pwvm

Playwright Version Manager

A simple Playwright Version Manager that solves a common pain point:

Uncontrolled Playwright upgrades and breaking changes disrupt local setups and CI pipelines.

pwvm lets you install, manage, and switch Playwright versions reliably — one command, predictable behavior, just like nvm for Node.js.

Why pwvm

Playwright evolves fast. That’s great — until a minor upgrade breaks tests you didn’t plan to touch.

pwvm keeps Playwright versions:

• isolated per version
• explicit and reproducible
• easy to switch locally and in CI

You upgrade when you choose, not when your tooling surprises you.

Install

npm install -g pwvm

Then run the one-time setup:

pwvm setup

Follow the printed instructions to add pwvm shims to your PATH.

Common usage

pwvm install 1.57.0
pwvm use 1.57.0
playwright --version
playwright test

Pin versions per project with .pwvmrc:

1.57.0

If a .pwvmrc file is present in your project root, running pwvm use will automatically detect and switch to that version.

pwvm use

Deterministic guarantees pwvm already provides

• Playwright installed by exact version ([email protected])
• Versions stored in isolated directories (~/.pwvm/versions/<version>)
• Browser binaries scoped per Playwright version
• .pwvmrc pins version per repo
• No implicit upgrades (no latest unless explicitly requested)

[!NOTE] pwvm performs no background network activity and only installs software when explicitly requested.

CI-friendly

pwvm works in GitHub Actions, Azure Pipelines, Bitbucket, and any CI where you control PATH.

Example usage in GitHub Actions:

- run: npm install -g pwvm
- run: pwvm setup
- run: pwvm install 1.40.0 && pwvm use 1.40.0
- run: playwright test

Dockerized

pwvm can also be validated and demoed in Docker without changing the npm package footprint.

Why Docker is useful here:

• cache multiple Playwright versions in one isolated environment
• switch versions quickly with pwvm use
• prove that plain playwright commands resolve through pwvm naturally
• keep the host machine clean while testing or demoing version changes

The repo includes a non-root Docker demo that installs multiple Playwright versions, switches between them, runs plain playwright test, prunes old versions, and removes pwvm cleanly at the end.

See the full Docker guide: docker/README.md

Support pwvm

pwvm is built and maintained independently to fix a problem many teams quietly struggle with.

If this tool saves you time, CI hours, or debugging frustration:

• ⭐ Star the project
• ❤️ Sponsor via GitHub
• 🔁 Share it with your team and tag #QualityWithMillan

Your support helps keep pwvm maintained and improving.

📘 Full documentation and contributing guide: https://github.com/eaccmk/pwvm