{
  "id": 2062495,
  "title": "The excluded-plugin setting that Playwright ignored — fixing browser-mode updates and false residual warnings",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/the-excluded-plugin-setting-that-playwright-ignored-fixing-browser",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-08-20T03:08:25.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dev.to",
    "slug": "dev-to",
    "url": "https://dev.to/susumun/the-excluded-plugin-setting-that-playwright-ignored-fixing-browser-mode-updates-and-false-3ceo"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Playwright's excluded-plugin setting was unintentionally updating ignored plugins during browser-mode maintenance, despite being explicitly marked to avoid updates. This led to a two-part issue: incorrect behavior and misleading residual warnings. On SSH-capable sites, WP-CLI's --skip-plugins flag already handled ignored plugins correctly, but Playwright's browser_update_remaining_plugins() function lacked any filtering. The problem persisted in both pure browser-mode updates and residual updates after SSH, even for sites with properly configured excluded plugins. To fix this, two changes were implemented: replacing the select-all approach with per-checkbox evaluation and adjusting the residual check to avoid false warnings. The new _ignored_plugin_slugs() function converts site ignored plugins into a set of lowercase stripped strings for easy comparison. The _plugin_slug_from_checkbox_value() function extracts the plugin slug from a checkbox value, normalizing it to lowercase. These changes ensure only non-excluded plugins trigger residual warnings, eliminating misleading alerts and improving the maintenance process.",
  "summary": "The symptom In browser-mode maintenance (Playwright, no SSH), plugins marked as \"excluded from update checks\" were still being updated. After the run, a \"plugin updates remaining\" WARNING email arrived every time. The excluded plugins were intentionally left behind, but the residual check treated them as unfinished updates and fired a warning — a two-part problem: wrong behavior and a misleading…",
  "key_points": [
    "Playwright's excluded-plugin setting ignored ignored plugins during browser-mode updates",
    "Two changes implemented: per-checkbox evaluation and adjusted residual check",
    "New functions normalize and compare ignored plugins for accurate maintenance"
  ],
  "editors_take": "Fixing Playwright's handling of excluded plugins corrects browser-mode updates and residual warnings, benefiting sites with properly configured ignored plugins by eliminating misleading alerts and improving maintenance.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}