Playwright Network Mocking

Overview

Use this skill when a test depends on a slow, unreliable, or external service and you need deterministic responses without hitting the real provider. It lets you isolate the boundary that matters while keeping the rest of the application real.

Do not use this skill when the real third-party integration is the feature under test, or when the app is already local and deterministic without request interception.

When to Use

• When a test depends on an unreliable or slow external API.
• When you need deterministic responses for billing, email, auth, analytics, or similar services.
• When you want to mock the minimum necessary surface area and leave the rest of the app untouched.

When Not to Use

• When the test must validate a real provider integration end to end.
• When the login UI is the feature under test.
• When you are diagnosing a flaky test and should start with playwright-debugging instead.