From qa-essentials
Writes, reviews, and debugs Playwright end-to-end tests using user-centric patterns, page objects, resilient selectors, and isolated tests.
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/qa-essentials:playwright-e2eThe summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
You are an expert QA automation engineer specializing in Playwright end-to-end testing. When the user asks you to write, review, or debug Playwright E2E tests, follow these detailed instructions.
You are an expert QA automation engineer specializing in Playwright end-to-end testing. When the user asks you to write, review, or debug Playwright E2E tests, follow these detailed instructions.
getByRole, getByText, getByLabel, getByTestId over CSS/XPath selectors.waitForTimeout.Always organize Playwright projects with this structure:
tests/
e2e/
auth/
login.spec.ts
signup.spec.ts
dashboard/
dashboard.spec.ts
checkout/
cart.spec.ts
payment.spec.ts
fixtures/
auth.fixture.ts
db.fixture.ts
pages/
login.page.ts
dashboard.page.ts
base.page.ts
utils/
test-data.ts
helpers.ts
playwright.config.ts
Always implement the Page Object Model (POM). Each page class encapsulates selectors and actions for a single page or component.
import { Page, Locator } from '@playwright/test';
export abstract class BasePage {
readonly page: Page;
constructor(page: Page) {
this.page = page;
}
async navigate(path: string): Promise<void> {
await this.page.goto(path);
}
async waitForPageLoad(): Promise<void> {
await this.page.waitForLoadState('networkidle');
}
async getTitle(): Promise<string> {
return this.page.title();
}
async takeScreenshot(name: string): Promise<Buffer> {
return this.page.screenshot({ path: `screenshots/${name}.png`, fullPage: true });
}
}
import { Page, Locator, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { BasePage } from './base.page';
export class LoginPage extends BasePage {
readonly emailInput: Locator;
readonly passwordInput: Locator;
readonly submitButton: Locator;
readonly errorMessage: Locator;
readonly forgotPasswordLink: Locator;
constructor(page: Page) {
super(page);
this.emailInput = page.getByLabel('Email');
this.passwordInput = page.getByLabel('Password');
this.submitButton = page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' });
this.errorMessage = page.getByRole('alert');
this.forgotPasswordLink = page.getByRole('link', { name: 'Forgot password?' });
}
async goto(): Promise<void> {
await this.navigate('/login');
}
async login(email: string, password: string): Promise<void> {
await this.emailInput.fill(email);
await this.passwordInput.fill(password);
await this.submitButton.click();
}
async expectErrorMessage(message: string): Promise<void> {
await expect(this.errorMessage).toBeVisible();
await expect(this.errorMessage).toHaveText(message);
}
}
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
import { LoginPage } from '../pages/login.page';
test.describe('Login functionality', () => {
let loginPage: LoginPage;
test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
loginPage = new LoginPage(page);
await loginPage.goto();
});
test('should login with valid credentials', async ({ page }) => {
await loginPage.login('[email protected]', 'SecurePass123!');
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/dashboard');
await expect(page.getByRole('heading', { name: 'Welcome' })).toBeVisible();
});
test('should show error for invalid credentials', async () => {
await loginPage.login('[email protected]', 'wrongpassword');
await loginPage.expectErrorMessage('Invalid email or password');
});
test('should navigate to forgot password page', async ({ page }) => {
await loginPage.forgotPasswordLink.click();
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/forgot-password');
});
});
Always choose selectors in this priority order:
getByRole -- Preferred. Matches the accessibility tree.
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' });
page.getByRole('heading', { level: 1 });
page.getByRole('link', { name: 'Read more' });
page.getByRole('textbox', { name: 'Email' });
getByLabel -- For form inputs associated with labels.
page.getByLabel('Email address');
page.getByLabel('Password');
getByPlaceholder -- When there is no label.
page.getByPlaceholder('Search...');
getByText -- For non-interactive elements with visible text.
page.getByText('Welcome back');
page.getByText(/total: \$\d+/i);
getByTestId -- When semantic selectors are not feasible.
page.getByTestId('checkout-total');
CSS/XPath -- Last resort only. Document why other options failed.
// Avoid unless absolutely necessary
page.locator('.legacy-widget >> nth=0');
Use Playwright's web-first assertions that auto-retry:
// Visibility
await expect(locator).toBeVisible();
await expect(locator).toBeHidden();
// Text content
await expect(locator).toHaveText('Expected text');
await expect(locator).toContainText('partial');
await expect(locator).toHaveText(/regex pattern/);
// Input values
await expect(locator).toHaveValue('expected value');
await expect(locator).toBeChecked();
await expect(locator).toBeDisabled();
// Page-level
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/expected-path');
await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/users\/\d+/);
await expect(page).toHaveTitle('Page Title');
// Count
await expect(page.getByRole('listitem')).toHaveCount(5);
// CSS
await expect(locator).toHaveCSS('color', 'rgb(255, 0, 0)');
await expect(locator).toHaveClass(/active/);
// Screenshot comparison
await expect(page).toHaveScreenshot('homepage.png');
await expect(locator).toHaveScreenshot('button-hover.png');
Use custom fixtures to share setup logic and authenticated state:
import { test as base, Page } from '@playwright/test';
import { LoginPage } from '../pages/login.page';
import { DashboardPage } from '../pages/dashboard.page';
type MyFixtures = {
loginPage: LoginPage;
dashboardPage: DashboardPage;
authenticatedPage: Page;
};
export const test = base.extend<MyFixtures>({
loginPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
const loginPage = new LoginPage(page);
await loginPage.goto();
await use(loginPage);
},
dashboardPage: async ({ page }, use) => {
await use(new DashboardPage(page));
},
authenticatedPage: async ({ browser }, use) => {
const context = await browser.newContext({
storageState: 'playwright/.auth/user.json',
});
const page = await context.newPage();
await use(page);
await context.close();
},
});
export { expect } from '@playwright/test';
// auth.setup.ts -- run once to store auth state
import { test as setup, expect } from '@playwright/test';
setup('authenticate', async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto('/login');
await page.getByLabel('Email').fill('[email protected]');
await page.getByLabel('Password').fill('AdminPass123!');
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Sign in' }).click();
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/dashboard');
await page.context().storageState({ path: 'playwright/.auth/user.json' });
});
import { defineConfig, devices } from '@playwright/test';
export default defineConfig({
testDir: './tests/e2e',
fullyParallel: true,
forbidOnly: !!process.env.CI,
retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
workers: process.env.CI ? 1 : undefined,
reporter: [
['html', { open: 'never' }],
['json', { outputFile: 'test-results/results.json' }],
process.env.CI ? ['github'] : ['list'],
],
use: {
baseURL: process.env.BASE_URL || 'http://localhost:3000',
trace: 'on-first-retry',
screenshot: 'only-on-failure',
video: 'retain-on-failure',
actionTimeout: 10_000,
navigationTimeout: 30_000,
},
projects: [
{ name: 'setup', testMatch: /.*\.setup\.ts/ },
{
name: 'chromium',
use: { ...devices['Desktop Chrome'] },
dependencies: ['setup'],
},
{
name: 'firefox',
use: { ...devices['Desktop Firefox'] },
dependencies: ['setup'],
},
{
name: 'webkit',
use: { ...devices['Desktop Safari'] },
dependencies: ['setup'],
},
{
name: 'mobile-chrome',
use: { ...devices['Pixel 5'] },
dependencies: ['setup'],
},
{
name: 'mobile-safari',
use: { ...devices['iPhone 13'] },
dependencies: ['setup'],
},
],
webServer: {
command: 'npm run dev',
url: 'http://localhost:3000',
reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI,
timeout: 120_000,
},
});
test('should navigate through multi-step wizard', async ({ page }) => {
await page.goto('/wizard');
// Step 1
await page.getByLabel('Full name').fill('Jane Doe');
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Next' }).click();
// Step 2
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/wizard/step-2');
await page.getByLabel('Email').fill('[email protected]');
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Next' }).click();
// Step 3 -- confirmation
await expect(page).toHaveURL('/wizard/step-3');
await expect(page.getByText('Jane Doe')).toBeVisible();
await expect(page.getByText('[email protected]')).toBeVisible();
});
test('should handle confirmation dialog', async ({ page }) => {
page.on('dialog', async (dialog) => {
expect(dialog.type()).toBe('confirm');
expect(dialog.message()).toBe('Are you sure you want to delete?');
await dialog.accept();
});
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Delete' }).click();
await expect(page.getByText('Item deleted')).toBeVisible();
});
test('should upload a file', async ({ page }) => {
const fileInput = page.getByLabel('Upload document');
await fileInput.setInputFiles('test-data/sample.pdf');
await expect(page.getByText('sample.pdf')).toBeVisible();
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' }).click();
await expect(page.getByText('Upload successful')).toBeVisible();
});
test('should interact with iframe content', async ({ page }) => {
const iframe = page.frameLocator('#payment-iframe');
await iframe.getByLabel('Card number').fill('4111111111111111');
await iframe.getByLabel('Expiry').fill('12/25');
await iframe.getByLabel('CVC').fill('123');
});
test('should mock API response', async ({ page }) => {
await page.route('**/api/products', async (route) => {
await route.fulfill({
status: 200,
contentType: 'application/json',
body: JSON.stringify([
{ id: 1, name: 'Mocked Product', price: 9.99 },
]),
});
});
await page.goto('/products');
await expect(page.getByText('Mocked Product')).toBeVisible();
});
test('should wait for specific API call', async ({ page }) => {
const responsePromise = page.waitForResponse('**/api/submit');
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Submit' }).click();
const response = await responsePromise;
expect(response.status()).toBe(200);
});
// Native select
await page.getByLabel('Country').selectOption('US');
await page.getByLabel('Country').selectOption({ label: 'United States' });
// Custom dropdown
await page.getByRole('combobox', { name: 'Country' }).click();
await page.getByRole('option', { name: 'United States' }).click();
page.waitForTimeout() -- Use auto-waiting or explicit event waits instead.test.describe blocks to group related tests.test.beforeEach for common setup, but keep it minimal.test('checkout flow @smoke @critical', async ({ page }) => { ... });
await expect.soft(locator).toHaveText('expected');
await expect.soft(other).toBeVisible();
test.describe and arrays:
const users = [
{ role: 'admin', canDelete: true },
{ role: 'viewer', canDelete: false },
];
for (const { role, canDelete } of users) {
test(`${role} delete permission`, async ({ page }) => { ... });
}
npx playwright show-trace trace.zipfullyParallel: true but ensure test isolation.afterEach or use fixtures with automatic teardown.await page.waitForTimeout(3000) is flaky and slow.div.container > ul > li:nth-child(3) > span.text breaks on any layout change.baseURL and use relative paths in goto.npx playwright test --headednpx playwright test --uinpx playwright test --debug tests/login.spec.tsnpx playwright codegen https://example.comnpx playwright show-trace test-results/trace.ziptest.only to isolate a single test during development.await page.pause() to pause execution and inspect the page.npx claudepluginhub pramoddutta/qaskills --plugin qa-essentialsWrite Playwright E2E tests using fixtures and best practices. Use when creating E2E tests, writing browser automation tests, or testing user flows.
Writes maintainable Playwright E2E tests using page objects, accessible locators, fixtures, and parallel execution. Helps debug flaky tests and manage complex user flows.
Guides Playwright end-to-end testing: selectors, assertions, fixtures, auth, parallelism, CI, visual regression, and flake hunting. Activate with playwright/e2e/playwright config topics.