Playwright

Playwright is a modern, open-source automation framework for testing web applications.
It allows you to control real browsers (Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit) and simulate how a real user interacts with a website.

Further information

Link: Playwright Documentation

Key features

• Fast & reliable (automatic waiting, reduced flakiness)
• Cross-browser (Chrome/Chromium, Firefox, Safari/WebKit)
• Cross-language (JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, .NET)
• Great for end-to-end testing
• Supports API testing, mobile emulation, and visual testing

Advantages of Playwright

Very reliable (low flakiness)

Playwright automatically waits for elements to be ready (loaded, visible, stable), which greatly reduces flaky tests.

Fast execution

• Parallel test execution by default
• Modern browser automation API
• Supports headless and headed modes

True cross-browser support

Supports all major engines:

• Chromium (Chrome, Edge)
• Firefox
• WebKit (Safari engine)

Multi-language support

Write tests in:

• JavaScript / TypeScript
• Python
• Java
• .NET

Powerful debugging tools

• Trace viewer
• Codegen (auto-generates test code)
• Screenshots, videos, network logs

All-in-one testing framework

Includes:

• Test runner
• Reporter
• Parallelization
• Tracing, video, and screenshot capture

Built-in API testing

Combine UI and API tests in a single workflow.

Mobile browser emulation

Emulates iOS and Android browsers via WebKit and Chromium.

CI/CD friendly

Fast, stable, and easy to use in pipelines (GitHub Actions, Docker, etc.).

When to Use Playwright

Use Playwright when:

• You need cross-browser testing (Chrome, Firefox, Safari)
• You want fast, reliable end-to-end tests
• You're building modern web applications
• You need both UI and API testing
• You want excellent debugging tools
• Your team uses TypeScript/JavaScript (also supports Python, Java, .NET)

Consider alternatives when:

• You only need to test Chrome (Puppeteer might be simpler)
• You're testing legacy applications that require older browser versions
• Your team is heavily invested in another tool's ecosystem

Getting Started

Installation

npm init playwright@latest

This command will:

• Install Playwright and browsers
• Create configuration file
• Add example tests
• Set up GitHub Actions workflow

Run Tests

# Run all tests
npx playwright test

# Run tests in headed mode
npx playwright test --headed

# Run tests in UI mode
npx playwright test --ui

# Generate code
npx playwright codegen

Learn More

For detailed usage, commands, and best practices, see the Playwright Usage Guide.