Getting Started with Playwright

Introduction

Playwright is a modern open-source automation library from Microsoft used for end-to-end testing of web applications. It supports multiple browsers (Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit) and offers a powerful, fast, and reliable test automation experience.

Why Choose Playwright?

Installation

Use the following command to install Playwright and its test runner:

npm init playwright@latest

This sets up Playwright with all required dependencies, browsers, and example tests.

Writing Your First Test

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

  test('homepage has title and links to docs', 
  async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
  await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Playwright/);
  await page.click('text=Get started');
  await expect(page).toHaveURL(/.*docs/);
});

This simple test visits the Playwright homepage, checks the title, clicks on “Get Started” and verifies the resulting URL.

Running Tests

Run tests using the command:

npx playwright test

It will execute all test files matching *.spec.ts or *.test.ts in the tests directory.

Using UI Mode

Playwright provides a UI mode to debug tests interactively. Start it using:

npx playwright test --ui

This mode lets you run, pause, and inspect tests visually—perfect for debugging flaky tests.

Conclusion

Playwright makes end-to-end testing simple yet powerful. With features like auto-waiting, network mocking, and UI debugging, it’s quickly becoming a favorite for modern web app testing. If you're starting fresh or switching from Selenium, Playwright is worth exploring.