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This skill provides comprehensive guidance for all aspects of Playwright test development, from writing new tests to debugging and maintaining existing test suites.
Consult these references based on what you're doing:
When to use: Creating new test files, writing test cases, implementing test scenarios
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Writing E2E tests | test-organization.md, locators.md, assertions-waiting.md |
| Writing component tests | component-testing.md, test-organization.md |
| Writing API tests | test-organization.md, assertions-waiting.md |
| Writing visual regression tests | test-organization.md, canvas-webgl.md |
| Structuring test code with POM | page-object-model.md, test-organization.md |
| Setting up test data/fixtures | fixtures-hooks.md, test-data.md |
| Handling authentication | fixtures-hooks.md, third-party.md |
| Testing date/time features | clock-mocking.md |
| Testing file upload/download | file-operations.md |
| Testing accessibility | accessibility.md |
| Testing security (XSS, CSRF) | security-testing.md |
| Using test annotations | annotations.md |
| Testing iframes | iframes.md |
| Testing canvas/WebGL | canvas-webgl.md |
| Internationalization (i18n) | i18n.md |
| Testing Electron apps | electron.md |
| Testing browser extensions | browser-extensions.md |
When to use: Testing mobile devices, touch interactions, responsive layouts
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Device emulation | mobile-testing.md |
| Touch gestures (swipe, tap) | mobile-testing.md |
| Viewport/breakpoint testing | mobile-testing.md |
| Mobile-specific UI | mobile-testing.md, locators.md |
When to use: Testing WebSockets, geolocation, permissions, multi-tab flows
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| WebSocket/real-time testing | websockets.md |
| Geolocation mocking | browser-apis.md |
| Permission handling | browser-apis.md |
| Clipboard testing | browser-apis.md |
| Camera/microphone mocking | browser-apis.md |
| Multi-tab/popup flows | multi-context.md |
| OAuth popup handling | third-party.md, multi-context.md |
When to use: Test failures, element not found, timeouts, unexpected behavior
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Debugging test failures | debugging.md, assertions-waiting.md |
| Fixing flaky tests | flaky-tests.md, debugging.md, assertions-waiting.md |
| Debugging flaky parallel runs | flaky-tests.md, performance.md, fixtures-hooks.md |
| Ensuring test isolation / avoiding state leak | flaky-tests.md, fixtures-hooks.md, performance.md |
| Fixing selector issues | locators.md, debugging.md |
| Investigating timeout issues | assertions-waiting.md, debugging.md |
| Using trace viewer | debugging.md |
| Debugging race conditions | flaky-tests.md, debugging.md, assertions-waiting.md |
| Debugging console/JS errors | console-errors.md, debugging.md |
When to use: Testing error states, offline mode, network failures, validation
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Error boundary testing | error-testing.md |
| Network failure simulation | error-testing.md, network-advanced.md |
| Offline mode testing | error-testing.md, service-workers.md |
| Service worker testing | service-workers.md |
| Loading state testing | error-testing.md |
| Form validation testing | error-testing.md |
When to use: Testing features involving multiple users, roles, or real-time collaboration
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Multiple users in one test | multi-user.md |
| Real-time collaboration | multi-user.md, websockets.md |
| Role-based access testing | multi-user.md |
| Concurrent action testing | multi-user.md |
When to use: Improving existing tests, code review, reducing duplication
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Refactoring to Page Object Model | page-object-model.md, test-organization.md |
| Improving test organization | test-organization.md, page-object-model.md |
| Extracting common setup/teardown | fixtures-hooks.md |
| Replacing brittle selectors | locators.md |
| Removing explicit waits | assertions-waiting.md |
| Creating test data factories | test-data.md |
When to use: Setting up projects, configuring CI/CD, optimizing performance
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Configuring Playwright project | test-organization.md, projects-dependencies.md |
| Setting up CI/CD pipelines | ci-cd.md, performance.md |
| Global setup & teardown | global-setup.md |
| Project dependencies | projects-dependencies.md |
| Optimizing test performance | performance.md, test-organization.md |
| Configuring parallel execution | performance.md |
| Isolating test data between workers | fixtures-hooks.md, performance.md |
| Test coverage | test-coverage.md |
When to use: Complex scenarios, API mocking, network interception
| Activity | Reference Files |
|---|---|
| Mocking API responses | test-organization.md, network-advanced.md |
| Network interception | network-advanced.md, assertions-waiting.md |
| GraphQL mocking | network-advanced.md |
| HAR recording/playback | network-advanced.md |
| Custom fixtures | fixtures-hooks.md |
| Advanced waiting strategies | assertions-waiting.md |
| OAuth/SSO mocking | third-party.md, multi-context.md |
| Payment gateway mocking | third-party.md |
| Email/SMS verification mocking | third-party.md |
| Failing on console errors | console-errors.md |
| Security testing (XSS, CSRF) | security-testing.md |
| Performance budgets & Web Vitals | performance-testing.md |
| Lighthouse integration | performance-testing.md |
| Test annotations (skip, fixme) | annotations.md |
| Test steps for reporting | annotations.md |
What are you doing?
│
├─ Writing a new test?
│ ├─ E2E test → test-organization.md, locators.md, assertions-waiting.md
│ ├─ Component test → component-testing.md
│ ├─ API test → test-organization.md, assertions-waiting.md
│ ├─ Visual/canvas test → canvas-webgl.md, test-organization.md
│ ├─ Accessibility test → accessibility.md
│ ├─ Mobile/responsive test → mobile-testing.md
│ ├─ i18n/locale test → i18n.md
│ ├─ Electron app test → electron.md
│ ├─ Browser extension test → browser-extensions.md
│ └─ Multi-user test → multi-user.md
│
├─ Testing specific features?
│ ├─ File upload/download → file-operations.md
│ ├─ Date/time dependent → clock-mocking.md
│ ├─ WebSocket/real-time → websockets.md
│ ├─ Geolocation/permissions → browser-apis.md
│ ├─ OAuth/SSO mocking → third-party.md, multi-context.md
│ ├─ Payments/email/SMS → third-party.md
│ ├─ iFrames → iframes.md
│ ├─ Canvas/WebGL/charts → canvas-webgl.md
│ ├─ Service workers/PWA → service-workers.md
│ ├─ i18n/localization → i18n.md
│ ├─ Security (XSS, CSRF) → security-testing.md
│ └─ Performance/Web Vitals → performance-testing.md
│
├─ Test is failing/flaky?
│ ├─ Flaky test investigation → flaky-tests.md
│ ├─ Element not found → locators.md, debugging.md
│ ├─ Timeout issues → assertions-waiting.md, debugging.md
│ ├─ Race conditions → flaky-tests.md, debugging.md
│ ├─ Flaky only with multiple workers → flaky-tests.md, performance.md
│ ├─ State leak / isolation → flaky-tests.md, fixtures-hooks.md
│ ├─ Console/JS errors → console-errors.md, debugging.md
│ └─ General debugging → debugging.md
│
├─ Testing error scenarios?
│ ├─ Network failures → error-testing.md, network-advanced.md
│ ├─ Offline (unexpected) → error-testing.md
│ ├─ Offline-first/PWA → service-workers.md
│ ├─ Error boundaries → error-testing.md
│ └─ Form validation → error-testing.md
│
├─ Refactoring existing code?
│ ├─ Implementing POM → page-object-model.md
│ ├─ Improving selectors → locators.md
│ ├─ Extracting fixtures → fixtures-hooks.md
│ └─ Creating data factories → test-data.md
│
├─ Setting up infrastructure?
│ ├─ CI/CD → ci-cd.md
│ ├─ Global setup/teardown → global-setup.md
│ ├─ Project dependencies → projects-dependencies.md
│ ├─ Test performance → performance.md
│ ├─ Test coverage → test-coverage.md
│ └─ Project config → test-organization.md, projects-dependencies.md
│
└─ Organizing tests?
├─ Skip/fixme/slow tests → annotations.md
├─ Test steps → annotations.md
└─ Conditional execution → annotations.md
After writing or modifying tests:
npx playwright test --reporter=listnpx playwright show-trace)npx playwright test --repeat-each=5