Testing With Playwright

Overview

Playwright tests fail in three predictable ways: incomplete coverage (shipping without edge cases), brittle waiting (fixed timeouts that flake), and unclear mocking (defaulting to all-mocks or all-staging). This skill provides patterns for writing reliable tests under pressure.

Core principle: Complete coverage before shipping. Deterministic waits always. Strategic mocking based on test intent.

When to Use

Symptoms that signal you need this skill:

• Writing e2e tests with deadline pressure to deploy
• Tests using waitForSelector() or waitForTimeout() with fixed values
• Uncertainty about whether to mock APIs or test against staging
• Tests that pass locally but flake in CI
• Edge case coverage getting deferred to "next sprint"

Critical Pattern: Coverage Before Shipping