Playwright is an end-to-end testing framework developed by Microsoft for web applications automation.
It supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit browsers through a single API and is ideal for testing in CI environments.
Key features of Playwright include multi-browser support, parallel test execution, headless and headful modes, auto-wait functionality, network interception, screenshots/videos capturing, and code generation.
Compared to Selenium and Cypress, Playwright offers a broader browser range and a combination of flexibility and user-friendliness.
Installation is simple with npm init playwright@latest and provides TypeScript support.
Basic concepts in Playwright include Browser Context, Page, Locator, and Test Runner.
Cross-browser testing is facilitated with commands like npx playwright test --project=firefox.
Headless and headful modes are available for UI inspection and debugging.
API testing is supported in Playwright for backend automation.
Visual regression testing can be done by capturing screenshots for comparison.
Playwright integrates with CI/CD tools like GitHub Actions and supports testing authentication and session management.
Best practices for test maintenance in Playwright include using Page Object Model, retry logic, atomic tests, and fixtures.
Debugging techniques in Playwright involve using codegen, trace files, .pause(), and .debug().
Playwright can be used effectively with TypeScript for better type support and developer confidence.
Playwright is gaining popularity for its speed, debugging tools, and multi-browser support, making it a preferred choice for test automation in 2025.
FAQs cover topics such as Playwright's comparison with Selenium, mobile app testing, parallel testing, supported languages, Docker compatibility, and suitability for enterprise projects.