Playwright: a first browser test that checks actual behaviour

What it is

Playwright is Microsoft's browser automation and web testing project. Its documentation distinguishes the Playwright Test runner from the automation library. This guide uses the runner to organise tests, assertions and results.

A useful first task

Check that a visitor reaches a page and can perform its main action. A screenshot alone is not a behavioural assertion: look for a visible result such as a page heading or a saved state.

Activity and evidence

Our selection is based on the official repository and documentation. We do not infer recent growth from total stars. GitHub metadata can be checked separately with a timestamp; a historical growth series is not available yet.

Installation

The official guide starts with Node.js and a supported package manager. Check its current requirements before installing. The setup wizard creates a test project.

npm init playwright@latest
npx playwright test

First example

This follows the documented test pattern. It does not verify your own application's services.

import { test, expect } from '@playwright/test';
test('home', async ({ page }) => {
  await page.goto('https://playwright.dev/');
  await expect(page).toHaveTitle(/Playwright/);
});

Evaluate the outcome

Run the test, investigate failures and inspect the report. If an API is mocked, say so: the real provider has not been tested. Mobile checks should assert the effective viewport rather than assume that resizing a window changes it.

Benefits and limitations

Locators, automatic waiting and isolation support repeatable checks. Fragile selectors, authentication and third-party services still require careful design. Payments and legal acceptance should not be incidental test steps.

Alternatives

Selenium and Cypress are alternatives to assess against your team's browser, language and infrastructure requirements. Maintenance matters as much as a quick demonstration. Playwright uses Apache-2.0; read the official license before redistribution.

Compatibility check

The current documentation lists Node.js 22.x, 24.x or 26.x; Windows 11 or Windows Server 2019, macOS 14 or later, and specific Debian and Ubuntu releases. Check the official matrix for your platform: a successful npm installation is not enough.