santifer/career-ops · error · Error

--verify could not launch Chromium (run "npx playwright inst

Error message

--verify could not launch Chromium (run "npx playwright install chromium" or re-run without --verify): ${err.message}

What it means

After the playwright module imports successfully, scan.mjs calls chromium.launch({ headless: true }). If launching the browser process fails (no Chromium binary on disk, sandbox/permission error, missing system libraries), it throws an Error with a cause. This is distinct from error 348: the npm package is present, but the browser executable is not.

Source

Thrown at scan.mjs:2035

  let createHeadedPageProvider;
  let newLivenessPage;
  let jitteredDelayMs;
  let sleep;
  try {
    ({ chromium } = await import('playwright'));
    ({ checkUrlLiveness, checkUrlLivenessWithFallback, createHeadedPageProvider, newLivenessPage, jitteredDelayMs, sleep } = await import('./liveness-browser.mjs'));
  } catch (err) {
    throw new Error(
      `--verify requires Playwright with Chromium (run "npx playwright install chromium"): ${err.message}`,
      { cause: err },
    );
  }

  let browser;
  try {
    browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
  } catch (err) {
    throw new Error(
      `--verify could not launch Chromium (run "npx playwright install chromium" or re-run without --verify): ${err.message}`,
      { cause: err },
    );
  }

  // Three permanent buckets + one transient passthrough:
  //   verified  → active pages and transient nav errors (retry next scan)
  //   expired   → classifier-confirmed dead postings (HTTP 4xx, redirect markers,
  //               body patterns, listing pages, insufficient content)
  //   dropped   → page loaded but classifier saw no Apply control. --verify is an
  //               opt-in stricter filter; keeping these defeats the purpose.
  //   invalid   → up-front URL guard rejections (malformed / non-http / private)
  const verified = [];
  const expired = [];
  const dropped = [];
  const invalid = [];
  const migrated = [];

View on GitHub (pinned to 9b17a8ac97)

Solutions

Download the Chromium binary: npx playwright install chromium.
Install OS dependencies: npx playwright install-deps chromium (Debian/Ubuntu) or install libnss3, libatk1.0, libatk-bridge2.0, libcups2, libxkbcommon0 manually.
If running as root in a container, configure launch args: chromium.launch({ headless: true, args: ['--no-sandbox'] }) — or set PLAYWRIGHT_CHROMIUM_ARGS.
Re-run without --verify to bypass the browser path.

Example fix

# before: package installed but no browser binary
node scan.mjs --verify  # -> could not launch Chromium

# after
npx playwright install chromium
node scan.mjs --verify

Defensive patterns

Strategy: try-catch

Validate before calling

async function chromiumIsLaunchable() {
  try {
    const { chromium } = await import('playwright');
    const b = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
    await b.close();
    return true;
  } catch { return false; }
}
if (opts.verify && !(await chromiumIsLaunchable())) {
  throw new Error('Chromium not launchable. Run: npx playwright install chromium');
}

Try / catch

try {
  browser = await chromium.launch({ headless: true });
} catch (err) {
  if (err.message.includes('could not launch Chromium')) {
    console.error(err.message);
    process.exitCode = 3;
    return;
  }
  throw err;
}

Prevention

Add `npx playwright install chromium` to your CI setup and Dockerfile.
Install OS deps: npx playwright install-deps chromium on Debian/Ubuntu.
In root containers, pass { args: ['--no-sandbox'] } to chromium.launch.

When it happens

Trigger: playwright npm package is installed but the Chromium browser binary has not been downloaded via `npx playwright install chromium`; system shared libraries missing (libnss3, libatk, etc.); a sandbox/permissions error in CI containers running as root without --no-sandbox.

Common situations: CI/CD pipeline that runs npm install but skips playwright install; a Docker image missing OS deps; headless Linux server without libnss3; running as root in a container where Chromium refuses to launch without flags.

Related errors

AI-assisted analysis of santifer/career-ops@9b17a8ac97 (2026-08-13). Data as JSON: /api/errors/9ceb89b61cbe7a54. Report an issue: GitHub.