Overview
Playwright is an open-source automation framework developed by Microsoft, designed for end-to-end testing of modern web applications. Released in January 2020, it has quickly gained popularity due to its cross-browser, cross-platform, and cross-language capabilities.
Key Features
Cross-Browser Support: Automates Chromium (Chrome, Edge), Firefox, and WebKit (Safari).
Multi-Language Support: Works with JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Java, and .NET.
Headless Mode: Enables fast, GUI-less testing ideal for CI/CD pipelines.
Automatic Waiting: Waits for elements to be actionable, reducing flaky tests.
Browser Contexts: Simulates multiple users with isolated sessions.
Device Emulation: Tests responsive designs across various screen sizes.
Network Interception: Mocks API responses and simulates network conditions.
Built-in Debugging Tools: Includes codegen, trace viewer, and inspector.
Architecture
Playwright uses WebSockets for communication with browsers, unlike Selenium’s HTTP-based approach. This allows faster and more reliable interactions. Each test runs in a separate browser context, ensuring full isolation and faster execution.
Advantages Over Other Frameworks
Limitations
No support for native mobile apps.
Limited language support compared to Selenium.
No support for legacy browsers like IE11.
Getting Started
To install and run Playwright:
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