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Error: element is not visible

The target element exists in the DOM but is not visible. Playwright requires elements to be visible before interacting with them (clicking, typing, etc.).

Common Causes

  1. 1Element has display: none or visibility: hidden
  2. 2Element is behind another element (z-index issue)
  3. 3Element is outside the viewport
  4. 4Element is in a collapsed dropdown, modal, or accordion
  5. 5CSS animation hasn't completed yet

How to Fix

Wait for the element to become visible

await page.locator('#element').waitFor({ state: 'visible' });
await page.locator('#element').click();

Explicitly wait for the visible state before interacting.

Force the click (use sparingly)

await page.locator('#element').click({ force: true });

Bypasses visibility checks. Only use when you're certain the element should be clicked despite not being visible (e.g., custom dropdowns).

How ObserveOne Helps

ObserveOne monitors element visibility states and alerts when elements that should be visible are unexpectedly hidden.

Start Monitoring Free

Related Errors

TimeoutError: waiting for selector

Playwright waited for an element matching the given selector but it did not appear within the timeout. The element may not exist, may be hidden, or may appear under a different selector.

Error: strict mode violation: locator resolved to N elements

A locator matched more than one element, but the action requires exactly one. Playwright's strict mode (enabled by default) prevents ambiguous interactions.

Error: element is intercepted by another element

Another element (like a modal, overlay, or tooltip) is covering the target element, preventing Playwright from clicking it.

TimeoutError: Exceeded 30000ms

The default action timeout (30 seconds) was exceeded before the operation could complete. This commonly occurs during navigation, element waits, or network-dependent operations.

TimeoutError: page.goto: Timeout 30000ms exceeded

Navigation to the target URL did not complete within the timeout period. The page either failed to respond or took too long to reach the 'load' event.