Answer

Detecting Errors in Playwright Tests

Yes, you can detect errors in your Playwright tests. Playwright offers several tools to help you identify and handle these errors.

Using Playwright Trace Viewer

One way to detect errors is by using the Playwright trace viewer. You can configure traces in your Playwright config file to run on Continuous Integration (CI) failures. Traces provide a full trace of your tests as a local Progressive Web App (PWA) that can be easily shared.

// playwright.config.ts
module.exports = {
  use: {
    trace: 'on-first-retry',
  },
};

To enable traces locally, use the --trace flag when running your tests.

npx playwright test --trace

Debugging Tests

If you want to debug specific tests, use the --debug flag.

npx playwright test --debug

This opens an inspector window where you can step through your tests, view actionability logs, and edit locators live.

Debugging Across Multiple Browsers

To debug all tests on all browsers, run npx playwright test --debug. This runs each test one by one and opens an inspector window along with a browser window for each test.

Using IDEs for Debugging

Modern IDEs like Visual Studio Code offer built-in support for debugging Playwright tests. You can set breakpoints within your code directly from VS Code's editor interface.

By using these debugging capabilities and tools, you can effectively identify errors that occur in your Playwright tests. For more tips on efficient Playwright test scripts, check out this blog post.