diff --git a/docs/config/browser/playwright.md b/docs/config/browser/playwright.md
index 7e36ded22..19d557ddd 100644
--- a/docs/config/browser/playwright.md
+++ b/docs/config/browser/playwright.md
@@ -74,7 +74,9 @@ These options are directly passed down to `playwright[browser].connect` command.
 Use `connectOptions.wsEndpoint` to connect to an existing Playwright server instead of launching browsers locally. This is useful for running browsers in Docker, in CI, or on a remote machine.
 
 ::: warning
-Since this command connects to an existing Playwright server, any `launch` options will be ignored.
+
+Vitest forwards `launchOptions` to Playwright server via the `x-playwright-launch-options` header. This works only if the remote Playwright server supports this header, for example when using the `playwright run-server` CLI.
+
 :::
 
 ::: details Example: Running a Playwright Server in Docker
diff --git a/packages/browser-playwright/src/playwright.ts b/packages/browser-playwright/src/playwright.ts
index c0d6ebd49..678156abf 100644
--- a/packages/browser-playwright/src/playwright.ts
+++ b/packages/browser-playwright/src/playwright.ts
@@ -169,20 +169,6 @@ export class PlaywrightBrowserProvider implements BrowserProvider {
 
       const playwright = await import('playwright')
 
-      if (this.options.connectOptions) {
-        if (this.options.launchOptions) {
-          this.project.vitest.logger.warn(
-            c.yellow(`Found both ${c.bold(c.italic(c.yellow('connect')))} and ${c.bold(c.italic(c.yellow('launch')))} options in browser instance configuration.
-          Ignoring ${c.bold(c.italic(c.yellow('launch')))} options and using ${c.bold(c.italic(c.yellow('connect')))} mode.
-          You probably want to remove one of the two options and keep only the one you want to use.`),
-          )
-        }
-        const browser = await playwright[this.browserName].connect(this.options.connectOptions.wsEndpoint, this.options.connectOptions)
-        this.browser = browser
-        this.browserPromise = null
-        return this.browser
-      }
-
       const launchOptions: LaunchOptions = {
         ...this.options.launchOptions,
         headless: options.headless,
@@ -216,6 +202,27 @@ export class PlaywrightBrowserProvider implements BrowserProvider {
       }
 
       debug?.('[%s] initializing the browser with launch options: %O', this.browserName, launchOptions)
+
+      if (this.options.connectOptions) {
+        let { wsEndpoint, headers = {}, ...connectOptions } = this.options.connectOptions
+        if ('x-playwright-launch-options' in headers) {
+          this.project.vitest.logger.warn(
+            c.yellow(
+              'Detected "x-playwright-launch-options" in connectOptions.headers. Provider config launchOptions is ignored.',
+            ),
+          )
+        }
+        else {
+          headers = { ...headers, 'x-playwright-launch-options': JSON.stringify(launchOptions) }
+        }
+        this.browser = await playwright[this.browserName].connect(wsEndpoint, {
+          ...connectOptions,
+          headers,
+        })
+        this.browserPromise = null
+        return this.browser
+      }
+
       let persistentContextOption = this.options.persistentContext
       if (persistentContextOption && openBrowserOptions.parallel) {
         persistentContextOption = false
diff --git a/pnpm-lock.yaml b/pnpm-lock.yaml
index f626ac513..9cdfe6e73 100644
--- a/pnpm-lock.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-lock.yaml
@@ -105,6 +105,9 @@ catalogs:
     strip-literal:
       specifier: ^3.1.0
       version: 3.1.0
+    tinyexec:
+      specifier: ^1.0.2
+      version: 1.0.2
     tinyglobby:
       specifier: ^0.2.15
       version: 0.2.15
@@ -1206,6 +1209,9 @@ importers:
       react-dom:
         specifier: ^19.2.4
         version: 19.2.4(react@19.2.4)
+      tinyexec:
+        specifier: 'catalog:'
+        version: 1.0.2
       url:
         specifier: ^0.11.4
         version: 0.11.4
diff --git a/pnpm-workspace.yaml b/pnpm-workspace.yaml
index e09518e9a..aa8dc45f3 100644
--- a/pnpm-workspace.yaml
+++ b/pnpm-workspace.yaml
@@ -79,6 +79,7 @@ catalog:
   sirv: ^3.0.2
   std-env: ^3.10.0
   strip-literal: ^3.1.0
+  tinyexec: ^1.0.2
   tinyglobby: ^0.2.15
   tinyhighlight: ^0.3.2
   tinyrainbow: ^3.0.3
diff --git a/test/browser/docker-compose.yaml b/test/browser/docker-compose.yaml
index d36ac0675..909338991 100644
--- a/test/browser/docker-compose.yaml
+++ b/test/browser/docker-compose.yaml
@@ -7,3 +7,18 @@ services:
     user: pwuser
     ports:
       - '6677:6677'
+
+  # This setup employs simpler and robust `network_mode: host` instead of port mapping.
+  # This supports debug inspector, which can only bind to 127.0.0.1.
+  # `connectOptions.exposeNetwork: '<loopback>'` is also not needed for this setup.
+  # Note that `network_mode: host` is supported only on Linux Docker.
+  # Run it by:
+  #   pnpm run docker up playwright-host
+  playwright-host:
+    image: mcr.microsoft.com/playwright:v1.58.1-noble
+    command: /bin/sh -c "npx -y playwright@1.58.1 run-server --port 6677"
+    init: true
+    ipc: host
+    user: pwuser
+    network_mode: host
+    profiles: [host]
diff --git a/test/browser/fixtures/playwright-connect/basic.test.js b/test/browser/fixtures/playwright-connect/basic.test.js
index 107d7cee9..c140443a9 100644
--- a/test/browser/fixtures/playwright-connect/basic.test.js
+++ b/test/browser/fixtures/playwright-connect/basic.test.js
@@ -10,3 +10,7 @@ test('[playwright] Run browser-only test in browser via connect mode', () => {
   expect(element instanceof HTMLElement).toBe(true)
   expect(element instanceof HTMLInputElement).not.toBe(true)
 })
+
+test('[playwright] applies launch options from connect header', () => {
+  expect(navigator.userAgent).toContain('VitestLaunchOptionsTester')
+})
diff --git a/test/browser/package.json b/test/browser/package.json
index 8e95a5e69..4796390c9 100644
--- a/test/browser/package.json
+++ b/test/browser/package.json
@@ -41,6 +41,7 @@
     "playwright": "^1.58.1",
     "react": "^19.2.4",
     "react-dom": "^19.2.4",
+    "tinyexec": "catalog:",
     "url": "^0.11.4",
     "vitest": "workspace:*",
     "vitest-browser-react": "^2.0.5",
diff --git a/test/browser/specs/playwright-connect.test.ts b/test/browser/specs/playwright-connect.test.ts
index 97318ca47..95c3ce4fc 100644
--- a/test/browser/specs/playwright-connect.test.ts
+++ b/test/browser/specs/playwright-connect.test.ts
@@ -1,42 +1,30 @@
+import { fileURLToPath } from 'node:url'
 import { playwright } from '@vitest/browser-playwright'
-import { chromium } from 'playwright'
+import { x } from 'tinyexec'
 import { expect, test } from 'vitest'
+import { Cli } from '../../test-utils/cli'
 import { provider } from '../settings'
 import { runBrowserTests } from './utils'
 
-test.runIf(provider.name === 'playwright')('[playwright] runs in connect mode', async () => {
-  const browserServer = await chromium.launchServer()
-  const wsEndpoint = browserServer.wsEndpoint()
-
-  const { stdout, exitCode, stderr } = await runBrowserTests({
-    root: './fixtures/playwright-connect',
-    browser: {
-      instances: [
-        {
-          browser: 'chromium',
-          name: 'chromium',
-          provider: playwright({
-            connectOptions: {
-              wsEndpoint,
-            },
-          }),
-        },
-      ],
-    },
+test.runIf(provider.name === 'playwright')('[playwright] runs in connect mode', async ({ onTestFinished }) => {
+  const cliPath = fileURLToPath(new URL('./cli.js', import.meta.resolve('@playwright/test')))
+  const subprocess = x(process.execPath, [cliPath, 'run-server', '--port', '9898']).process
+  const cli = new Cli({
+    stdin: subprocess.stdin,
+    stdout: subprocess.stdout,
+    stderr: subprocess.stderr,
+  })
+  let setDone: (value?: unknown) => void
+  const isDone = new Promise(resolve => (setDone = resolve))
+  subprocess.on('exit', () => setDone())
+  onTestFinished(async () => {
+    subprocess.kill('SIGILL')
+    await isDone
   })
 
-  await browserServer.close()
-
-  expect(stderr).toBe('')
-  expect(stdout).toContain('Tests  2 passed')
-  expect(exitCode).toBe(0)
-})
-
-test.runIf(provider.name === 'playwright')('[playwright] warns if both connect and launch mode are configured', async () => {
-  const browserServer = await chromium.launchServer()
-  const wsEndpoint = browserServer.wsEndpoint()
+  await cli.waitForStdout('Listening on ws://localhost:9898')
 
-  const { stdout, exitCode, stderr } = await runBrowserTests({
+  const result = await runBrowserTests({
     root: './fixtures/playwright-connect',
     browser: {
       instances: [
@@ -45,18 +33,25 @@ test.runIf(provider.name === 'playwright')('[playwright] warns if both connect a
           name: 'chromium',
           provider: playwright({
             connectOptions: {
-              wsEndpoint,
+              wsEndpoint: 'ws://localhost:9898',
+            },
+            launchOptions: {
+              args: [`--user-agent=VitestLaunchOptionsTester`],
             },
-            launchOptions: {},
           }),
         },
       ],
     },
-  })
-
-  await browserServer.close()
-
-  expect(stderr).toContain('Found both connect and launch options in browser instance configuration.')
-  expect(stdout).toContain('Tests  2 passed')
-  expect(exitCode).toBe(0)
+  }, ['basic.test.js'])
+
+  expect(result.stderr).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`""`)
+  expect(result.errorTree()).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+    {
+      "basic.test.js": {
+        "[playwright] Run basic test in browser via connect mode": "passed",
+        "[playwright] Run browser-only test in browser via connect mode": "passed",
+        "[playwright] applies launch options from connect header": "passed",
+      },
+    }
+  `)
 })