playwright-skill · zebbern — Claude Code skill for Playwright testing

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name: playwright-skill
description: Battle-tested Playwright patterns for E2E, API, component, visual, accessibility, and security testing. Covers locators, fixtures, POM, network mocking, auth flows, debugging, CI/CD (GitHub Actions, GitLab, CircleCI, Azure, Jenkins), framework recipes (React, Next.js, Vue, Angular), and migration guides from Cypress/Selenium. TypeScript and JavaScript.
---

# Playwright Skill

> Opinionated, production-tested Playwright guidance — every pattern includes when (and when _not_) to use it.

**50+ reference guides** covering the full Playwright surface: selectors, assertions, fixtures, page objects, network mocking, auth, visual regression, accessibility, API testing, CI/CD, debugging, and more — with TypeScript and JavaScript examples throughout.

## Golden Rules

1. **`getByRole()` over CSS/XPath** — resilient to markup changes, mirrors how users see the page
2. **Never `page.waitForTimeout()`** — use `expect(locator).toBeVisible()` or `page.waitForURL()`
3. **Web-first assertions** — `expect(locator)` auto-retries; `expect(await locator.textContent())` does not
4. **Isolate every test** — no shared state, no execution-order dependencies
5. **`baseURL` in config** — zero hardcoded URLs in tests
6. **Retries: `2` in CI, `0` locally** — surface flakiness where it matters
7. **Traces: `'on-first-retry'`** — rich debugging artifacts without CI slowdown
8. **Fixtures over globals** — share state via `test.extend()`, not module-level variables
9. **One behavior per test** — multiple related `expect()` calls are fine
10. **Mock external services only** — never mock your own app; mock third-party APIs, payment gateways, email

## Guide Index

### Writing Tests

| What you're doing          | Guide                                                       | Deep dive                                                          |
| -------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Choosing selectors         | [locators.md](core/locators.md)                             | [locator-strategy.md](core/locator-strategy.md)                    |
| Assertions & waiting       | [assertions-and-waiting.md](core/assertions-and-waiting.md) |                                                                    |
| Organizing test suites     | [test-organization.md](core/test-organization.md)           | [test-architecture.md](core/test-architecture.md)                  |
| Playwright config          | [configuration.md](core/configuration.md)                   |                                                                    |
| Page objects               | [page-object-model.md](pom/page-object-model.md)            | [pom-vs-fixtures-vs-helpers.md](pom/pom-vs-fixtures-vs-helpers.md) |
| Fixtures & hooks           | [fixtures-and-hooks.md](core/fixtures-and-hooks.md)         |                                                                    |
| Test data                  | [test-data-management.md](core/test-data-management.md)     |                                                                    |
| Auth & login               | [authentication.md](core/authentication.md)                 | [auth-flows.md](core/auth-flows.md)                                |
| API testing (REST/GraphQL) | [api-testing.md](core/api-testing.md)                       |                                                                    |
| Visual regression          | [visual-regression.md](core/visual-regression.md)           |                                                                    |
| Accessibility              | [accessibility.md](core/accessibility.md)                   |                                                                    |
| Mobile & responsive        | [mobile-and-responsive.md](core/mobile-and-responsive.md)   |                                                                    |
| Component testing          | [component-testing.md](core/component-testing.md)           |                                                                    |
| Network mocking            | [network-mocking.md](core/network-mocking.md)               | [when-to-mock.md](core/when-to-mock.md)                            |
| Forms & validation         | [forms-and-validation.md](core/forms-and-validation.md)     |                                                                    |
| File uploads/downloads     | [file-operations.md](core/file-operations.md)               | [file-upload-download.md](core/file-upload-download.md)            |
| Error & edge cases         | [error-and-edge-cases.md](core/error-and-edge-cases.md)     |                                                                    |
| CRUD flows                 | [crud-testing.md](core/crud-testing.md)                     |                                                                    |
| Drag and drop              | [drag-and-drop.md](core/drag-and-drop.md)                   |                                                                    |
| Search & filter UI         | [search-and-filter.md](core/search-and-filter.md)           |                                                                    |

### Debugging & Fixing

| Problem                    | Guide                                         |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| General debugging workflow | [debugging.md](core/debugging.md)             |
| Specific error message     | [error-index.md](core/error-index.md)         |
| Flaky / intermittent tests | [flaky-tests.md](core/flaky-tests.md)         |
| Common beginner mistakes   | [common-pitfalls.md](core/common-pitfalls.md) |

### Framework Recipes

| Framework                           | Guide                         |
| ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Next.js (App Router + Pages Router) | [nextjs.md](core/nextjs.md)   |
| React (CRA, Vite)                   | [react.md](core/react.md)     |
| Vue 3 / Nuxt                        | [vue.md](core/vue.md)         |
| Angular                             | [angular.md](core/angular.md) |

### Migration Guides

| From                 | Guide                                          |
| -------------------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| Cypress              | [from-cypress.md](migration/from-cypress.md)   |
| Selenium / WebDriver | [from-selenium.md](migration/from-selenium.md) |

### Architecture Decisions

| Question                    | Guide                                                              |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Which locator strategy?     | [locator-strategy.md](core/locator-strategy.md)                    |
| E2E vs component vs API?    | [test-architecture.md](core/test-architecture.md)                  |
| Mock vs real services?      | [when-to-mock.md](core/when-to-mock.md)                            |
| POM vs fixtures vs helpers? | [pom-vs-fixtures-vs-helpers.md](pom/pom-vs-fixtures-vs-helpers.md) |

### CI/CD & Infrastructure

| Topic                             | Guide                                                           |
| --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------- |
| GitHub Actions                    | [ci-github-actions.md](ci/ci-github-actions.md)                 |
| GitLab CI                         | [ci-gitlab.md](ci/ci-gitlab.md)                                 |
| CircleCI / Azure DevOps / Jenkins | [ci-other.md](ci/ci-other.md)                                   |
| Parallel execution & sharding     | [parallel-and-sharding.md](ci/parallel-and-sharding.md)         |
| Docker & containers               | [docker-and-containers.md](ci/docker-and-containers.md)         |
| Reports & artifacts               | [reporting-and-artifacts.md](ci/reporting-and-artifacts.md)     |
| Code coverage                     | [test-coverage.md](ci/test-coverage.md)                         |
| Global setup/teardown             | [global-setup-teardown.md](ci/global-setup-teardown.md)         |
| Multi-project config              | [projects-and-dependencies.md](ci/projects-and-dependencies.md) |

### Specialized Topics

| Topic                                      | Guide                                                                   |
| ------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Multi-user & collaboration                 | [multi-user-and-collaboration.md](core/multi-user-and-collaboration.md) |
| WebSockets & real-time                     | [websockets-and-realtime.md](core/websockets-and-realtime.md)           |
| Browser APIs (geo, clipboard, permissions) | [browser-apis.md](core/browser-apis.md)                                 |
| iframes & Shadow DOM                       | [iframes-and-shadow-dom.md](core/iframes-and-shadow-dom.md)             |
| Canvas & WebGL                             | [canvas-and-webgl.md](core/canvas-and-webgl.md)                         |
| Service workers & PWA                      | [service-workers-and-pwa.md](core/service-workers-and-pwa.md)           |
| Electron apps                              | [electron-testing.md](core/electron-testing.md)                         |
| Browser extensions                         | [browser-extensions.md](core/browser-extensions.md)                     |
| Security testing                           | [security-testing.md](core/security-testing.md)                         |
| Performance & benchmarks                   | [performance-testing.md](core/performance-testing.md)                   |
| i18n & localization                        | [i18n-and-localization.md](core/i18n-and-localization.md)               |
| Multi-tab & popups                         | [multi-context-and-popups.md](core/multi-context-and-popups.md)         |
| Clock & time mocking                       | [clock-and-time-mocking.md](core/clock-and-time-mocking.md)             |
| Third-party integrations                   | [third-party-integrations.md](core/third-party-integrations.md)         |

### CLI Browser Automation

| What you're doing                           | Guide                                                               |
| ------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| CLI browser interaction                     | [playwright-cli/SKILL.md](playwright-cli/SKILL.md)                  |
| Core commands (open, click, fill, navigate) | [core-commands.md](playwright-cli/core-commands.md)                 |
| Network mocking & interception              | [request-mocking.md](playwright-cli/request-mocking.md)             |
| Running custom Playwright code              | [running-custom-code.md](playwright-cli/running-custom-code.md)     |
| Multi-session browser management            | [session-management.md](playwright-cli/session-management.md)       |
| Cookies, localStorage, auth state           | [storage-and-auth.md](playwright-cli/storage-and-auth.md)           |
| Test code generation from CLI               | [test-generation.md](playwright-cli/test-generation.md)             |
| Tracing and debugging                       | [tracing-and-debugging.md](playwright-cli/tracing-and-debugging.md) |
| Screenshots, video, PDF                     | [screenshots-and-media.md](playwright-cli/screenshots-and-media.md) |
| Device & environment emulation              | [device-emulation.md](playwright-cli/device-emulation.md)           |
| Complex multi-step workflows                | [advanced-workflows.md](playwright-cli/advanced-workflows.md)       |

## Language Note

All guides include TypeScript and JavaScript examples. When the project uses `.js` files or has no `tsconfig.json`, examples are adapted to plain JavaScript.