Playwright: Target page, context or browser has been closed

A call was made on a page, browser context or browser that no longer exists. Playwright raises this TargetClosedError for any API whose target was closed before or during the call, so the method name in front changes (page.goto, locator.click, page.waitForTimeout) but the cause is the same: something closed the object you were still using.

Very often the closer is your own code. In Node.js, the most common source is a missing await: the action is still running when the test ends or browser.close() runs, and the pending call then fails with this message. In Playwright Test, it also appears as the secondary error after a test timeout, because the runner tears down the page while your step is still waiting.

What is not wrong: the selector or URL. Look earlier in the output for the real failure; this message is frequently the second error, not the first.

// Bug: no await, so the test ends while click is pending
test('saves', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com/form');
  page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click(); // missing await
});

// Fixed
test('saves', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com/form');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click();
  await expect(page.getByText('Saved')).toBeVisible();
});

Let the runner own the lifecycle: use the built-in page and context fixtures rather than launching and closing browsers by hand. Lint for floating promises so a forgotten await fails code review instead of a nightly run. In containers, use the official Playwright Docker image with --ipc=host, and listen for page.on('crash') to distinguish crashes from code-level closes.