What is the difference between Cucumber and Jest-Cucumber for executing tests with the Playwright test runner using Gherkin?

Answer

Comparing Cucumber and Jest-Cucumber for Playwright Test Runner

When using Gherkin with @playwright/test, you have two main options: Cucumber and Jest-Cucumber. Let's compare them to help you decide which one suits your needs better.

Cucumber

Cucumber is a popular, widely-used tool with a large community and extensive documentation. It supports multiple programming languages, including JavaScript. Cucumber also has built-in support for generating reports in various formats, such as HTML, JSON, and JUnit XML. However, integrating Cucumber with the Playwright test runner requires additional configuration steps.

Jest-Cucumber

Jest-Cucumber simplifies the setup process by providing pre-configured templates for running tests with Playwright. It integrates Jest, a popular testing framework, with Cucumber. Jest-Cucumber supports parallel execution of scenarios out-of-the-box, which is useful for large test suites.

POM Support

Both projects offer similar support for maintaining Page Object Models (POMs) since they use Gherkin syntax. This allows you to define reusable steps in feature files that can be shared across different scenarios or projects.

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

test('Navigate to ray.run', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://ray.run/');
  const title = await page.title();
  expect(title).toBe('Ray.run - Playwright Test Automation');
});

Conclusion

If you prefer using Cucumber or have experience with it, go for Cucumber due to its larger community and more extensive documentation. If you want an easier setup process or need parallel execution support, Jest-Cucumber is more suitable for your needs.