists at specified path
- [ ] Execute Playwright spec with video recording
- [ ] Locate and verify video output
- [ ] Convert video to GIF using gif-generation skill
```
**Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability.

## Process

### Step 1: Validate Playwright Installation

Check that Playwright is available:

```bash
npx playwright --version
```
**Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability.

If not installed, the user should run:
```bash
npm install -D @playwright/test
npx playwright install chromium
```
**Verification:** Run `pytest -v` to verify tests pass.

### Step 2: Check Spec File

Verify the Playwright spec file exists. Spec files should:
- Be located in a `specs/` or `tests/` directory
- Have `.spec.ts` or `.spec.js` extension
- Include video configuration (see spec-execution module)

### Step 3: Execute Recording

Run the spec with video enabled:

```bash
npx playwright test <spec-file> --config=playwright.config.ts
```
**Verification:** Run `pytest -v` to verify tests pass.

The config must enable video recording. See the spec-execution module for configuration details.

### Step 4: Convert to GIF

After recording completes, use the gif-generation skill to convert the WebM video to an optimized GIF:

```
**Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability.
Invoke scry:gif-generation with:
- input: <path-to-webm>
- output: <desired-gif-path>
- fps: 10 (recommended for tutorials)
- width: 800 (adjust based on content)
```
**Verification:** Run the command with `--help` flag to verify availability.

## Example Playwright Spec

```typescript
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('demo workflow', async ({ page }) => {
  // Navigate to the application
  await page.goto('http://localhost:3000');

  // Wait for page to be ready
  await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');

  // Perform demo actions
  await page.click('button[data-testid="start"]');
  await page.waitForTimeout(500); // Allow animation to complete

  await page.fill('input[name="query"]', 'example search');
  await page.waitForTimeout(300);

  await page.click('button[type="submit"]');
  await page.waitForSelector('.results');

  // Final pause to show results
  await page.waitForTimeout(1000);
});
```
**Verification:** Run `pytest -v` to verify tests pass.

## Playwright Configuration

Create or update `playwright.config.ts`:

```typescript
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';

export default defineConfig({
  use: {
    video: {
      mode: 'on',
      size: { width: 1280, height: 720 }
    },
    viewport: { width: 1280, height: 720 },
    launchOptions: {
      slowMo: 100 // Slow down actions for visibility
    }
  },
  outputDir: './test-results',
});
```
**Verification:** Run `pytest -v` to verify tests pass.

## Exit Criteria

- Playwright spec executed successfully (exit code 0)
- Video file exists in output directory
- Video has non-zero file size
- GIF conversion completed (if requested)

## Error Handling

| Error | Resolution |
|-------|------------|
| Playwright not installed | Run `npm install -D @playwright/test` |
| Browser not installed | Run `npx playwright install chromium` |
| Spec file not found | Verify path and file extension |
| Video not created | Check Playwright config has video enabled |
| Empty video file | validate spec actions complete before test ends |

## Output Locations

Default output paths:
- Videos: `./test-results/<test-name>/video.webm`
- Screenshots: `./test-results/<test-name>/screenshot.png`

## Module Reference

- See `modules/spec-execution.md` for detailed Playwright execution options
- See `modules/video-capture.md` for video format and quality settings

## See Also

- scry:gif-generation: Convert video to optimized GIF

---

Source: https://www.openparable.com/skill/documents/browser-recording (OpenParable). Cite the canonical URL above.