diff --git a/.github/actions/playwright-install/action.yml b/.github/actions/playwright-install/action.yml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..bf935813a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/.github/actions/playwright-install/action.yml
@@ -0,0 +1,20 @@
+name: Install Playwright browsers
+description: Cache and install Playwright Chromium browser and system dependencies
+
+runs:
+  using: composite
+  steps:
+    - name: Cache Playwright browsers
+      id: playwright-cache
+      uses: actions/cache@v4
+      with:
+        path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
+        key: playwright-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('yarn.lock') }}
+    - name: Install Playwright browsers
+      if: steps.playwright-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
+      run: yarn playwright install --with-deps chromium
+      shell: bash
+    - name: Install Playwright system dependencies
+      if: steps.playwright-cache.outputs.cache-hit == 'true'
+      run: yarn playwright install-deps chromium
+      shell: bash
diff --git a/.github/workflows/lint-build-test.yml b/.github/workflows/lint-build-test.yml
index 7b20169ac..dabd8a939 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/lint-build-test.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/lint-build-test.yml
@@ -17,8 +17,6 @@ jobs:
           cache-node-modules: true
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        env:
-          PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD: 1
 
   lint:
     name: Lint
@@ -33,8 +31,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        env:
-          PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD: 1
       - run: yarn lint
       - name: Require clean working directory
         shell: bash
@@ -57,8 +53,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        env:
-          PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD: 1
       - run: yarn changelog:validate
       - name: Require clean working directory
         shell: bash
@@ -81,8 +75,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        env:
-          PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD: 1
       - run: yarn build
       - name: Require clean working directory
         shell: bash
@@ -105,8 +97,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        env:
-          PLAYWRIGHT_ONLY_SHELL: 1
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/playwright-install
       - run: yarn build
       - run: "yarn test --coverage=${{ matrix.node-version == '24.x' && 'true' || 'false' }}"
       - name: Upload coverage artifact
@@ -137,8 +128,6 @@ jobs:
         with:
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-        env:
-          PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD: 1
       - run: yarn build
       - run: yarn test:integration
       - name: Require clean working directory
@@ -163,17 +152,7 @@ jobs:
         with:
           is-high-risk-environment: false
           node-version: ${{ matrix.node-version }}
-      - name: Cache Playwright browsers
-        id: playwright-cache
-        uses: actions/cache@v4
-        with:
-          path: ~/.cache/ms-playwright
-          key: playwright-${{ runner.os }}-${{ hashFiles('yarn.lock') }}
-      - name: Install Playwright browsers
-        if: steps.playwright-cache.outputs.cache-hit != 'true'
-        run: yarn playwright install chromium
-      - name: Install Playwright system dependencies
-        run: yarn playwright install-deps chromium
+      - uses: ./.github/actions/playwright-install
       - run: VITE_DB_FOLDER=e2e yarn build
       - name: Run E2E tests
         id: e2e
diff --git a/scripts/playwright-install.sh b/scripts/playwright-install.sh
index 7a5251241..96839475f 100755
--- a/scripts/playwright-install.sh
+++ b/scripts/playwright-install.sh
@@ -1,24 +1,9 @@
 #!/bin/bash
 
-# Skip in Dependabot environments (not needed and causes failures)
-if "$(dirname "$0")/utils/check-dependabot.sh"; then
-    echo "⏭️  Skipping Playwright install in Dependabot environment"
-    exit 0
-fi
-
-# Also respect PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD for CI environments
-if [ "$PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD" = "1" ]; then
-    echo "⏭️  Skipping Playwright install (PLAYWRIGHT_SKIP_BROWSER_DOWNLOAD=1)"
+# In CI, browsers are installed separately via the playwright-install composite action
+if [ "$CI" = "true" ]; then
+    echo "⏭️  Skipping Playwright install in CI"
     exit 0
 fi
 
-# Install Chromium (with system deps in CI, headless shell only if requested)
-if [ "$CI" = "true" ]; then
-    if [ "$PLAYWRIGHT_ONLY_SHELL" = "1" ]; then
-        yarn playwright install --with-deps --only-shell chromium
-    else
-        yarn playwright install --with-deps chromium
-    fi
-else
-    yarn playwright install chromium
-fi
+yarn playwright install --with-deps chromium