Overview of Playwright Framework

  

What is Playwright?

Playwright is an open-source end-to-end (E2E) automation testing framework developed by Microsoft. It is used to automate modern web applications across multiple browsers and platforms. Playwright provides APIs for automating Chromium (Chrome, Edge), Firefox, and WebKit (Safari) browsers using a single codebase.

Key Features of Playwright

Feature	Description
Cross-browser testing	Supports Chromium, Firefox, and WebKit with a unified API.
Cross-platform	Runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS.
Auto-wait	Automatically waits for elements to be ready before performing actions.
Headless & Headful modes	Can run in the background (headless) or visible mode (headful).
Multiple language support	Official support for JavaScript/TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET.
Built-in test runner	Includes its own Playwright Test runner for powerful parallel execution, retries, and test reporting.
Browser contexts	Isolates test environments within the same browser instance to simulate multiple users.
Network & Geolocation mocking	Allows simulation of network conditions and geolocation.
Visual comparisons	Supports screenshot and video capturing for visual regression testing.

Supported Browsers

• Chromium (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge)

• Firefox

• WebKit (Safari)

These are bundled with Playwright, so no need to install them manually.

Advanced Features

• API Testing: Playwright can make HTTP requests and validate responses.

• Mobile Emulation: Emulates mobile devices like iPhone, Pixel.

• Component Testing: React, Angular, Vue component testing support.

• CI/CD Integration: Jenkins, GitHub Actions, GitLab, Azure DevOps, etc.

Comparison: Playwright vs Selenium

Feature	Playwright	Selenium
Modern web support	Excellent	Limited in modern web features
Speed	Faster	Slower
Auto-wait	Yes	Manual wait often required
Browser support	Chromium, Firefox, WebKit	All major browsers
API Testing	Built-in	Needs external tools
Built-in test runner	Yes	No

Playwright generally used for:

• Cross-browser UI Testing

• Visual Regression Testing

• API Testing

• CI/CD pipeline automation

• Mobile and geolocation testing

• Real-time network condition simulation