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.
π§ 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.
π Why Use Playwright?
Here’s what makes Playwright stand out:
-
Cross-Browser Testing: Supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit.
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Headless & Headed Mode: Runs tests with or without a UI.
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Auto-Waiting: Automatically waits for elements to be ready.
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Multiple Languages: Supports JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and C#.
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Mobile Emulation: Simulates mobile devices.
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Network Interception: Can block or modify network requests.
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Parallel Execution: Fast and scalable tests.
π§ Installation
Installing Playwright is simple. Run:
Or install manually:
Then install browsers:
π Writing Your First Test
Here’s a basic test in TypeScript:
This script:
-
Launches a browser
-
Opens the URL
-
Verifies the page title
π Supported Browsers
Playwright supports:
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Chromium (Chrome, Edge)
-
WebKit (Safari)
-
Firefox
You can test across all with:
Or use projects
in playwright.config.ts
to run on all.
π± Mobile Testing
Playwright allows testing on mobile devices with emulation:
This emulates the screen size, user agent, and touch behavior.
π 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:
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CSS
-
XPath
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Text-based
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Role-based (ARIA)
3. Screenshots & Videos
Great for debugging:
Or enable in config:
4. Network Interception
You can intercept API calls:
Or modify responses for testing edge cases.
5. Multiple Contexts & Pages
Simulate multiple users or sessions without opening a new browser:
π€ Playwright Test Runner
Playwright includes a built-in test runner, @playwright/test
, which provides:
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Parallel execution
-
Fixtures
-
Test annotations
-
Report generation
Create a config file:
Or manually:
π Reporting
Run tests and generate reports:
View with:
π Authentication Testing
Capture login state to avoid repeated logins:
And reuse in other tests:
π€ CI Integration
Playwright works smoothly with:
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GitHub Actions
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Jenkins
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Azure DevOps
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GitLab CI
Example GitHub Action:
π Codegen Tool
Generate test scripts by recording interactions:
This opens a browser and outputs the code as you interact.
π‘ Use Cases
Playwright is ideal for:
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UI regression testing
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Cross-browser compatibility testing
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Continuous testing in CI/CD
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Performance profiling
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Web scraping
π Playwright vs Others
Feature | Playwright | Selenium | Cypress |
---|---|---|---|
Cross-browser | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (Chromium only) |
Native mobile emulation | ✅ | ❌ | ❌ |
Network mocking | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Headless mode | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
Auto-waiting | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
Multiple languages | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (JS only) |
π 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.
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