How do I efficiently run a suite of tests on multiple users while minimizing test duplication using Playwright?

Answer

To efficiently run a suite of tests on multiple users while minimizing test duplication, use Playwright's before and after hooks. These hooks let you perform actions before each test, like navigating to a URL or logging in.

Here's an example using TypeScript and @playwright/test:

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test.beforeEach(async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://ray.run/');
});

test('Check homepage title', async ({ page }) => {
  const title = await page.title();
  expect(title).toBe('Ray.run');
});

To save time, log in once and reuse the signed-in state in your tests with global setup:

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';

test.use({
  storageState: 'path/to/signed-in-storage-state.json',
});

test('Perform a test as a logged-in user', async ({ page }) => {
  // Your test code here
});

Ensure each test is isolated by controlling the data being tested against, such as using a staging environment. For visual regression tests, maintain consistency in operating system and browser versions.

Use Playwright's built-in locators to find elements on the webpage. They come with auto-waiting and retry-ability features, ensuring elements are visible before performing actions like clicking.

In summary, using before/after hooks and global setup helps minimize duplication and improve reproducibility when running tests on multiple users. For more tips on writing efficient Playwright test scripts, check out this blog post.