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Playwright Automation Testing Tutorial for Beginners

Playwright Automation Testing Tutorial for Beginners

 

In the modern software development lifecycle, automation testing plays a crucial role in ensuring high-quality applications. With growing demand for faster releases, reliable frameworks like Playwright have become the preferred choice for testers and developers. Playwright, developed by Microsoft, offers end-to-end testing capabilities for web applications across multiple browsers, making it a strong competitor to Selenium and Cypress.

This article will serve as a complete Playwright tutorial for beginners, covering setup, features, real-world examples, advanced use cases, FAQs, and best practices.

What is Playwright?

Playwright is an open-source automation testing library that allows developers and QA engineers to perform browser automation efficiently. It supports popular browsers such as:

  • Chromium (Google Chrome, Edge)

  • Firefox

  • WebKit (Safari)

Unlike older frameworks, Playwright provides cross-browser testing with a single API, ensuring tests run consistently across different environments.

Key Features of Playwright

  1. Cross-Browser Support – Run tests on Chrome, Firefox, and Safari seamlessly.

  2. Auto-Wait Mechanism – Automatically waits for elements, reducing flaky tests.

  3. Headless & Headed Execution – Choose between visible and invisible browser modes.

  4. Parallel Execution – Execute tests faster by running them concurrently.

  5. Network Interception – Mock API responses for efficient testing.

  6. Multi-Language Support – Works with JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET.

  7. Mobile Testing – Simulate mobile devices for responsive testing.

Setting Up Playwright

Follow these steps to set up Playwright on your system:

Step 1: Install Node.js

Download and install the latest version of Node.js from its official website.

Step 2: Create a Project

mkdir playwright-tutorial
cd playwright-tutorial
npm init -y

Step 3: Install Playwright

npm install -D @playwright/test
npx playwright install

Step 4: Create a Sample Test

const { test, expect } = require('@playwright/test');

test('basic test', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://example.com');
  const title = await page.title();
  expect(title).toBe('Example Domain');
});

Step 5: Run the Test

npx playwright test

Your first Playwright test is ready!

Step-by-Step Tutorial: Writing Playwright Tests

1. Navigating to a Web Page

await page.goto('https://mywebsite.com');

2. Interacting with Elements

await page.fill('#username', 'testuser');
await page.fill('#password', 'mypassword');
await page.click('#loginButton');

3. Assertions

await expect(page.locator('h1')).toHaveText('Welcome');

4. Taking Screenshots

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

5. Handling Multiple Tabs

const [newPage] = await Promise.all([
  context.waitForEvent('page'),
  page.click('#openNewTab')
]);

Playwright vs Selenium vs Cypress

FeaturePlaywrightSeleniumCypress
Browser SupportChrome, Firefox, SafariChrome, Firefox, Safari, IEChrome, Firefox, Edge
Auto-WaitYesNoYes
SpeedFasterSlowerMedium
API MockingYesLimitedYes
Mobile EmulationYesNoPartial

Verdict: Playwright combines the best features of both Selenium and Cypress, making it a powerful modern automation tool.

Advanced Use Cases of Playwright

  1. API Testing with Playwright – Validate API responses along with UI tests.

  2. Visual Regression Testing – Compare screenshots across versions.

  3. Cross-Browser Parallel Execution – Reduce CI/CD pipeline time.

  4. Custom Test Reporter Integration – Export results in HTML, JSON, or JUnit formats.

  5. Testing Authentication Workflows – Handle login sessions securely.

Best Practices for Playwright Testing

  • Always use locators instead of CSS selectors for stability.

  • Implement Page Object Model (POM) for maintainable test scripts.

  • Run tests in parallel mode for faster execution.

  • Use test retries for flaky environments.

  • Store sensitive data like credentials in environment variables.

Common Challenges and Solutions

  • Slow Test Execution → Use parallelization and headless mode.

  • Flaky Tests → Leverage auto-wait and retries.

  • Element Not Found Errors → Prefer Playwright locators over raw selectors.

  • CI/CD Failures → Ensure dependencies are installed in pipelines.

FAQs on Playwright Automation Testing

Q1. Is Playwright better than Selenium?
Yes, Playwright is faster and more reliable for modern web apps, but Selenium is still widely used for legacy applications.

Q2. Can Playwright be used for mobile testing?
Yes, it supports mobile device emulation.

Q3. Does Playwright support multiple languages?
Yes, it supports JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET.

Q4. Is Playwright free to use?
Yes, it is open-source and free.

Q5. Can Playwright integrate with CI/CD tools?
Yes, it works seamlessly with GitHub Actions, Jenkins, GitLab CI, and Azure DevOps.

Conclusion

Playwright is revolutionizing automation testing by providing a fast, reliable, and cross-browser solution for modern applications. With its simple API, multi-language support, and powerful features, it is quickly becoming the top choice for QA engineers and developers worldwide.

If you are starting your journey in test automation, mastering Playwright will give you a strong advantage in building scalable and efficient test suites.

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