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If page.goto('https://www.google.com') hangs only when Playwright uses an authenticated proxy, check whether Chromium receives an HTTP/2 ACCEPT_CH frame and aborts the first navigation without issuing the retry. That is the explanation reported for one specific setup—not a confirmed cause for every Playwright proxy hang. A Chrome network log can show whether your run follows that sequence.
What may be happening in the reported case
A report published by proxy provider RoamProxy on October 5, 2026, describes Playwright 1.63 with bundled Chromium 153, running headless through a username-and-password authenticated proxy. The author reports that the HTTP/2 session to www.google.com was established, Google sent an ACCEPT_CH frame, and the first main-frame request ended with -3 (ERR_ABORTED). In the automated run, the author did not see another navigation request before the timeout. RoamProxy’s report
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The report’s proposed explanation is that the frame asks the browser to provide client hints. If the navigation has already begun without them, Chromium may cancel that request and restart it with the requested hints. The author says a manually launched Chrome run did retry, while the Playwright run through the authenticated proxy did not. The report links the missing retry to proxy-credential handling, but does not trace the mechanism through Chromium source code. Treat this as a vendor’s diagnosis of its reproduction, not an established Chromium-wide defect.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThe same report says that curl --http2, a Node HTTP/2 client, and manually launched headed Chrome succeeded through the tunnel. Those observations argue against a general tunnel failure in that particular reproduction, but do not establish that other proxy or browser configurations will work.
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How to confirm whether your run matches
Record the exact setup
Before changing settings, note the Playwright version, browser and browser version, headless mode, proxy protocol, destination, and navigation timeout. Playwright normally uses its bundled Chromium, and its documentation distinguishes the headless shell from other Chromium modes; recording the exact build and mode makes comparisons meaningful. Playwright browser documentation
Follow the main-frame request in a Chrome network log
Capture a Chrome network log and inspect the main-frame navigation. Chrome’s network troubleshooting guidance describes how to collect logs and investigate proxy and HTTP/2 details. Chrome network troubleshooting
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Look for the reported order of events: HTTP/2 session setup, a received ACCEPT_CH frame (possibly shown as RECV_ACCEPT_CH or an equivalent event), ERR_ABORTED, and then a second navigation request. The key question is whether the retry appears.
- Abort followed by a retry: This is consistent with a cancellation-and-restart sequence, not by itself evidence that the navigation is stuck.
- Abort with no retry before timeout: This matches the notable symptom in the RoamProxy account, but does not prove the frame or proxy credentials caused it.
- No matching frame or abort: The reported explanation does not fit the captured sequence; investigate the failure shown in your own log instead.
ERR_ABORTED alone is inconclusive. In the report, the author observed it during a working manual Chrome run as part of a retry sequence. The subsequent event is what distinguishes that sequence from the reported hang. RoamProxy’s report
Compare the suggested workarounds
| Option | What the report says | Scope and trade-off |
|---|---|---|
Disable AcceptCHFrame |
Launch Chromium with --disable-features=AcceptCHFrame. The report says this preserves HTTP/2 and leaves the older Accept-CH response-header mechanism available. RoamProxy’s report |
Most targeted of the reported changes, but confirm that the flag is recognized and changes behavior in your exact browser build. |
| Use a local forwarding proxy | The report describes a local forwarder that accepts a browser connection without credentials and forwards traffic to the authenticated upstream proxy. RoamProxy’s report | Adds a component to configure and maintain. The report’s sketch says rewriting only the first request on a connection suits HTTPS CONNECT tunnels in its stated design; plain HTTP keep-alive traffic requires handling each request head. It is not presented as a maintained or security-reviewed product. |
| Disable HTTP/2 | The report says this worked in its case. RoamProxy’s report | Useful as a diagnostic comparison or fallback, but broader: it changes protocol behavior across sites rather than targeting this frame alone. |
| Change proxy-authentication path | Compare the authenticated browser-facing proxy with a route where browser-facing authentication is absent, if your environment permits. RoamProxy’s report | Can help isolate whether the authenticated-proxy path is involved; it does not establish that changing proxy providers will fix the issue. |
Change one factor at a time and compare the resulting network-log sequence. The report presents these as investigation and workaround paths, not universal fixes. Validate any flag or protocol change against the browser build you actually run.
What Playwright’s proxy support does—and does not—guarantee
Playwright documents HTTP(S) and SOCKSv5 proxies, configurable at browser or browser-context scope, with optional username and password fields for HTTP(S) proxy authentication. Playwright proxy documentation That establishes that credentialed proxy configuration is supported; it does not guarantee that every Chromium navigation flow will behave identically across versions and modes.
A separate Playwright issue describes a Chromium redirect hang involving proxy credentials in a particular Playwright version range. Its reporter says registering a no-op route changed that reproduction, and the issue was closed as not planned. It is a separate report, not proof of the ACCEPT_CH explanation or a general fix for this Google navigation case. Playwright issue
Practical takeaway
Start with the log, not a browser flag: verify whether the ACCEPT_CH frame is followed by ERR_ABORTED and whether Chromium retries. If that sequence matches, compare the targeted feature flag and other available proxy paths before resorting to disabling HTTP/2. The described cause remains specific to the RoamProxy account; the available reports do not establish it as a general Chromium or Playwright defect.
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