How do I turn playwright headless off for debugging? or Why would you want to turn playwright headles

"How do I turn playwright headless off for debugging?"

Hey folks! Struggling with debugging my Playwright tests and need to see what's *actually* happening in the browser.

How do I turn playwright headless off? I know it's faster headless, but man, sometimes you just gotta see the magic (or mess) happen in real-time, right?

I tried tweaking the launch config but might be missing something. Is it just `headless: false` in the options? Or is there more to it?

Also, does turning playwright headless off slow things down *a lot*? Or is it bearable for debugging sessions?

Thanks in advance! 🙌

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*P.S. If you've got pro tips for debugging without turning playwright headless off, I'm all ears!*

Yep, you got it! Just set `headless: false` in your launch options, and you're golden.

For example:
```javascript
await chromium.launch({ headless: false });
```

It *does* slow things down a bit, but for debugging, it’s totally worth it.

Pro tip: Use `slowMo` to slow down actions so you can see what’s happening step by step. Like this:
```javascript
await chromium.launch({ headless: false, slowMo: 100 });
```

Also, check out Playwright’s [debugging docs](https://playwright.dev/docs/debug)—super helpful!

Lol, I feel you! Debugging in headless mode is like trying to fix a car blindfolded.

To turn playwright headless off, just slap `headless: false` in your config. Easy peasy.

And yeah, it’s slower, but not *crazy* slow. Just don’t run your whole suite like that—save it for the tricky bits.

Bonus: If you’re using VS Code, the Playwright extension lets you debug right in the editor. No need to turn playwright headless off at all!

Turning playwright headless off is def the way to go for debugging. Just do:

```javascript
const browser = await playwright.chromium.launch({ headless: false });
```

But heads up—it *will* be slower. Not unbearable, but noticeable.

If you wanna avoid it, try `playwright inspector` (`PWDEBUG=1` env var). It’s like having a debugger built-in without messing with headless mode.

Also, `page.pause()` is a lifesaver for stepping through tests.

Oh man, I was stuck on this too! Setting `headless: false` works, but here’s a hack—use `devtools: true` with it:

```javascript
await chromium.launch({ headless: false, devtools: true });
```

This pops open Chrome DevTools automatically. Super handy for digging into elements or console logs.

And nah, the speed hit isn’t *that* bad. Just don’t forget to flip it back for CI runs!

Wow, thanks for all the tips, everyone!

I tried `headless: false` with `slowMo`, and it’s *so* much easier to see what’s going wrong. The VS Code extension tip is gold—didn’t even know that existed!

One follow-up: Does anyone know if the `devtools: true` option works with Firefox too? Or is it just Chromium?

Also, gonna check out that trace viewer thing. Sounds like a game-changer for CI debugging.

Y’all are legends! 🙏

For real, debugging in headless is a pain. Turning playwright headless off is simple—just add the flag like everyone said.

But if you’re lazy (like me), you can also set it globally in your `playwright.config.ts`:

```javascript
use: {
headless: false,
}
```

And yeah, it’s slower, but for debugging? Worth it.

Pro move: Combine it with `--workers=1` to avoid flakiness while testing.

Hey! Turning playwright headless off is def the move for debugging. Just do:

```javascript
const browser = await playwright.firefox.launch({ headless: false });
```

But if you wanna keep it headless *and* debug, try `playwright trace viewer`. Run your test with `--trace on`, then open the trace file later. It’s like a time machine for your test runs!

Also, `console.log()` is your friend—sometimes old-school works best.

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