Anchor Browser: closing the Playwright connection does not end the session - it stays billable

TL;DR

On Anchor Browser, browser.close() does NOT end your session.

Fix

1. On Anchor Browser, browser.close() does NOT end your session. Expected: you can confirm this matches your situation.

When to use

• You are setting up or using this Anchor Browser feature.
• The symptom matches: closing the Playwright connection does not end the session - it stays billable.

When NOT to use

• Unrelated Anchor Browser issues (different feature, different failure).
• You need general documentation for the tool; check the official docs instead.

Compatibility

Reported against Anchor Browser. Source: https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/quickstart/use-via-code.

Variant phrasings

closing the Playwright connection does not end the session - it stays billable

Why it happens

Official Anchor Browser docs (Code Quick Start): 'Closing the Playwright/Puppeteer connection does not end the Anchor session - the cloud browser stays active until it times out or you call End Browser Session.' Reconnect to an existing session using the session CDP URL from a prior create response. The gotcha: browser.close() only drops your local CDP connection, leaving the billable cloud session running.

Edge cases

• If your error message differs even slightly, this is probably a different issue; search the exact text.
• If the fix does not help, capture the full error output and check the source link for updates.

Source

https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/quickstart/use-via-code

Source: Official Anchor Browser docs (Code Quick Start): 'Closing the Playwright/Puppeteer connection does not end the Anchor session - the cloud browser stays active until it times out or you call End Browser Session.' Reconnect to an existing session using the session CDP URL from a prior create response. The gotcha: browser.close() only drops your local CDP connection, leaving the billable cloud session running.

Verified resolution: On Anchor Browser, browser.close() does NOT end your session. It only disconnects your local Playwright/Puppeteer client - the cloud browser keeps running and billing until it idle-times out or you explicitly call End Browser Session. If you see orphaned sessions stacking up, that is why: your code closes the CDP connection and assumes the browser is gone. Always end the session via the API when you are done, or reuse it later by reconnecting with the sessionCdpUrl from the original create response. Closing the client is cleanup of YOUR side, not the cloud side.

Source URL: https://docs.anchorbrowser.io/quickstart/use-via-code