npx skills add ...
npx skills add hieutrtr/ai1-skills --skill e2e-testing
End-to-end testing patterns with Playwright for full-stack Python/React applications. Use when writing E2E tests for complete user workflows (login, CRUD, navigation), critical path regression tests, or cross-browser validation. Covers test structure, page object model, selector strategy (data-testid > role > label), wait strategies, auth state reuse, test data management, and CI integration. Does NOT cover unit tests or component tests (use pytest-patterns or react-testing-patterns).
npx skills add hieutrtr/ai1-skills --skill e2e-testing
Activate this skill when:
Do NOT use this skill for:
react-testing-patterns)pytest-patterns)tdd-workflow)pytest-patterns with httpx)Naming conventions:
<feature>.spec.ts<page-name>.page.ts<concern>.fixture.tsEvery page gets a page object class that encapsulates selectors and actions. Tests never interact with selectors directly.
Base page object:
Concrete page object:
Rules for page objects:
Priority order (highest to lowest):
| Priority | Selector | Example | When to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | data-testid | getByTestId("submit-btn") | Interactive elements, dynamic content |
| 2 | Role | getByRole("button", { name: /save/i }) | Buttons, links, headings, inputs |
| 3 | Label | getByLabel("Email") | Form inputs with labels |
| 4 | Placeholder | getByPlaceholder("Search...") | Search inputs |
| 5 | Text | getByText("Welcome back") | Static text content |
NEVER use:
.class-name, #id) -- brittle, break on styling changes//div[@class="foo"]) -- unreadable, extremely brittlediv > span:nth-child(2)) -- break on layout changesAdding data-testid attributes:
NEVER use hardcoded waits:
Use explicit wait conditions:
Auto-waiting: Playwright auto-waits for elements to be actionable before clicking, filling, etc. Explicit waits are needed only for assertions or complex state transitions.
Avoid logging in before every test. Save auth state and reuse it.
Setup auth state once:
Reuse in tests:
Principles:
API helpers for test data:
Usage in tests:
1. Use trace viewer for failures:
View trace: npx playwright show-trace trace.zip
2. Run in headed mode for debugging:
3. Common causes of flaky tests:
| Cause | Fix |
|---|---|
| Hardcoded waits | Use explicit wait conditions |
| Shared test data | Each test creates its own data |
| Animation interference | Set animations: "disabled" in config |
| Race conditions | Wait for API responses before assertions |
| Viewport-dependent behavior | Set explicit viewport in config |
| Session leaks between tests | Use storageState correctly, clear cookies |
4. Retry strategy:
Use scripts/run-e2e-with-report.sh to run Playwright with HTML report output locally.
See references/page-object-template.ts for annotated page object class.
See references/e2e-test-template.ts for annotated E2E test.
See references/playwright-config-example.ts for production Playwright config.
// e2e/pages/base.page.ts
import { type Page, type Locator } from "@playwright/test";
export abstract class BasePage {
constructor(protected readonly page: Page) {}
/** Navigate to the page's URL. */
abstract goto(): Promise<void>;
/** Wait for the page to be fully loaded. */
async waitForLoad(): Promise<void> {
await this.page.waitForLoadState("networkidle");
}
/** Get a toast/notification message. */
get toast(): Locator {
return this.page.getByRole("alert");
}
/** Get the page heading. */
get heading(): Locator {
return this.page.getByRole("heading", { level: 1 });
}
}// e2e/pages/users.page.ts
import { type Page, type Locator } from "@playwright/test";
import { BasePage } from "./base.page";
export class UsersPage extends BasePage {
// ─── Locators ─────────────────────────────────────────
readonly createButton: Locator;
readonly searchInput: Locator;
readonly userTable: Locator;
constructor(page: Page) {
super(page);
this.createButton = page.getByTestId("create-user-btn");
this.searchInput = page.getByRole("searchbox", { name: /search users/i });
this.userTable = page.getByRole("table");
}
// ─── Actions ──────────────────────────────────────────
async goto(): Promise<void> {
await this.page.goto("/users");
await this.waitForLoad();
}
async searchFor(query: string): Promise<void> {
await this.searchInput.fill(query);
// Wait for search results to update (debounced)
await this.page.waitForResponse("**/api/v1/users?*");
}
async clickCreateUser(): Promise<void> {
await this.createButton.click();
}
async getUserRow(email: string): Promise<Locator> {
return this.userTable.getByRole("row").filter({ hasText: email });
}
async getUserCount(): Promise<number> {
// Subtract 1 for header row
return (await this.userTable.getByRole("row").count()) - 1;
}
}// In React components -- add data-testid to interactive elements
<button data-testid="create-user-btn" onClick={handleCreate}>
Create User
</button>
// Convention: kebab-case, descriptive
// Pattern: <action>-<entity>-<element-type>
// Examples: create-user-btn, user-email-input, delete-confirm-dialog// BAD: Hardcoded wait -- flaky, slow
await page.waitForTimeout(3000);
// BAD: Sleep
await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 2000));// GOOD: Wait for a specific element to appear
await page.getByRole("heading", { name: "Dashboard" }).waitFor();
// GOOD: Wait for navigation
await page.waitForURL("/dashboard");
// GOOD: Wait for API response
await page.waitForResponse(
(response) =>
response.url().includes("/api/v1/users") && response.status() === 200,
);
// GOOD: Wait for network to settle
await page.waitForLoadState("networkidle");
// GOOD: Wait for element state
await page.getByTestId("submit-btn").waitFor({ state: "visible" });
await page.getByTestId("loading-spinner").waitFor({ state: "hidden" });// e2e/fixtures/auth.fixture.ts
import { test as base } from "@playwright/test";
import path from "path";
const AUTH_STATE_PATH = path.resolve("e2e/.auth/user.json");
export const setup = base.extend({});
setup("authenticate", async ({ page }) => {
// Perform real login
await page.goto("/login");
await page.getByLabel("Email").fill("testuser@example.com");
await page.getByLabel("Password").fill("TestPassword123!");
await page.getByRole("button", { name: /sign in/i }).click();
// Wait for auth to complete
await page.waitForURL("/dashboard");
// Save signed-in state
await page.context().storageState({ path: AUTH_STATE_PATH });
});// playwright.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
projects: [
// Setup project runs first and saves auth state
{ name: "setup", testDir: "./e2e/fixtures", testMatch: "auth.fixture.ts" },
{
name: "chromium",
use: {
storageState: "e2e/.auth/user.json", // Reuse auth state
},
dependencies: ["setup"],
},
],
});// e2e/utils/api-helpers.ts
import { type APIRequestContext } from "@playwright/test";
export class TestDataAPI {
constructor(private request: APIRequestContext) {}
async createUser(data: { email: string; displayName: string }) {
const response = await this.request.post("/api/v1/users", { data });
return response.json();
}
async deleteUser(userId: number) {
await this.request.delete(`/api/v1/users/${userId}`);
}
async createOrder(userId: number, items: Array<Record<string, unknown>>) {
const response = await this.request.post("/api/v1/orders", {
data: { user_id: userId, items },
});
return response.json();
}
}test("edit user name", async ({ page, request }) => {
const api = new TestDataAPI(request);
// Setup: create user via API (fast)
const user = await api.createUser({
email: "edit-test@example.com",
displayName: "Before Edit",
});
try {
// Test: edit via UI
const usersPage = new UsersPage(page);
await usersPage.goto();
// ... perform edit via UI ...
} finally {
// Cleanup: remove test data
await api.deleteUser(user.id);
}
});// playwright.config.ts
use: {
trace: "on-first-retry", // Capture trace only on retry
}npx playwright test --headed --debug tests/users/create-user.spec.ts// playwright.config.ts
export default defineConfig({
retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0, // Retry in CI only
});# .github/workflows/e2e.yml
name: E2E Tests
on:
push:
branches: [main]
pull_request:
branches: [main]
jobs:
e2e:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v4
- uses: actions/setup-node@v4
with:
node-version: 20
cache: npm
- name: Install dependencies
run: npm ci
- name: Install Playwright browsers
run: npx playwright install --with-deps chromium
- name: Start application
run: |
docker compose up -d
npx wait-on http://localhost:3000 --timeout 60000
- name: Run E2E tests
run: npx playwright test
- name: Upload test report
if: always()
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: playwright-report
path: playwright-report/
retention-days: 14
- name: Upload traces on failure
if: failure()
uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
with:
name: test-traces
path: test-results/