# Manual Playwright Chromium Browser Installation Guide

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for manually downloading and setting up the Playwright Chromium browser on Windows.

## Prerequisites

- Windows operating system
- File extraction tool (e.g., Windows Explorer, 7-Zip, WinRAR)
- Use Powershell to run commands.

## Installation Steps

### Step 1: Download the Browser

Download the Chromium browser archive from the following URL:

```
https://drive.google.com/drive/u/0/folders/1xcmG-rfTcWzf7DEuNt3DUTpwe7FROhTq

OR

https://playwright-verizon.azureedge.net/builds/chromium/1187/chromium-win64.zip

```

### Step 2: Create the Playwright Directory

Navigate to your user profile's AppData folder and create the ms-playwright directory:

```
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright

```

You can do this via this command:

```cmd
mkdir "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright"

```

### Step 3: Create the Browser Version Folder

Inside the `ms-playwright` folder, create a new folder named `chromium-1187`:

```cmd
mkdir "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-1187"

```

### Step 4: Extract the Browser

Unzip the downloaded `chromium-win64.zip` file into the `chromium-1187` folder.

After extraction, your folder structure should look like:

```
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\
└── chromium-1187\
    └── chrome-win\
        ├── chrome.exe


```

### Step 5: Create Validation Files

Create two empty marker files inside the `chromium-1187` folder to indicate successful installation:

**File 1:** `DEPENDENCIES_VALIDATED`

```cmd
ni "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-1187\DEPENDENCIES_VALIDATED"

```

**File 2:** `INSTALLATION_COMPLETE`

```cmd
ni "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-1187\INSTALLATION_COMPLETE"

```

## Final Directory Structure

After completing all steps, your directory structure should be:

```
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\
└── chromium-1187\
    ├── chrome-win\
    │   ├── chrome.exe
    ├── DEPENDENCIES_VALIDATED
    └── INSTALLATION_COMPLETE

```

## Verification

### Check Files and Folders

To verify the installation, check that all files and folders exist:

```cmd
dir "%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\chromium-1187"

```

You should see the `chrome-win` folder along with the two marker files.

### Test Browser Launch

To verify that Playwright is correctly picking up the browser path, run the following command to open a URL:

```cmd
playwright open https://www.google.com

```

This should launch a new Chromium browser window and navigate to the specified URL. If the browser opens successfully, your manual installation is working correctly.

## Troubleshooting

- **Browser not detected:** Ensure the folder name is exactly `chromium-1187` and both marker files exist.
- **Extraction issues:** Make sure the `chrome-win` folder is directly inside `chromium-1187`, not nested in an additional folder.
- **Permission errors:** Run Powershell as Administrator if you encounter access issues.