feat: optional idle auto-close for unused browser#223
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Adds an opt-in idle timeout that closes the browser after a period of inactivity, so long-lived sessions don't accumulate stale headless browsers eating memory. Disabled by default — enabled only when the PLAYWRIGHT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS environment variable is set to a positive number of milliseconds. The timer resets on every browser tool call and is cleared when the browser closes or disconnects. No behavior change unless explicitly configured. Verified: with PLAYWRIGHT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS=3000 a browser left idle is closed automatically while the server stays alive; with the variable unset the browser stays open. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>
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Motivation
When a session keeps the MCP server alive but stops using the browser, the launched Chromium stays open indefinitely — there's currently no inactivity timeout. Across many long-lived sessions these idle headless browsers accumulate and consume significant memory.
What this adds
An opt-in, off-by-default idle auto-close:
PLAYWRIGHT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MSenvironment variable is set to a positive number of milliseconds (e.g.1800000= 30 min).unref()'d so it never keeps the process alive on its own.No behavior change unless configured — with the variable unset,
getIdleTimeoutMs()returns0and the timer never arms.Verification
PLAYWRIGHT_IDLE_TIMEOUT_MS=3000: a browser left idle is closed automatically ([Playwright MCP] Closing idle browser after 3000ms of inactivity) while the server stays alive.Notes
Pairs naturally with #222 (orphan cleanup on disconnect) but is fully independent and can be merged on its own, in any order.
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