What is Playwright? An Introduction

What is Playwright? An Introduction

In today’s fast-paced software world, ensuring web applications work flawlessly across all browsers is crucial. That’s where Playwright comes into the spotlight.

🧠 What is Playwright?

Playwright is an open-source end-to-end testing framework developed by Microsoft. It enables developers to automate browser interactions for testing purposes across modern browsers like Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.

Playwright is fast, reliable, and supports modern web app features out of the box. It is a strong alternative to Selenium and Cypress.

πŸš€ Why Use Playwright?

Here’s what makes Playwright stand out:

  • Cross-Browser Testing: Supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.

  • Headless & Headed Mode: Runs tests with or without a UI.

  • Auto-Waiting: Automatically waits for elements to be ready.

  • Multiple Languages: Supports JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and C#.

  • Mobile Emulation: Simulates mobile devices.

  • Network Interception: Can block or modify network requests.

  • Parallel Execution: Fast and scalable tests.

πŸ”§ Installation

Installing Playwright is simple. Run:

npm init playwright@latest

Or install manually:

npm install -D @playwright/test

Then install browsers:

npx playwright install

πŸ“ Writing Your First Test

Here’s a basic test in TypeScript:

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

This script:

  • Launches a browser

  • Opens the URL

  • Verifies the page title

🌐 Supported Browsers

Playwright supports:

  • Chromium (Chrome, Edge)

  • WebKit (Safari)

  • Firefox

You can test across all with:

test.use({ browserName: 'firefox' });

Or use projects in playwright.config.ts to run on all.

πŸ“± Mobile Testing

Playwright allows testing on mobile devices with emulation:

import { devices } from '@playwright/test'; test.use({ ...devices['iPhone 13'], });

This emulates the screen size, user agent, and touch behavior.

πŸ›  Key Features

1. Auto-Waiting

Playwright waits for elements to be actionable before performing actions. No need for explicit waits.

2. Selectors

Supports powerful selectors:

  • CSS

  • XPath

  • Text-based

  • Role-based (ARIA)

await page.click('text=Login'); await page.click('role=button[name="Submit"]');

3. Screenshots & Videos

Great for debugging:

await page.screenshot({ path: 'screenshot.png' });

Or enable in config:

use: { screenshot: 'only-on-failure', video: 'retain-on-failure', }

4. Network Interception

You can intercept API calls:

await page.route('**/api/**', route => route.abort());

Or modify responses for testing edge cases.

5. Multiple Contexts & Pages

Simulate multiple users or sessions without opening a new browser:

const context = await browser.newContext(); const page = await context.newPage();

πŸ€– Playwright Test Runner

Playwright includes a built-in test runner, @playwright/test, which provides:

  • Parallel execution

  • Fixtures

  • Test annotations

  • Report generation

Create a config file:

npx playwright codegen

Or manually:

// playwright.config.ts import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test'; export default defineConfig({ use: { headless: true, viewport: { width: 1280, height: 720 }, }, });

πŸ“Š Reporting

Run tests and generate reports:

npx playwright test --reporter=html

View with:

npx playwright show-report

πŸ” Authentication Testing

Capture login state to avoid repeated logins:

await page.context().storageState({ path: 'auth.json' });

And reuse in other tests:

context = await browser.newContext({ storageState: 'auth.json' });

🀝 CI Integration

Playwright works smoothly with:

  • GitHub Actions

  • Jenkins

  • Azure DevOps

  • GitLab CI

Example GitHub Action:

- name: Run Playwright tests run: npx playwright test

πŸ”„ Codegen Tool

Generate test scripts by recording interactions:

npx playwright codegen https://example.com

This opens a browser and outputs the code as you interact.

πŸ’‘ Use Cases

Playwright is ideal for:

  • UI regression testing

  • Cross-browser compatibility testing

  • Continuous testing in CI/CD

  • Performance profiling

  • Web scraping

πŸ†š Playwright vs Others

FeaturePlaywrightSeleniumCypress
Cross-browser❌ (Chromium only)
Native mobile emulation
Network mocking
Headless mode
Auto-waiting
Multiple languages❌ (JS only)

🏁 Conclusion

Playwright is a modern, powerful, and developer-friendly tool for web automation and testing. Its rich features and robust support for cross-browser testing make it a favorite for QA teams and developers alike.

Whether you're testing a simple web app or building a full testing pipeline, Playwright gives you all the tools you need in one sleek package.


Learn Playwright Training Course

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