Write and run Playwright E2E tests for Supabase Studio. Use when asked to run e2e tests, write new E2E tests, or debug flaky tests. Covers running commands, avoiding race conditions, waiting strategies, selectors, helper functions, and CI vs local differences.
Run Playwright end-to-end tests for the Studio application.
Tests must be run from the e2e/studio directory:
cd e2e/studio && pnpm run e2e
cd e2e/studio && pnpm run e2e -- features/cron-jobs.spec.ts
cd e2e/studio && pnpm run e2e -- --grep "test name pattern"
cd e2e/studio && pnpm run e2e -- --ui
IS_PLATFORM=false) runs tests in parallel (3 workers)e2e/studio/features/*.spec.tsimport { test } from '../utils/test.js'page, ref, and other helpersWait for elements with generous timeouts:
await expect(locator).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30000 })
Add messages to expects for debugging:
await expect(locator).toBeVisible({ timeout: 30000 }, 'Element should be visible after page load')
Use serial mode for tests sharing database state:
test.describe.configure({ mode: 'serial' })
getByRole with accessible name - Most robust, tests accessibility
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' })
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Configure API privileges' })
getByTestId - Stable, explicit test hooks
page.getByTestId('table-editor-side-panel')
getByText with exact match - Good for unique text
page.getByText('Data API Access', { exact: true })
locator with CSS - Use sparingly, more fragile
page.locator('[data-state="open"]')
XPath selectors - Fragile to DOM changes
// BAD
locator('xpath=ancestor::div[contains(@class, "space-y")]')
Parent traversal with locator('..') - Breaks when structure changes
// BAD
element.locator('..').getByRole('button')
Broad filter({ hasText }) on generic elements - May match multiple elements
// BAD - popover may have more than one combobox
// Could consider scoping down the container or filtering the combobox more specifically
popover.getByRole('combobox')
When a component lacks a good accessible name, add one in the source code:
// In the React component
<Button aria-label="Configure API privileges">
<Settings />
</Button>
Then use it in tests:
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Configure API privileges' })
Scope selectors to specific containers to avoid matching wrong elements:
// Good - scoped to side panel
const sidePanel = page.getByTestId('table-editor-side-panel')
const toggle = sidePanel.getByRole('switch')
// Good - find unique element, then scope from there
const popover = page.locator('[data-radix-popper-content-wrapper]')
const roleSection = popover.getByText('Anonymous (anon)', { exact: true })
Set up API waiters BEFORE triggering actions. This is the most common source of flaky tests.
// ❌ Race condition — response may complete before waiter is set up
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click()
await waitForApiResponse(page, 'pg-meta', ref, 'query?key=table-create')
// ✅ Waiter is ready before the action
const apiPromise = waitForApiResponse(page, 'pg-meta', ref, 'query?key=table-create')
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click()
await apiPromise
Same rule applies before navigation:
const loadPromise = waitForTableToLoad(page, ref)
await page.goto(toUrl(`/project/${ref}/editor?schema=public`))
await loadPromise
When an action triggers multiple API calls, wait for all of them:
const createTablePromise = waitForApiResponseWithTimeout(page, (r) =>
r.url().includes('query?key=table-create')
)
const tablesPromise = waitForApiResponseWithTimeout(page, (r) =>
r.url().includes('tables?include_columns=true')
)
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }).click()
await Promise.all([createTablePromise, tablesPromise])
Playwright auto-waits for elements to be actionable — prefer this over manual timeouts.
Use expect.poll for dynamic state changes:
await expect.poll(async () => await page.getByLabel(`View ${tableName}`).count()).toBe(0)
Use waitForSelector with state for element lifecycle:
await page.waitForSelector('[data-testid="side-panel"]', { state: 'detached' })
Avoid networkidle — use specific API waits instead:
// ❌ Unreliable and slow
await page.waitForLoadState('networkidle')
// ✅ Specific API response
await waitForApiResponse(page, 'pg-meta', ref, 'tables')
Timeouts are acceptable only for client-side debounces:
await page.getByRole('textbox').fill('search term')
await page.waitForTimeout(300) // allow debounce
waitForTimeoutNever use waitForTimeout - always wait for something specific:
// BAD
await page.waitForTimeout(1000)
// GOOD - wait for UI element
await expect(page.getByText('Success')).toBeVisible()
// GOOD - wait for API response
const apiPromise = waitForApiResponse(page, 'pg-meta', ref, 'query?key=table-create')
await saveButton.click()
await apiPromise
// GOOD - wait for toast indicating operation complete
await expect(page.getByText('Table created successfully')).toBeVisible({ timeout: 15000 })
force: true on clicksInstead of forcing clicks on hidden elements, make them visible first:
// BAD
await menuButton.click({ force: true })
// GOOD - hover to reveal, then click
await tableRow.hover()
await expect(menuButton).toBeVisible()
await menuButton.click()
Always import from the custom test utility:
import { test } from '../utils/test.js'
Use withFileOnceSetup for expensive setup that should run once per file:
test.beforeAll(async ({ browser, ref }) => {
await withFileOnceSetup(import.meta.url, async () => {
const ctx = await browser.newContext()
const page = await ctx.newPage()
await deleteTestTables(page, ref)
})
})
test.afterAll(async () => {
await releaseFileOnceCleanup(import.meta.url)
})
Dismiss toasts before interacting — they can overlay buttons:
const dismissToastsIfAny = async (page: Page) => {
const closeButtons = page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Close toast' })
const count = await closeButtons.count()
for (let i = 0; i < count; i++) {
await closeButtons.nth(i).click()
}
}
await dismissToastsIfAny(page)
await page.getByRole('button', { name: 'New table' }).click()
Always include descriptive messages for easier debugging:
// ❌ No context on failure
await expect(page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' })).toBeVisible()
// ✅ Clear message on failure
await expect(
page.getByRole('button', { name: 'Save' }),
'Save button should be visible after form is filled'
).toBeVisible()
Use explicit timeouts for slow operations:
await expect(
page.getByText(`Table ${tableName} is good to go!`),
'Success toast should be visible after table creation'
).toBeVisible({ timeout: 50000 })
Extract reusable operations into domain helpers (e.g. e2e/studio/utils/storage-helpers.ts).
Use the existing wait utilities:
import {
createApiResponseWaiter,
waitForApiResponse,
waitForGridDataToLoad,
waitForTableToLoad,
} from '../utils/wait-for-response.js'
Use expectClipboardValue instead of manual clipboard reads with hardcoded timeouts:
// ❌ Brittle
await page.evaluate(() => navigator.clipboard.readText())
await page.waitForTimeout(500)
// ✅ Uses Playwright auto-retries
await expectClipboardValue({ page, value: 'expectedValue' })
await page.route('*/**/logs.all*', async (route) => {
await route.fulfill({ body: JSON.stringify(mockAPILogs) })
})
Use soft waits for optional API calls:
await waitForApiResponse(page, 'pg-meta', ref, 'optional-endpoint', {
soft: true,
fallbackWaitMs: 1000,
})
Clean up test data in beforeAll/beforeEach. Check before deleting to handle existing state gracefully:
const bucketRow = page.getByRole('row').filter({ hasText: bucketName })
if ((await bucketRow.count()) === 0) return
// proceed with deletion
Reset local storage after tests that modify it:
import { resetLocalStorage } from '../utils/reset-local-storage.js'
await resetLocalStorage(page, ref)
cd e2e/studio && pnpm exec playwright show-trace <path-to-trace.zip>
cd e2e/studio && pnpm exec playwright show-report
Error context files are saved in the test-results/ directory.
Use Playwright MCP tools to inspect UI when debugging locally.
The key difference is cold start vs warm state:
Tests run from a blank database slate. Each test run resets the database and starts fresh containers. Extensions like pg_cron are NOT enabled by default.
pnpm dev:studio-localWhen debugging with a running dev server, the database may already have state from previous runs (extensions enabled, test data present).
Tests that work locally but fail in CI often have assumptions about existing state.
test.describe.configure({ mode: 'serial' }))The test framework automatically resets the database when running pnpm run e2e. This matches CI behavior.
If using pnpm dev:studio-local for Playwright MCP debugging, remember the state differs from CI.
pnpm run e2e -- features/<file>.spec.ts (cold start)test-results/ directorypnpm dev:studio-local and use Playwright MCP tools