Python plugins

The Python plugin API adds keywords to Browser, or replaces existing ones, without forking the library. It is provided by PythonLibCore.

A Python-only plugin

Subclass LibraryComponent and decorate with @keyword:

import jsonfrom robot.api import loggerfrom robot.api.deco import keywordfrom Browser.base.librarycomponent import LibraryComponentfrom Browser.generated.playwright_pb2 import Requestclass SimplePythonPlugin(LibraryComponent):    @keyword    def cookie_via_public_api(self) -> dict:        """Uses Browser's own public API."""        cookies = self.library.get_cookies()        logger.debug(json.dumps(cookies, indent=4, default=str))        assert len(cookies) == 1, "Too many cookies."        return {"name": cookies[0]["name"], "value": cookies[0]["value"]}    @keyword    def cookie_via_grpc(self) -> dict:        """Calls the Node side directly over gRPC."""        with self.playwright.grpc_channel() as stub:            response = stub.GetCookies(Request().Empty())            cookies = json.loads(response.json)        return {"name": cookies[0]["name"], "value": cookies[0]["value"]}

Load it at import:

*** Settings ***Library    Browser    plugins=${CURDIR}/SimplePythonPlugin.py*** Test Cases ***Read A Cookie    New Page    https://example.com    Add Cookie    session    abc123    url=https://example.com    ${cookie} =    Cookie Via Public Api    Should Be Equal    ${cookie}[name]    session

Two routes are shown above deliberately. self.library is the supported public API and should be your default. Dropping to gRPC gets you at anything the Node side can do, at the cost of coupling to internals that may change.

Several plugins can be loaded at once — plugins= takes one name, a comma-separated list, or a real list. Arguments go after the class, separated by semicolons: plugins=pkg.Plugin;arg1;kw=val.

Two rules that fail loudly, and one that does not:

• The class name must match the module or file name, or the import fails with DataError.
• A plugin that does not inherit LibraryComponent fails with PluginError.
• A plugin keyword whose method name matches a built-in silently replaces it. Plugins load last — library keywords, then JavaScript extensions, then plugins — so last wins, with no warning. The exception is the handful of keywords declared with an explicit @keyword(name=...), such as Evaluate JavaScript, Get BoundingBox and the storage keywords: matching their method name creates a duplicate instead, and the suite fails with Keyword with same name defined multiple times. Give your method the same @keyword(name=...) to replace one of those. Every plugin keyword is tagged Plugin, which is how you spot one in Libdoc.

Selectors inside a plugin

The public keywords resolve the Set Selector Prefix value for you, so a plugin that calls them needs to do nothing:

@keyworddef disable_element(self, selector):    """Disables an element."""    self.library.evaluate_javascript(selector, "e => e.disabled = true")

Resolve it yourself with self.resolve_selector(selector) only when you bypass the public API — a direct gRPC call, or call_js_keyword.

For a keyword that should also honour presenter mode — highlighting the element and pausing so a human can follow along — use presenter_mode, which resolves the selector as well:

@keyworddef highlight_and_blur(self, selector):    """Blurs the element, honouring presenter mode."""    selector = self.presenter_mode(selector, self.strict_mode)    self.call_js_keyword("myBlur", selector=selector)

call_js_keyword reaches a keyword from any JavaScript module registered on the Node side — one this plugin loaded with initialize_js_extension, or one loaded through the library's jsextension= argument — it is not a way to call arbitrary Playwright methods, so myBlur has to exist in that module.

Calling JavaScript from a Python plugin

Load a JS module in the constructor, then call into it:

from pathlib import Pathfrom robot.api.deco import keywordfrom Browser import Browserfrom Browser.base.librarycomponent import LibraryComponentclass PythonPlugin(LibraryComponent):    def __init__(self, library: Browser):        super().__init__(library)        self.initialize_js_extension(Path(__file__).parent.resolve() / "JSPlugin.js")    @keyword    def my_mouse_wheel(self, x: int, y: int):        """Calls a custom JavaScript keyword from JSPlugin.js."""        return self.call_js_keyword("myMouseWheel", x=x, y=y)

This combination is usually the one you want: the keyword signature, type conversion and documentation are Python, and only the part that genuinely needs the page is JavaScript.