Implementation:MarketSquare Robotframework browser New Browser New Context New Page

Property	Value
Implementation Name	New Browser, New Context, New Page
Type	API Doc
Domains	Browser_Automation, Test_Isolation
Workflow	Browser_Test_Authoring
Repository	MarketSquare/robotframework-browser

Overview

Concrete tools for creating and managing the Browser, Context, and Page hierarchy provided by robotframework-browser.

Description

These three keywords form the core resource creation API of the Browser library:

• New Browser: Launches a new browser process (chromium, firefox, or webkit). Returns a stable browser identifier. Supports headless/headed mode, proxy configuration, slow motion, and browser-specific options. Uses reuse_existing=True by default to avoid launching duplicate browser instances with identical configuration.
• New Context: Creates a new isolated browser context within the active browser. Returns a stable context identifier. Contexts control cookies, storage, viewport, geolocation, HTTP credentials, and many other session-scoped settings. If no browser is open, one is automatically created with defaults.
• New Page: Opens a new page (tab) within the active context, optionally navigating to a URL. Returns a NewPageDetails dictionary with page_id and video_path keys. If no browser or context is open, both are automatically created with defaults.

Usage

Use these keywords at the beginning of test cases or suite setup to establish the browser environment. For simple tests, calling only New Page with a URL is sufficient since it auto-creates the browser and context. For tests requiring specific browser configuration, viewport settings, or authentication, call all three keywords explicitly.

Code Reference

Source Location

• Repository: robotframework-browser
• File: Browser/keywords/playwright_state.py
  • new_browser: Lines 418-487
  • new_context: Lines 576-692
  • new_page: Lines 959-1009

Signature

# New Browser
def new_browser(
    self,
    browser: SupportedBrowsers = SupportedBrowsers.chromium,
    headless: bool = True,
    *,
    args: list[str] | None = None,
    channel: str | None = None,
    chromiumSandbox: bool = False,
    devtools: bool = False,
    downloadsPath: str | None = None,
    env: dict | None = None,
    executablePath: str | None = None,
    firefoxUserPrefs: dict[str, str | int | float | bool] | None = None,
    handleSIGHUP: bool = True,
    handleSIGINT: bool = True,
    handleSIGTERM: bool = True,
    ignoreDefaultArgs: list[str] | bool | None = None,
    proxy: Proxy | None = None,
    reuse_existing: bool = True,
    slowMo: timedelta = timedelta(seconds=0),
    timeout: timedelta = timedelta(seconds=30),
) -> str

# New Context
def new_context(
    self,
    *,
    acceptDownloads: bool = True,
    baseURL: str | None = None,
    bypassCSP: bool = False,
    clientCertificates: list[ClientCertificate] | None = None,
    colorScheme: ColorScheme | None = None,
    defaultBrowserType: SupportedBrowsers | None = None,
    deviceScaleFactor: float | None = None,
    extraHTTPHeaders: dict[str, str] | None = None,
    forcedColors: ForcedColors = ForcedColors.none,
    geolocation: GeoLocation | None = None,
    hasTouch: bool | None = None,
    httpCredentials: HttpCredentials | None = None,
    ignoreHTTPSErrors: bool = False,
    isMobile: bool | None = None,
    javaScriptEnabled: bool = True,
    locale: str | None = None,
    offline: bool = False,
    permissions: list[Permission] | None = None,
    proxy: Proxy | None = None,
    recordHar: RecordHar | None = None,
    recordVideo: RecordVideo | None = None,
    reducedMotion: ReduceMotion = ReduceMotion.no_preference,
    screen: dict[str, int] | None = None,
    serviceWorkers: ServiceWorkersPermissions | None = ServiceWorkersPermissions.allow,
    storageState: str | None = None,
    timezoneId: str | None = None,
    tracing: bool | Path | None = None,
    userAgent: str | None = None,
    viewport: ViewportDimensions | None = ViewportDimensions(width=1280, height=720),
) -> str

# New Page
def new_page(
    self,
    url: str | None = None,
    wait_until: PageLoadStates = PageLoadStates.load,
) -> NewPageDetails

Import

# These are Robot Framework keywords exposed by the Browser library.
# No direct Python import is needed for typical usage.

# Robot Framework usage (in *** Settings ***):
# Library    Browser

I/O Contract

New Browser

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
browser	SupportedBrowsers	chromium	Browser engine: chromium, firefox, or webkit.
headless	bool	True	Set to False to display the browser GUI.
args	list[str] or None	None	Additional command-line arguments for the browser process.
channel	str or None	None	Use stock Chrome or Edge instead of bundled Chromium.
chromiumSandbox	bool	False	Enable Chromium sandboxing.
devtools	bool	False	Auto-open Developer Tools panel for each tab (Chromium only).
proxy	Proxy or None	None	Network proxy settings: {server, bypass, username, password}.
reuse_existing	bool	True	Reuse an existing browser with matching configuration.
slowMo	timedelta	0s	Delay between Playwright operations.
timeout	timedelta	30s	Maximum time to wait for browser to start.

Returns	Description
str	Stable identifier for the created (or reused) browser instance.

New Context

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
acceptDownloads	bool	True	Automatically download all attachments.
baseURL	str or None	None	Base URL for relative navigation.
bypassCSP	bool	False	Bypass Content-Security-Policy.
colorScheme	ColorScheme or None	None	Emulate prefers-color-scheme: light, dark, no-preference.
extraHTTPHeaders	dict or None	None	Additional HTTP headers sent with every request.
httpCredentials	HttpCredentials or None	None	Credentials for HTTP authentication.
ignoreHTTPSErrors	bool	False	Ignore HTTPS certificate errors.
viewport	ViewportDimensions or None	1280x720	Emulated viewport size. None disables default viewport.
tracing	bool or Path or None	None	Enable Playwright tracing to capture detailed execution logs.
storageState	str or None	None	Restore storage state from a file saved by Save Storage State.

Returns	Description
str	Stable identifier for the created context.

New Page

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
url	str or None	None	URL to navigate to. Should include protocol (e.g., https://).
wait_until	PageLoadStates	load	When navigation is considered complete: domcontentloaded, load, networkidle, or commit.

Returns	Description
NewPageDetails	Dictionary with page_id (str) and video_path (str, empty if no video).

Usage Examples

*** Settings ***
Library    Browser

*** Test Cases ***
Simple Page Open (Auto-Creates Browser And Context)
    New Page    https://example.com
    Get Title    ==    Example Domain

Explicit Full Hierarchy
    New Browser    chromium    headless=True
    New Context    viewport={'width': 1920, 'height': 1080}
    New Page       https://example.com

Multiple Isolated Contexts For Multi-User Testing
    New Browser    chromium    headless=True
    # User A logs in
    New Context    httpCredentials={'username': 'userA', 'password': 'passA'}
    New Page       https://myapp.com/dashboard
    # User B logs in with separate session
    New Context    httpCredentials={'username': 'userB', 'password': 'passB'}
    New Page       https://myapp.com/dashboard

Cross-Browser Testing
    New Browser    chromium    headless=True
    New Page       https://example.com
    Get Title      ==    Example Domain
    Close Browser
    New Browser    firefox    headless=True
    New Page       https://example.com
    Get Title      ==    Example Domain

Mobile Device Emulation
    ${device}=    Get Device    iPhone X
    New Context    &{device}
    New Page       https://example.com

Context With Tracing And Video Recording
    New Browser    chromium
    New Context
    ...    tracing=True
    ...    recordVideo={'dir': '${OUTPUT_DIR}/videos'}
    ...    viewport={'width': 1280, 'height': 720}
    New Page    https://example.com

Related Pages

Implements Principle

• Principle:MarketSquare_Robotframework_browser_Browser_Context_Lifecycle