Playwright E2E Testing for Next.js: Auth Setup, Stripe Checkout, and CI Integration

#testing #nextjs #typescript #devops

Unit tests catch logic bugs. E2E tests catch the bugs that actually kill your conversion rate -- the broken checkout flow, the login redirect loop, the payment form that silently fails.

Here's a practical Playwright setup for Next.js focused on critical paths.

Setup

npm install -D @playwright/test
npx playwright install chromium

// playwright.config.ts
import { defineConfig } from '@playwright/test'

export default defineConfig({
  testDir: './e2e',
  fullyParallel: true,
  retries: process.env.CI ? 2 : 0,
  reporter: 'html',
  use: {
    baseURL: 'http://localhost:3000',
    trace: 'on-first-retry',
    screenshot: 'only-on-failure'
  },
  webServer: {
    command: 'npm run dev',
    url: 'http://localhost:3000',
    reuseExistingServer: !process.env.CI
  },
  projects: [
    { name: 'setup', testMatch: /global.setup\.ts/ },
    {
      name: 'chromium',
      use: { storageState: 'e2e/.auth/user.json' },
      dependencies: ['setup']
    }
  ]
})

Auth Setup (Sign In Once, Use Everywhere)

// e2e/global.setup.ts
import { test as setup } from '@playwright/test'

setup('authenticate', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('/login')
  await page.fill('[name=email]', process.env.E2E_USER_EMAIL!)
  await page.fill('[name=password]', process.env.E2E_USER_PASSWORD!)
  await page.click('[type=submit]')
  await page.waitForURL('/dashboard')

  // Save auth state for all tests
  await page.context().storageState({ path: 'e2e/.auth/user.json' })
})

Now every test starts authenticated without re-logging in.

Critical Path: Checkout Flow

// e2e/checkout.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'

test.describe('Checkout Flow', () => {
  test('complete purchase with test card', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/pricing')

    // Click the Pro plan buy button
    await page.click('[data-testid="buy-pro"]')

    // Should redirect to Stripe Checkout
    await page.waitForURL(/checkout.stripe.com/)

    // Fill Stripe test card (in test mode)
    await page.locator('[placeholder="Card number"]').fill('4242424242424242')
    await page.locator('[placeholder="MM / YY"]').fill('12/28')
    await page.locator('[placeholder="CVC"]').fill('123')
    await page.locator('[placeholder="ZIP"]').fill('12345')

    await page.click('[data-testid="hosted-payment-submit-button"]')

    // Should redirect to success page
    await page.waitForURL('/success', { timeout: 30000 })
    await expect(page.locator('h1')).toContainText('Thank you')
  })

  test('shows error for declined card', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/pricing')
    await page.click('[data-testid="buy-pro"]')
    await page.waitForURL(/checkout.stripe.com/)

    // Stripe decline test card
    await page.locator('[placeholder="Card number"]').fill('4000000000000002')
    await page.locator('[placeholder="MM / YY"]').fill('12/28')
    await page.locator('[placeholder="CVC"]').fill('123')
    await page.locator('[placeholder="ZIP"]').fill('12345')
    await page.click('[data-testid="hosted-payment-submit-button"]')

    await expect(page.locator('.StripeElement--invalid')).toBeVisible({ timeout: 10000 })
  })
})

Critical Path: Auth Flow

// e2e/auth.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'

// Run these without auth state
test.use({ storageState: { cookies: [], origins: [] } })

test.describe('Auth', () => {
  test('redirects unauthenticated users to login', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/dashboard')
    await expect(page).toHaveURL(/\/login/)
  })

  test('login redirects to dashboard', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/login')
    await page.fill('[name=email]', process.env.E2E_USER_EMAIL!)
    await page.fill('[name=password]', process.env.E2E_USER_PASSWORD!)
    await page.click('[type=submit]')
    await expect(page).toHaveURL('/dashboard')
  })

  test('invalid credentials shows error', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/login')
    await page.fill('[name=email]', 'wrong@test.com')
    await page.fill('[name=password]', 'wrongpassword')
    await page.click('[type=submit]')
    await expect(page.locator('[role=alert]')).toContainText('Invalid credentials')
  })
})

Dashboard Smoke Tests

// e2e/dashboard.spec.ts
import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test'

test.describe('Dashboard', () => {
  test('loads without errors', async ({ page }) => {
    const errors: string[] = []
    page.on('console', msg => { if (msg.type() === 'error') errors.push(msg.text()) })

    await page.goto('/dashboard')
    await expect(page.locator('h1')).toBeVisible()
    expect(errors).toHaveLength(0)
  })

  test('settings page loads', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/settings')
    await expect(page.locator('[name=name]')).toBeVisible()
  })

  test('can update profile name', async ({ page }) => {
    await page.goto('/settings')
    await page.fill('[name=name]', 'Updated Name')
    await page.click('[type=submit]')
    await expect(page.locator('[role=status]')).toContainText('saved')
  })
})

Running in CI

# .github/workflows/e2e.yml
- name: Run E2E Tests
  run: npx playwright test
  env:
    E2E_USER_EMAIL: ${{ secrets.E2E_USER_EMAIL }}
    E2E_USER_PASSWORD: ${{ secrets.E2E_USER_PASSWORD }}
    STRIPE_SECRET_KEY: ${{ secrets.STRIPE_SECRET_KEY_TEST }}

- name: Upload Playwright Report
  if: failure()
  uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
  with:
    name: playwright-report
    path: playwright-report/

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