---
title: "Browser is already in use for <profile-dir>, use --isolated to run multiple instances of the same browser (fix)"
canonical_url: "https://superbot.gg/fix/playwright-browser-already-in-use"
summary: "Playwright MCP says \"Browser is already in use\" and to use --isolated. What holds the profile, the config fix, and why the message sometimes hides a crashed browser."
---

> Markdown of https://superbot.gg/fix/playwright-browser-already-in-use. Site index: /llms.txt.

Playwright MCP error

# Browser is already in use for <profile-dir>, use --isolated to run multiple instances of the same browser

The folder in the message is the browser profile, for example `/home/vscode/.cache/ms-playwright/mcp-chrome` on Linux or `C:\Users\1\AppData\Local\ms-playwright\mcp-chrome-profile` on Windows.

Another browser holds that profile folder.
Playwright MCP will not share it.

[Get the app](https://superbot.gg/download?cta%5Fid=page%5Finstall) [other errors](https://superbot.gg/fix)

## What it means

Playwright MCP keeps its browser state in a profile folder, and one folder serves one browser at a time. A second client that starts with the same settings points at the same folder, and its launch stops with this message.

The message is sometimes the wrong diagnosis. When Chrome crashes on launch, for example from a missing system library, Playwright MCP reports "already in use" with nothing running (issue 1305). If you see it on the first call with nothing else open, suspect a crash.

## Fix it

1. Close the other client or browser that uses the same profile. An agent session that did not exit cleanly counts.
2. Or add `--isolated` to the server's args. Each instance then gets its own profile, so several can run side by side:
```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "playwright": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["@playwright/mcp@latest", "--isolated"]
    }
  }
}
```
3. On a first call with nothing else open, run Chrome by hand from the Playwright cache to read the real error. On Linux, `npx playwright install-deps` installs missing system libraries, and a container running as root needs `--no-sandbox`.

## With superbot

This is a local setup error, and superbot does not fix it. superbot is an alternative if the goal is a page opened in a browser.

superbot opens a page in a browser session through its one tool, and you can click, type and fill forms in it. The session runs in the browser on your own computer when your account has one linked, else in a cloud browser.

It does not use a Playwright MCP profile folder, so this error does not apply to it.

A real run is on [the Executable doesn't exist page](https://superbot.gg/fix/playwright-executable-doesnt-exist). Its reply says the session ran in a cloud browser.

This needs an account.
An agent with none signs you in through [/auth.md](https://superbot.gg/auth.md).
You read back one emailed code.

## Related

- [browserType.launch: Executable doesn't exist at <path>](https://superbot.gg/fix/playwright-executable-doesnt-exist)
- [spawn npx ENOENT](https://superbot.gg/fix/spawn-npx-enoent)
- [✘ Failed to connect](https://superbot.gg/fix/mcp-failed-to-connect)

Source: [microsoft/playwright-mcp issue 942](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp/issues/942), with [891](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp/issues/891), [769](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp/issues/769) and [1305](https://github.com/microsoft/playwright-mcp/issues/1305). Read on 2026-10-18.