Installation

Install invisible-playwright in two steps: pip install invisible-playwright for the Python wrapper, then python -m invisible_playwright fetch to download the patched Firefox binary it drives. The steps are separate on purpose - the Python package is small, the browser is not.

pip install invisible-playwright
python -m invisible_playwright fetch      # one-time ~238 MB download (~544 MB unpacked), sha256-verified

pip install gets you the wrapper and its API. fetch downloads the patched Firefox binary itself, verifies it against a sha256 shipped inside invisible-core, and caches it. You only pay that cost once per engine version - later runs use the cached copy without a network call.

Supported platforms

Windows x86_64, Linux x86_64 / arm64, macOS arm64 / x86_64.

On macOS the app is ad-hoc signed, not notarized. If Gatekeeper complains the first time it runs, clear the quarantine flag once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /path/to/cached/Firefox.app

invisible-playwright version prints the cache location, and invisible-playwright fetch prints the exact binary path as its last line.

Where the engine is cached, and how to move it

By default the engine lives in a per-user cache directory. To put it somewhere else - another drive, a shared location, a path your CI already caches between runs - set INVISIBLE_PLAYWRIGHT_CACHE_DIR before the first fetch:

export INVISIBLE_PLAYWRIGHT_CACHE_DIR=/mnt/big/engines

If you already have a compatible binary on disk and want to skip the download entirely, point INVPW_BINARY_PATH at it instead. The full list of environment variables, including the ones for corporate networks and CI, is in Configuration.

Verifying the install

Run invisible-playwright version to confirm what’s actually installed:

invisible-playwright version   # wrapper, core and engine versions, and the cache location

There is no separate check to run: fetch compares every cached engine against the seal on every run, so re-running it is the verification. Both commands are in the CLI reference.

Short answers to the questions that lead here

Do I need to install Firefox myself? No. python -m invisible_playwright fetch downloads the patched binary for you, verifies it, and caches it - there is nothing to install separately.

How big is the download, and does it happen on every run? Around 238 MB compressed (about 544 MB unpacked), and only once per engine version. Later runs reuse the cached copy with no network call.

How do I know the cached binary hasn’t been tampered with? fetch checks it against a sha256 shipped inside invisible-core every time it runs, not just on first install, so re-running fetch is itself the verification.

What if I already have a compatible binary, or fetch can’t reach the network? Point INVPW_BINARY_PATH at a binary you already have to skip the download entirely. Configuration lists the other environment variables, including the ones for corporate networks and CI.

Which platforms are supported? Windows x86_64, Linux x86_64/arm64, and macOS arm64/x86_64. macOS needs the quarantine flag cleared once if Gatekeeper complains on first launch.

See also: Configuration for proxy, timezone and environment variables, CLI reference for what fetch and version do in detail, and Quickstart for the two-line switch from plain Playwright.

Next

Quickstart has the two-line change from plain Playwright, and the sync and async examples.