ci(browser-test): cache Playwright browsers + retry install

.github/workflows/browser-test.yml

@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ concurrency:
 
 jobs:
   browser-tests:
-    timeout-minutes: 30
+    timeout-minutes: 120
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     # This Chrome nightly image can no longer install browsers in Github CI for
     # lack of some system dependencies:
@@ -33,8 +33,6 @@ jobs:
     # env:
     #   HOME: /root # Firefox complains otherwise
     steps:
-      - name: Put unstable chrome where playwright would look for it
-        run: mv /opt/google/chrome /opt/google/chrome-unstable
       - uses: actions/checkout@de0fac2e4500dabe0009e67214ff5f5447ce83dd # v6.0.2
         with:
           persist-credentials: false
@@ -50,9 +48,51 @@ jobs:
       - name: Install browser test dependencies
         working-directory: browser-test
         run: npm ci --ignore-scripts
+      # Cache Playwright's browser binaries between runs. The cache key
+      # is keyed on `browser-test/package-lock.json`, which moves when
+      # the resolved `@playwright/test` version changes, so a Playwright
+      # version bump invalidates the cache on the commit that lands it.
+      #
+      # The install step below runs unconditionally rather than guarded
+      # by `cache-hit`: `--with-deps` also installs apt system packages,
+      # which the cache does not cover, and the browser-binary download
+      # itself is a no-op on cache hit. Keeping the step unconditional
+      # avoids a second always-run apt step and keeps the workflow
+      # readable.
+      - name: Cache Playwright browsers
+        id: playwright-cache
+        uses: actions/cache@0057852bfaa89a56745cba8c7296529d2fc39830 # v4.3.0
+        with:
+          path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
+          key: playwright-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('browser-test/package-lock.json') }}
+          restore-keys: |
+            playwright-${{ runner.os }}-
+      # Wrap the install in a retry: the recurring failure mode is a
+      # timeout downloading Chromium from the Playwright CDN shortly
+      # after a Chromium version bump, before the CDN has seeded the
+      # new binary widely. Three attempts with a 30-minute per-attempt
+      # ceiling: the observed failure mode is an attempt still making
+      # progress (slow CDN download or apt step) when the prior
+      # 15-minute ceiling killed it mid-progress and the retry started
+      # from scratch. The bump to 30 minutes gives one attempt enough
+      # headroom to complete; the 3-attempt safety net is retained for
+      # genuine transient failures. Worst case 3 x 30 = 90 minutes fits
+      # inside the job's 120-minute `timeout-minutes`, leaving headroom
+      # for setup, build, and the tests themselves. The bumped ceiling
+      # is provisional: once a real install time is observed, both the
+      # per-attempt and outer ceilings should come back down.
       - name: Install Playwright Browsers
-        working-directory: browser-test
-        run: npx playwright install --with-deps
+        uses: nick-fields/retry@ce71cc2ab81d554ebbe88c79ab5975992d79ba08 # v3.0.2
+        env:
+          # Surface the hanging step in the install path. The Chrome-for-
+          # Testing migration in Playwright >= 1.50 introduced a silent
+          # post-download hang on this CI; pw:install logs the probe and
+          # extract steps so the next run shows where the time is going.
+          DEBUG: pw:install
+        with:
+          timeout_minutes: 30
+          max_attempts: 3
+          command: cd browser-test && npx playwright install --with-deps
       - name: Run Playwright tests
         working-directory: browser-test
         run: npx playwright test

browser-test/package.json

@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
     "test": "playwright test"
   },
   "devDependencies": {
-    "@playwright/test": "^1.49.1",
+    "@playwright/test": "1.58.2",
     "@types/node": "^20.11.16"
   },
   "eslintConfig": {