[Bug]: Playwright 1.63.0 Module Not Found on Windows (conda-forge) - playwright not playing nicely with conda and Python 3.12 and later...

[richlysakowski]

Version

1.63.0

Steps to reproduce

Bug Report: Playwright 1.63.0 Module Not Found on Windows (conda-forge)

Date: 2026-09-25
Environment: Windows 11, Python 3.13.15, conda-forge
Issue: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'playwright' despite successful conda installation

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Summary

Playwright 1.63.0 installs successfully via conda-forge but fails to import in Python, causing ModuleNotFoundError. The package appears in conda list but the Python module is not discoverable.

Environment Details

OS:              Windows 11
Python:          3.13.15 (conda-forge)
Conda Version:   24.x (current)
Channel:         conda-forge (exclusive)
Playwright:      1.63.0 (h8fff0a6_1)
Build Package:   playwright-1.63.0-h8fff0a6_1.conda

Reproduction Steps

1. Create conda environment with Python 3.13 and playwright from conda-forge:

   conda create -n test_pw python=3.13 playwright -c conda-forge

2. Activate environment:

   conda activate test_pw

3. Attempt to import:

   python -c "import playwright; print('✓ OK')"

Expected Result

✓ OK

Actual Result

Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "<string>", line 1, in <module>
    import playwright
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'playwright'

Verification

Package Installed:

conda list | grep playwright
# playwright                1.63.0               h8fff0a6_1    conda-forge

Package Contents Check:

ls "C:\ProgramData\Anaconda3\envs\topss_tools\Lib\site-packages" | findstr -i playwright
# (no results)

Hypothesis

The conda-forge build of playwright (1.63.0-h8fff0a6_1) on Windows appears to:

• Package the binary/compiled files correctly (installs without error)
• Fail to expose the Python module entry point
• Possibly missing __init__.py or site-packages registration

Related Information

• Official Playwright Python: v1.63.0 (supports Python 3.8+)
• Official Installation: Works via pip install playwright==1.63.0
• conda-forge Feedstock: playwright-feedstock
• Workaround: Using pip instead of conda resolves the issue immediately

Files

• Conda environment spec: environment.yml (Python 3.13, playwright via conda-forge)
• Test location: Windows, C:\Users\PowerUser\Desktop\tosapps\00000_Projects_Catalog_Builder

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Requested Action: Investigate Windows packaging in conda-forge playwright build 1.63.0-h8fff0a6_1

Expected behavior

The "conda install -c conda-forge playwright" should just work on all versions of Windows where current versions of Python v3 can be installed.

Actual behavior

See above...

Additional context

No response

Environment

- Operating System: [Ubuntu 22.04]
- CPU: [Intel x64]
- Browser: [All, Chromium, Firefox, WebKit]
- Python Version: [3.12 or later]
- Other info: