| name | browser-automation |
| description | Browser automation toolkit using Playwright. Supports interacting with web applications, form filling, capturing screenshots, viewing browser logs, and running automated tests. Use when automating browser tasks, testing web UI, or scraping web pages. |
- Write
@playwright/test scripts in TypeScript, run with npx playwright test
- Use
scripts/with-server.mjs --help to manage server lifecycle
- Wait for
networkidle before inspecting DOM on dynamic apps
Quick Start
npx playwright install chromium - Install browser (one-time)
npx playwright test your-test.spec.ts - Run a test
Approach
- Static HTML → Read file directly to identify selectors, then write test
- Dynamic app (server not running) → Use
with-server.mjs to start server, then test
- Dynamic app (server running) → Navigate, wait for
networkidle, inspect, then act
Basic Test Structure
import {test, expect, type Page} from "@playwright/test";
test("verify homepage loads", async ({page}: {page: Page}) => {
await page.goto("http://localhost:5173");
await page.waitForLoadState("networkidle");
await expect(page.locator("h1")).toBeVisible();
});
Using with-server.mjs
# Single server
node scripts/with-server.mjs --server "npm run dev" --port 5173 -- npx playwright test
# Multiple servers
node scripts/with-server.mjs \
--server "cd backend && python server.py" --port 3000 \
--server "cd frontend && npm run dev" --port 5173 \
-- npx playwright test
Best Practices
- Use
expect() for assertions instead of manual checks
- Browser cleanup is automatic with
@playwright/test
- Use descriptive selectors:
text=, role=, CSS selectors, or IDs
- Add waits:
page.waitForSelector() or expect().toBeVisible()
Reference Files
examples/element-discovery.spec.ts - Discovering buttons, links, inputs
examples/static-html-automation.spec.ts - Using file:// URLs
examples/console-logging.spec.ts - Capturing console logs