Version

Version 1.48.0

Steps to reproduce

Set up a new Playwright project.

Run the tests using npx playwright test --ui.

Observe the memory usage during test execution, especially on a machine with limited resources (e.g., 20GB RAM).

You should see the memory usage increase rapidly, especially if multiple tests are queued, leading to an "out of memory" error.

Expected behavior

The tests should execute normally without exhausting available memory. Chromium instances should close automatically after each test in UI mode, similar to non-UI mode, without building up in memory.

Actual behavior

Running tests in UI mode with npx playwright test --ui results in excessive memory usage. Chromium instances remain open after test execution, which causes the system to run out of memory (particularly noticeable on a machine with limited memory). This issue does not occur when running tests without UI mode, where Chromium instances close correctly after each test.

Additional context

The issue is only observed in UI mode. Running the same tests without UI mode does not cause high memory usage, and Chromium instances close as expected after each test.
my config.txt

Environment

System:
OS: Windows Server 2016 10.0.14393
CPU: (4) x64 Intel(R) Xeon(R) Gold 6248R CPU @ 3.00GHz
Memory: 13.43 GB / 20.00 GB
Binaries:
Node: 22.3.0 - ~\AppData\Local\nodejs\node.EXE
npm: 10.8.1 - ~\AppData\Local\nodejs\npm.CMD
IDEs:
VSCode: 1.90.2 - C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.CMD
npmPackages:
@playwright/test: ^1.48.0 => 1.48.0
playwright: ^1.48.0 => 1.48.0
playwright-chromium: ^1.48.0 => 1.48.0
playwright-firefox: ^1.48.0 => 1.48.0