fix(install): retry Playwright install with platform override on unrecognized host (#35166)

[kshitijk4poor]

What does this PR do?

Fixes the installer hanging uninterruptibly at Installing Playwright Chromium with system dependencies on apt releases newer than the bundled Playwright recognizes — Ubuntu 26.04, Debian 14, and future distros (reported in #35166, confirmed across Ubuntu 24.04/26.04 and Debian 13).

Root cause: Playwright maps the host OS to a CDN build in hostPlatform.ts. When its resolver doesn't recognize the release, it returns a platform identifier with no download build (e.g. ubuntu26.04-x64 on older Playwright), so npx playwright install --with-deps chromium stalls indefinitely — and Ctrl+C can't interrupt it.

Fix: Wrap every installer Playwright call in run_playwright_install(), which tries the native install first and — only if it fails or times out — retries once with PLAYWRIGHT_HOST_PLATFORM_OVERRIDE pinned to the newest known build (ubuntu24.04-<arch>). This is the escape hatch Playwright's maintainers bless for unrecognized platforms (microsoft/playwright#33434).

Why try-native-first, not a version table

A hardcoded distro/version table is brittle and was explicitly rejected upstream (microsoft/playwright#33432 — "we'd rather... force install deps on an unsupported platform rather than adding new distros to the list"). The try-native-then-fallback approach is:

• Self-correcting — when Playwright already supports the host (e.g. Ubuntu 26.04 on Playwright ≥1.61), the first attempt succeeds and the override is never applied, so we never force a mismatched-glibc build onto a release Playwright handles correctly ([Bug]: version `GLIBC_2.36' not found... microsoft/playwright#35114).
• Zero-maintenance — new distro releases work the moment Playwright adds them, with no change here.
• Broad — covers Debian 14+ and future releases, not just Ubuntu 26.04.

An operator-set PLAYWRIGHT_HOST_PLATFORM_OVERRIDE is always respected (applied to the first attempt; retry skipped). Non-x64/arm64 arches have no Linux build and skip the retry.

Type of Change

• 🐛 Bug fix (non-breaking change that fixes an issue)

Changes Made

• scripts/install.sh: add playwright_fallback_platform() (arch → newest known build) and run_playwright_install() (try-native-then-retry-with-override, composing the existing run_browser_install_with_timeout). All 6 npx playwright install ... chromium call sites now route through the new wrapper.
• tests/test_install_sh_browser_install.py: update the timeout-guard test to the new wrapper and add a regression test for the fallback contract (retries with the override, respects operator pinning, arch-aware target).

How to Test

1. pytest tests/test_install_sh_browser_install.py -q — 7 passed.
2. bash -n scripts/install.sh — syntax OK.
3. Behavioral: extract the three functions, stub npx/timeout/uname -m, and assert: native success → 1 attempt, no override; native fail → 2 attempts, retry carries ubuntu24.04-x64/-arm64; both fail → 2 attempts, non-zero rc; operator-pinned override → 1 attempt (no retry); unsupported arch → 1 attempt (no fallback).

Related Issue

Refs #35166

Checklist

• Read the Contributing Guide
• Conventional Commit message (fix(install):)
• Searched existing PRs (the prior interruptibility PR fix(install): make Playwright browser install interruptible #35304 was closed unmerged and never fixed the root cause)
• Only changes related to this fix
• pytest passes
• Added a regression test
• Considered cross-platform impact (Linux apt/arch/rpm/zypper branches; no-ops on unsupported arch and when operator-pinned)

[tonydwb]

Code Review Summary

Verdict: Approved

Adds retry logic for Playwright install when the platform is unrecognized. On apt releases newer than Playwright knows (Ubuntu 26.04, Debian 14), playwright install hangs/fails. The new run_playwright_install wrapper tries native platform resolution first, then retries once with PLAYWRIGHT_HOST_PLATFORM_OVERRIDE pinned to the newest known build. Operator-pinned overrides are respected (retry skipped). Tests verify the wrapper structure, fallback targets, try-native-first logic, and operator override detection.

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Reviewed by Hermes Agent

[teknium1]

Merged via #54078. Your commit was cherry-picked onto current main with your authorship preserved in git log. I scoped the override retry to fire only on apt releases newer than Playwright recognizes (Ubuntu >24.04 / Debian >13) instead of on any install failure, and folded in the interruptibility fix (timeout --foreground -k 10) so Ctrl+C reaches the download. Thanks for the root-cause analysis and the upstream references.