playwright

When to use this skill

Use this skill whenever the user wants to:

• Write end-to-end browser tests with Playwright (Chromium, Firefox, WebKit)
• Use auto-waiting locators and built-in assertions
• Handle multiple pages, tabs, and browser contexts
• Configure Playwright projects for CI execution with traces and screenshots
• Implement the Page Object Model pattern for maintainable tests

How to use this skill

Workflow

1. Initialize Playwright: npm init playwright to generate config and sample tests
2. Write tests using auto-wait locators (getByRole, getByLabel, getByText)
3. Run tests: npx playwright test in headless, headed, or UI mode
4. Debug failures using traces, screenshots, and the Playwright Inspector

1. Basic Test

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test('homepage has title', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Example/);
});

test('login flow', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com/login');
  await page.getByLabel('Username').fill('testuser');
  await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('secret');
  await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' }).click();
  await expect(page.getByText('Dashboard')).toBeVisible();
});

2. Page Object Model

class LoginPage {
  constructor(private page: Page) {}

  async login(username: string, password: string) {
    await this.page.getByLabel('Username').fill(username);
    await this.page.getByLabel('Password').fill(password);
    await this.page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' }).click();
  }
}

3. Configuration

// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test';

export default defineConfig({
  testDir: './tests',
  retries: 2,
  use: {
    baseURL: 'https://example.com',
    trace: 'on-first-retry',
    screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
  },
  projects: [
    { name: 'chromium', use: { browserName: 'chromium' } },
    { name: 'firefox', use: { browserName: 'firefox' } },
    { name: 'webkit', use: { browserName: 'webkit' } },
  ],
});

4. Running Tests

npx playwright test                    # Run all tests headless
npx playwright test --headed           # Run with browser visible
npx playwright test --ui               # Interactive UI mode
npx playwright show-report             # View HTML report

Best Practices

• Prefer role-based locators (getByRole, getByLabel) over fragile XPath or CSS selectors
• Keep tests independent and repeatable; use beforeEach or fixtures to prepare state
• Install browsers and dependencies in CI (npx playwright install --with-deps)
• Retain traces and screenshots on failure for debugging
• Use Playwright's built-in expect assertions — they auto-retry

Resources

• Official documentation: https://playwright.dev/docs/intro
• API reference: https://playwright.dev/docs/api/class-playwright
• Best practices: https://playwright.dev/docs/best-practices

Keywords

playwright, E2E, end-to-end testing, cross-browser, auto-wait, locators, getByRole, trace, Page Object Model, Chromium, Firefox, WebKit