[BUG] Playwright cannot download the browsers automatically

I’m trying to use Playwright in a Java EE environment with Zulu 11 and I always get this error messaged when launching chromium.

com.microsoft.playwright.PlaywrightException: Error {
  message='Failed to launch chromium because executable doesn't exist at C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-857950\chrome-win\chrome.exe
Try re-installing playwright with "npm install playwright"
  name='Error
  stack='Error: Failed to launch chromium because executable doesn't exist at C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-857950\chrome-win\chrome.exe
Try re-installing playwright with "npm install playwright"
    at Chromium._launchProcess (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\browserType.js:174:19)
    at async Chromium._innerLaunch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\browserType.js:110:62)
    at async ProgressController.run (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\progress.js:79:28)
    at async Chromium.launch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\browserType.js:78:25)
    at async BrowserTypeDispatcher.launch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\dispatchers\browserTypeDispatcher.js:30:25)
    at async DispatcherConnection.dispatch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\dispatchers\dispatcher.js:181:28)
}
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.WaitableResult.get(WaitableResult.java:54)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.ChannelOwner.runUntil(ChannelOwner.java:88)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.Connection.sendMessage(Connection.java:96)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.ChannelOwner.sendMessage(ChannelOwner.java:79)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.BrowserTypeImpl.launchImpl(BrowserTypeImpl.java:49)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.BrowserTypeImpl.lambda$launch$0(BrowserTypeImpl.java:41)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.LoggingSupport.withLogging(LoggingSupport.java:47)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.BrowserTypeImpl.launch(BrowserTypeImpl.java:41)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.BrowserTypeImpl.launch(BrowserTypeImpl.java:34)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.BrowserType.launch(BrowserType.java:601)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.labmessage.LabMessageController.convertToPdf(LabMessageController.java:965)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.labmessage.LabMessageController.downloadLabMessage(LabMessageController.java:941)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.labmessage.LabMessageGrid.lambda$buildDownloadButton$c7abbaac$1(LabMessageGrid.java:177)
    at com.vaadin.server.StreamResource.getStream(StreamResource.java:143)
    at com.vaadin.server.FileDownloader.handleConnectorRequest(FileDownloader.java:167)
    at com.vaadin.server.ConnectorResourceHandler.handleRequest(ConnectorResourceHandler.java:90)
    at com.vaadin.server.VaadinService.handleRequest(VaadinService.java:1608)
    at com.vaadin.server.VaadinServlet.service(VaadinServlet.java:448)
    at javax.servlet.http.HttpServlet.service(HttpServlet.java:750)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapper.service(StandardWrapper.java:1628)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:339)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:209)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.SessionFilter.lambda$doFilter$2(SessionFilter.java:72)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.SessionFilterBean.doFilter(SessionFilterBean.java:37)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(NativeMethodAccessorImpl.java:62)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
    at org.glassfish.ejb.security.application.EJBSecurityManager.runMethod(EJBSecurityManager.java:588)
    at org.glassfish.ejb.security.application.EJBSecurityManager.invoke(EJBSecurityManager.java:408)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.BaseContainer.invokeBeanMethod(BaseContainer.java:4791)
    at com.sun.ejb.EjbInvocation.invokeBeanMethod(EjbInvocation.java:665)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.AroundInvokeChainImpl.invokeNext(InterceptorManager.java:836)
    at com.sun.ejb.EjbInvocation.proceed(EjbInvocation.java:615)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.SystemInterceptorProxy.doCall(SystemInterceptorProxy.java:163)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.SystemInterceptorProxy.aroundInvoke(SystemInterceptorProxy.java:140)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor1707.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.AroundInvokeInterceptor.intercept(InterceptorManager.java:895)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.AroundInvokeChainImpl.invokeNext(InterceptorManager.java:835)
    at com.sun.ejb.EjbInvocation.proceed(EjbInvocation.java:615)
    at org.jboss.weld.module.ejb.AbstractEJBRequestScopeActivationInterceptor.aroundInvoke(AbstractEJBRequestScopeActivationInterceptor.java:72)
    at org.jboss.weld.module.ejb.SessionBeanInterceptor.aroundInvoke(SessionBeanInterceptor.java:52)
    at jdk.internal.reflect.GeneratedMethodAccessor1687.invoke(Unknown Source)
    at java.base/jdk.internal.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.java:43)
    at java.base/java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:566)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.AroundInvokeInterceptor.intercept(InterceptorManager.java:895)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.AroundInvokeChainImpl.invokeNext(InterceptorManager.java:835)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.interceptors.InterceptorManager.intercept(InterceptorManager.java:374)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.BaseContainer.__intercept(BaseContainer.java:4763)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.BaseContainer.intercept(BaseContainer.java:4751)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.EJBLocalObjectInvocationHandler.invoke(EJBLocalObjectInvocationHandler.java:212)
    at com.sun.ejb.containers.EJBLocalObjectInvocationHandlerDelegate.invoke(EJBLocalObjectInvocationHandlerDelegate.java:90)
    at com.sun.proxy.$Proxy2418.doFilter(Unknown Source)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.__EJB31_Generated__SessionFilterBean__Intf____Bean__.doFilter(Unknown Source)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.SessionFilter.doFilter(SessionFilter.java:65)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:251)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:209)
    at de.symeda.sormas.ui.Slf4jMdcFilter.doFilter(Slf4jMdcFilter.java:29)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.internalDoFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:251)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.ApplicationFilterChain.doFilter(ApplicationFilterChain.java:209)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardWrapperValve.invoke(StandardWrapperValve.java:256)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardContextValve.invoke(StandardContextValve.java:160)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.doInvoke(StandardPipeline.java:755)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardPipeline.doChainInvoke(StandardPipeline.java:579)
    at com.sun.enterprise.web.WebPipeline.invoke(WebPipeline.java:97)
    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardHostValve.invoke(StandardHostValve.java:159)
    at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.doService(CoyoteAdapter.java:371)
    at org.apache.catalina.connector.CoyoteAdapter.service(CoyoteAdapter.java:238)
    at com.sun.enterprise.v3.services.impl.ContainerMapper$HttpHandlerCallable.call(ContainerMapper.java:520)
    at com.sun.enterprise.v3.services.impl.ContainerMapper.service(ContainerMapper.java:217)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.HttpHandler.runService(HttpHandler.java:182)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.HttpHandler.doHandle(HttpHandler.java:156)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.http.server.HttpServerFilter.handleRead(HttpServerFilter.java:218)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.filterchain.ExecutorResolver$9.execute(ExecutorResolver.java:95)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.filterchain.DefaultFilterChain.executeFilter(DefaultFilterChain.java:260)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.filterchain.DefaultFilterChain.executeChainPart(DefaultFilterChain.java:177)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.filterchain.DefaultFilterChain.execute(DefaultFilterChain.java:109)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.filterchain.DefaultFilterChain.process(DefaultFilterChain.java:88)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.ProcessorExecutor.execute(ProcessorExecutor.java:53)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.nio.transport.TCPNIOTransport.fireIOEvent(TCPNIOTransport.java:524)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.strategies.AbstractIOStrategy.fireIOEvent(AbstractIOStrategy.java:89)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.strategies.WorkerThreadIOStrategy.run0(WorkerThreadIOStrategy.java:94)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.strategies.WorkerThreadIOStrategy.access$100(WorkerThreadIOStrategy.java:33)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.strategies.WorkerThreadIOStrategy$WorkerThreadRunnable.run(WorkerThreadIOStrategy.java:114)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.threadpool.AbstractThreadPool$Worker.doWork(AbstractThreadPool.java:569)
    at org.glassfish.grizzly.threadpool.AbstractThreadPool$Worker.run(AbstractThreadPool.java:549)
    at java.base/java.lang.Thread.run(Thread.java:834)
Caused by: com.microsoft.playwright.impl.DriverException: Error {
  message='Failed to launch chromium because executable doesn't exist at C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-857950\chrome-win\chrome.exe
Try re-installing playwright with "npm install playwright"
  name='Error
  stack='Error: Failed to launch chromium because executable doesn't exist at C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-857950\chrome-win\chrome.exe
Try re-installing playwright with "npm install playwright"
    at Chromium._launchProcess (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\browserType.js:174:19)
    at async Chromium._innerLaunch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\browserType.js:110:62)
    at async ProgressController.run (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\progress.js:79:28)
    at async Chromium.launch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\server\browserType.js:78:25)
    at async BrowserTypeDispatcher.launch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\dispatchers\browserTypeDispatcher.js:30:25)
    at async DispatcherConnection.dispatch (C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\Temp\playwright-java-12834975463618432611\package\lib\dispatchers\dispatcher.js:181:28)
}
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.Connection.dispatch(Connection.java:209)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.Connection.processOneMessage(Connection.java:189)
    at com.microsoft.playwright.impl.ChannelOwner.runUntil(ChannelOwner.java:86)
    ... 87 more
]]

I tried changing the path for browser download using the Environment Variable PLAYWRIGHT_BROWSERS_PATH but still the script was unable to download them.

Any idea what might be wrong? Or any suggestion how can I debug the download script?

Environment Specifications

OS: Windows 10 JDK: Zulu 11 Server: Payara 5

[vidi42]

Can you delete C:\Users\Alex\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\ altogether, run playwright again and see what’s inside?

Did that and still the same result. Just the .links directory was created.

You just add playwright dependency to your pom.xml (i.e. you don’t build it from sources), correct?

Exactly

Another idea, can you run the following in terminal:

Running the command works and it downloads the browsers.

---

The issue seems to be related to how calling the install process works in a Java Enterprise environment.

Is seems that the download fails in the com.microsoft.playwright.impl.DriverJar#installBrowsers method when the external process is called

 ProcessBuilder pb = new ProcessBuilder(driver.toString(), "install");
 pb.redirectError(ProcessBuilder.Redirect.INHERIT);
 pb.redirectOutput(ProcessBuilder.Redirect.INHERIT);
 Process p = pb.start();
 boolean result = p.waitFor(10, TimeUnit.MINUTES);

Using the ProcessBuilder.Redirect.INHERIT reuses the server’s logging system. However on Windows at least I suspect that the log files are locked by the master process so the child process (playwright.cmd install) fails when trying to access those files.

I validated this assumption by running during debug the following line

pb.redirectError(File.createTempFile("playwright",".error"))

thus changing the stderr for the external process which then worked and the browsers were downloaded. The process also created an empty playwright161449457654957299.error file (sometimes with a few empty lines in it).

I’m now trying to figure out how to pass from our code to the external process a different stderr path which it can inherit so it works.

[yury-s]

Closing as the discussion has stalled.